Approach and Avoidance Tendencies in Spider Fearful Children: The Approach-Avoidance Task
Open accessAbstract
Fear in children is associated with the tendency to avoid situations related to the fear. In this study, the Approach-Avoidance Task (AAT) was evaluated as a test of automatic behavioral avoidance tendencies in children. A sample of 195 children aged between 9 and 12 years completed an AAT, a Behavioral Assessment Task (BAT), and two spider fear questionnaires. The results indicate that all children showed an automatic avoidance tendency in response to spider pictures, but not pictures of butterflies or neutral pictures. Girls who reported more fear of spiders on the self-reports and behaved more anxiously during the BAT also showed a greater avoidance tendency in the AAT. These relationships were absent in boys.
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Behavioral avoidance tests are the most common method of measuring avoidance.
“Behavioral avoidance tests are the most common method of measuring avoidance.”
From Child- and Parent-Report Measures of Behavioral Avoidance (CAMS/CAMP): Portuguese Validation in Clinical and Non-Clinical Samples. (2024) · cites this paper as Klein et al., 2011
The Discussion (page unavailable) says the study used a behavioral assessment task (BAT) to measure relatively controllable avoidance behavior, and notes a comparable BAT in another study. It does not say that behavioral avoidance tests are the most common method of measuring avoidance. (LLM, conf=0.83)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredBehavioral avoidance tests involve asking the child to approach a feared object or situation and measuring the physical distance from that object or situation, which is used as an estimate of behavioral avoidance.
“These tests involve asking the child to approach a feared object or situation and measuring the physical distance from that object or situation, which is used as an estimate of behavioral avoidance (Field et al., 2008; Klein et al., 2011).”
From Child- and Parent-Report Measures of Behavioral Avoidance (CAMS/CAMP): Portuguese Validation in Clinical and Non-Clinical Samples. (2024) · cites this paper as Klein et al., 2011
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Shimshoni, Y., Silverman, W. K., Byrne, S., & Lebowitz, E. R. (2017) · Child Psychiatry & Human Development · doi:10.1007/s10578-017-0765-5 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
“The internal consistency, reliability, and construct validity of the SPQ-C have been well established [22, 27, 28].”
Gloe, L. M., Biggs, B. K., Geske, J. R., Reneson-Feeder, S. T., Dammann, J. E., Hofschulte, D. R., & Whiteside, S. P. H. (2025) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2025.07.002 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
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Wagler, R., & Wagler, A. E. (2022) · Insects · doi:10.3390/insects13030233 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Interpersonal and intrapersonal approach and avoidance motives after social rejection
Hess, Y. D., Valdman, T. L., & Knowles, M. L. (2018) · Comprehensive Results in Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/23743603.2019.1684819 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
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“These tests involve asking the child to approach a feared object or situation and measuring the physical distance from that object or situation, which is used as an estimate of behavioral avoidance (Field et al., 2008; Klein et al., 2011).”
Schneider, S., Hofmann, M. J., & Mokros, A. (2025) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-025-91652-2 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Kuckertz, J. M., Carmona, A. R., Chang, S. W., Piacentini, J. C., & Amir, N. (2015) · Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1891/0889-8391.29.3.212 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“Therefore, we could not relate automatic behavioral tendencies to overt behavior, as has been done in prior studies with behavioral approach tasks (Amir et al., 2013; Klein et al., 2011; Taylor & Amir, 2012).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialReducing Pediatric Anxiety through Training: an Integrative Neurocognitive Approach
Britton, J. C., Dellarco, D. V., & Evans, T. C. (2017) · Current Behavioral Neuroscience Reports · doi:10.1007/s40473-017-0118-5 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-Approach Tendencies: Relations With Explicit and Implicit Self-Evaluations
Swinkels, L. M. J., Gramser, H., Becker, E. S., & Rinck, M. (2019) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00309 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Self-citationXu, M., Rowe, K., & Purdon, C. L. (2021) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-020-10193-2 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“This is also reflected in research methods such as the approach-avoidance task (Klein et al. 2011; Rinck and Becker 2007), which assumes that participants either approach (by pulling the object towards oneself) or avoid (by pushing the object away from oneself).”
MethodBeliefs about Future Curriculum
Wagler, A. E., & Wagler, R. (2016) · Society and Animals · doi:10.1163/15685306-12341429 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Lippert, M. W., Sommer, K., Flasinski, T., Schomberg, J., Pflug, V., Christiansen, H., In‐Albon, T., Knappe, S., Romanos, M., Tuschen‐Caffier, B., et al. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0279658 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
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Learning to avoid spiders: fear predicts performance, not competence
Luo, X., Becker, E. S., & Rinck, M. (2018) · Cognition & Emotion · doi:10.1080/02699931.2017.1411784 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
“In these tests, spiderfearful participants regularly keep a larger distance from a real spider than non-fearful controls do, and this is true for both adults and children (e.g. GarciaPalacios, Hoffman, Carlin, Furness, & Botella, 2002; Klein, 2011).”
