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Cochrane, Barnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes, Stewart, & Luciano, 2007

APA Citation

Cochrane, A., Barnes-Holmes, D., Barnes-Holmes, Y., Stewart, I., & Luciano, C. (2007). Experiential avoidance and aversive visual images: Response delays and event related potentials on a simple matching task. Behavior Research and Therapy, 45, 1379-1388.

Publication Topic
ACT: Empirical
RFT: Empirical
Publication Type
Article
Language
English
Keyword(s)
Experiential avoidance; Event-related potentials; International affective picture system; Acceptance and action questionnaire
Abstract

In Experiment 1, participants high (n=15) or low in avoidance (n=14), as measured by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, completed a simple matching task that required them to choose whether or not to look at an aversive visual image. Only the high-avoidance participants took longer to emit a correct response that produced an aversive rather than a neutral picture. Additionally, the high-avoiders reported greater levels of anxiety following the experiment even though they rated the aversive images as less unpleasant and less emotionally arousing than their low-avoidant counterparts. In Experiment 2, three groups, representing high-, mid- and low-avoidance (n=6 in each) repeated the matching task with the additional recording of event-related potentials (ERPs). The findings of Experiment 1 were replicated in terms of reaction times and subjective ratings. The ERPs confirmed that the participants attended to the content of the images and differentiated between the aversive and neutral image types. The ERPs also showed significantly greater negativity for electrodes over the left hemisphere relative to the midline for only the high-experiential avoidance (EA) group. Given the left hemisphere dominance for language, the data suggest that the high-EA group engaged in verbal strategies to regulate their emotional responses.

Comments
Two experiments. In Experiment 1, participants high (n = 15) or low in avoidance (n = 14), as measured by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, completed a simple matching task that required them to choose whether or not to look at an aversive visual image. Only the high-avoidance participants took longer to emit a correct response that produced an aversive rather than a neutral picture. Additionally, the high-avoiders reported greater levels of anxiety following the experiment even though they rated the aversive images as less unpleasant and less emotionally arousing than their low-avoidant counterparts. In Experiment 2, three groups, representing high- mid- and low-avoidance (n = 6 in each) repeated the matching task with the additional recording of event related potentials (ERPs). The findings replicated Experiment 1 but also showed that high-EA subjects had significantly greater negativity for electrodes over the left hemisphere relative to the midline suggesting that the high-EA group engaged in verbal strategies to regulate their emotional responses.