Avoidance learning

Avoidance learning occurs when an action prevents or reduces an aversive outcome, making that action more likely in the future.

Negative reinforcement: A consequence that strengthens behavior by removing, preventing, or reducing an aversive stimulus. Avoidance actions become more likely because they prevent or reduce something aversive.
Classical conditioning: Learning that one stimulus predicts another, allowing the first to elicit responses associated with the second. A cue paired with an aversive event can acquire the ability to evoke fear.
Shuttle avoidance: An experimental avoidance task in which an animal crosses between compartments to prevent or escape shock. Crossing a barrier provides a measurable response that can prevent a scheduled shock.
Exposure therapy: A psychological treatment that repeatedly brings a person into contact with feared cues or situations without the expected harm. Exposure creates opportunities to learn that feared outcomes need not occur and safety actions are unnecessary.
Two-factor theory of avoidance: A theory that explains avoidance through both Pavlovian fear conditioning and instrumental reinforcement. It explains how fear cues motivate actions that are reinforced by fear reduction.
Operant conditioning: Learning in which behavior changes according to the consequences that follow it. Avoidance is an action shaped by the consequences of preventing an aversive event.
Sidman avoidance: An avoidance procedure in which responses postpone aversive events without an explicit warning cue. It tests how actions are maintained when no discrete warning signal announces danger.
Inhibitory learning: Learning that a feared cue does not always predict its expected aversive outcome, alongside the original association. Exposure can build new, competing expectations that weaken reliance on avoidance.
One-factor theory of avoidance: A theory that explains avoidance as directly reinforced by preventing an aversive event. It accounts for avoidance without requiring fear reduction as a separate reinforcing process.
Escape conditioning: Learning an action that terminates an aversive event already in progress. Escape ends an ongoing aversive event, whereas avoidance prevents one from beginning.

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