BackgroundSelf-citationImplicit Processes in Peer Relations: Effects of Popularity and Aggression
Lansu, T. A. M. (2009) · Radboud Repository (Radboud University) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Schneider, S., Kornberger, S., Aßmuth, A., & Mokros, A. (2025) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs15091214 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“…to normalize the RT data distribution and to exclude overly fast and overly slow responses in the VAAST from further analyses (below 200 ms/above 5000 ms; these cut-offs are based on Klein et al., 2011, and also accord with recent publications that include the VAAST, e.g., Schneider et al., 2025).”
Christian, C., Vanzhula, I. A., Ciotti, V., & Levinson, C. A. (2023) · Assessment · doi:10.1177/10731911231174469 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
“For example, laboratory-based, approach-avoidance tasks often test approach of positive stimuli (e.g., smiling faces, butterflies) contrasted with avoidance of aversive stimuli (e.g., angry faces, spiders; Heuer et al., 2007; Klein et al., 2011).”
BackgroundMöller, S., Nordin, G., Larsson, A., Cervin, M., & Björkstrand, J. (2025) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2025.104730 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Components of the Fear System and Real-World Evidence for Sex Differences in Fear
Campbell, A. C., Copping, L. T., & Cross, C. (2021) · SpringerBriefs in anthropology · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-65280-7_2 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Novel Five-Phase Model for Understanding the Nature of Misophonia and Providing TreatmentPreprint
Dozier, T. H., & Mitchell, N. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/6sqpr · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Dual-feature AAT: Combining relevant- and irrelevant-feature approach-avoidance tasksPreprint
Illgner, J., Kahveci, S., & Rinck, M. (2022) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/7ncmd · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationSelf-Control of Avoidance Motivation: Implications for Understanding Frontal Cortical Asymmetry
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A study of approach-avoidance patterns in children in response to emotional stimuli
Simoës‐Perlant, A., Mazars, M., & Lemercier, C. (2022) · Academia Letters · doi:10.20935/al5289
The Attentional Bias between Modern and Natural Threatening Stimuli in Time and Spatial Dimensions
Wu, X. (2022) · Advances in Psychology · doi:10.12677/ap.2022.126271
Smoking behavior intervention based on implicit approach: a cross-sectional pilot study
Hamdan, S. R., Moeliono, M. F., & Srisayekti, W. (2022) · F1000Research · doi:10.12688/f1000research.111317.1
Specific Phobia: Etiological, Cognitive, and Neuroscientific Aspects
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Dozier, T. H., & Mitchell, N. (2023) · F1000Research · doi:10.12688/f1000research.133506.2
Smoking behavior intervention based on implicit approach: a cross-sectional pilot study
Hamdan, S. R., Moeliono, M. F., & Srisayekti, W. (2024) · F1000Research · doi:10.12688/f1000research.111317.2
Xemaire, J., Wolz, I., Werle, D., Dudschig, C., & Svaldi, J. (2025) · International Journal of Eating Disorders · doi:10.1002/eat.24523
Measuring implicit bias in height-fearful participants with the Approach-Avoidance Task
Piovesan, K., Rinck, M., & Zlomuzica, A. (2025) · European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.1007/s00406-025-02096-8
“The AAT has been successfully used to detect [40, 77, 78] and modify [46] maladaptive approach biases, but also avoidance biases in the context of different psycho - pathologies [43] including fear-related disorders, such as social anxiety [26, 40, 60] or spider phobia [38, 58].”
InfluentialSelf-citationTHE EFFECTS OF ANXIETY ON VISUAL ATTENTION FOR EMOTIVE STIMULI IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
Kelly, L. (2014) · University of Derby Online Research Archive. (University of Derby)
Hollins, T., Salim, J., Sadokierski, S., & Watson, P. (2026) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2026.105125
Ewing, D. L. (2014) · Sussex Research Online (University of Sussex)
- Authors
- Klein, A. M., Becker, E. S., & Rinck, M.
- Affiliations
- Radboud University Nijmegen (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Klein, Anke M.
- Venue
- Journal of Child and Family Studies
- Published
- 2010-08-01
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 224-231
- ISSN
- 1062-1024 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2843
- PMC
- PMC3048304
- OpenAlex
- W2088704623
- Cited by
- 97
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 3.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by-nc
- Locations
- Journal of Child and Family Studies (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Radboud Universiteit
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Keywords
- spider phobia, children's fears, approach-avoidance behavior, approach-avoidance task, sex differences, anxiety
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