Bridging the Gap: Predicting Health-Related Adaptive Behaviour Using a Novel Approach-Avoidance Paradigm [Seed Funding]
Each day we face threatening situations that guide our behaviour. Typically, as subjective threat increases, our behaviour tilts towards avoidance. While avoidance may be adaptive at times (e.g., avoiding the searing pain of a hot stove), it may result in losing out on valued activities at other times (e.g., avoiding meeting friends when sitting is associated with pain).
Excessive avoidance and behavioural inflexibility are disabling factors in many disorders, including chronic pain – a condition that affects about 1 in 5 individuals worldwide. Furthermore, these factors remain undertreated and associated with an unacceptable burden to individuals and society. And even though the importance of avoidance is recognised, there is a lack of empirical models that a) predict real-life behaviour (e.g., actual engagement in social activities), b) allow integration of approach behaviour and flexibility in decision making as well (e.g., approaching rewards if aligned with values, despite the threat), and c) are tested in patient and healthy populations across the life span.
This interdisciplinary research seeks to investigate whether a novel approach-avoidance paradigm predicts real-life behavioural flexibility in individuals with chronic pain and in healthy populations. Additionally, several modulators will be explored, including age and cognition. Establishing this link will allow identification of intervention targets to improve the quality-of-life of people with avoidance-related disabilities. The disciplines of Medical and Clinical Psychology (Dr. Inge Timmers) and Cognitive Neuropsychology (Dr. Mercedes Almela) are combined, converging their interest in mechanistic research into age and cognition effects on adaptive behaviour across healthy lifespan and clinical populations. By providing a better understanding of the cognitive and developmental mechanisms underlying adaptive behaviour and their modulation, this research ultimately aims to harness flexibility, which is much needed in our fast-changing society.
Research Team
Cross-cutting themes
The Herbert Simon Research Institute for Health, Well-being, and Adaptiveness is a research center devoted to carrying out excellent, state of the art research in order to contribute to healthy and resilient people. We have selected three themes, which involve the collaboration between various Departments and address actual themes in need of both fundamental and applied research.