How is Active Avoidance defined?

Active Avoidance is defined as an overt response to a feared stimulus, where an individual takes action to avoid or escape from something threatening or anxiety-inducing. This type of behavior can be seen in various scenarios, such as an animal learning to perform a specific behavior to avoid a painful stimulus, like pressing a lever to escape an electric shock.

The key aspect of Active Avoidance is that it involves a direct and deliberate action in response to a perceived threat, rather than simply ignoring or being passive in the face of the fear. This not only helps in learning how to navigate or minimize harmful situations but also reinforces the behavior through negative reinforcement — the removal of an unpleasant stimulus leads to an increase in the behavior that produced the avoidance.

The other choices do not accurately capture this concept. For instance, a passive reaction to stress does not involve active engagement with the feared object or situation; rather, it might involve avoidance without a specific behavior to combat the fear. Similarly, avoiding environmental cues implies a more general form of avoidance that may not involve a specific response to a direct threat. Randomized responses do not align with the strategic and targeted nature of Active Avoidance, where the response is consistent and learned through experience in relation to particular stimuli.