Associations Among Experiential Avoidance, Positive Affect, and Reward Responsivity

Experiential Avoidance has been conceptualized as an unwillingness to sustain engagement with unwanted negatively valenced internal states and has been strongly associated with a range of psychological symptoms. However, it remains unclear whether and how experiential avoidance may be associated with the experience of positive affect/anhedonia. Anhedonia has been associated with impairments in reward system functioning (e.g., anticipatory and consummatory reward responsivity). Initial research suggests that experiential avoidance may diminish hedonic responses to experienced rewards, perhaps leading to global decrements in positive affect. This study investigated associations between experiential avoidance, positive affect, anhedonia, and reward responsiveness using a baseline questionnaire packet and a one-week experience sampling paradigm. 157 undergraduate students completed baseline questionnaires assessing trait experiential avoidance, depression, anxiety, positive affect (PA), negative affect (NA), and anhedonic symptoms. Participants then completed experience sampling questionnaires assessing anticipatory (RRA) and consummatory (RRC) reward responsivity, NA, PA, and state experiential avoidance. Trait experiential avoidance predicted increased levels of NA, decreased levels of PA, and decreased RRA and RRC across the week. Increases in state experiential avoidance were associated with increases in NA as well as decreases in PA and RRC throughout the week. Findings demonstrate significant associations between experiential avoidance and both NA and PA, supporting experiential avoidance as a potential construct of clinical significance for disorders marked by low PA. Results also generally support a relationship between experiential avoidance and reward responsivity, specifically with RRC. Future research is needed to examine the mechanisms through which these associations occur.