any behavioral act that enables an individual to avoid anticipated unpleasant or painful situations, stimuli, or events, including conditioned aversive stimuli. See also avoidance conditioning. Compare with escape behavior.
AVOIDANCE BEHAVIOR: "A person exhibiting avoidance behavior decided to skip the presentation because he or she predicted that he or she would feel stupid presenting in front of the class."
Cite this page: N., Sam M.S., "AVOIDANCE BEHAVIOR," in PsychologyDictionary.org, April 7, 2013, https://psychologydictionary.org/avoidance-behavior/ (accessed March 21, 2023).
