Games for Double Approach-Avoidance Conflict
TV game shows can be intuitive illustrations of double approach-avoidance conflict. Viewers get to feel contestants' conflicts as they vie for attractive prizes while at the same time avoiding devastating losses. Two TV game shows in particular, "Deal or No Deal" and "Fear Factor," precisely portray the emotional drama that is the double approach-avoidance conflict. Riding this emotional roller coaster with TV contestants gives viewers an increased awareness of resolve the double approach-avoidance conflicts that undoubtedly plague their own personal lives.
Definition
Double approach-avoidance conflict occurs when you must choose between two things you both want and fear. For example, a woman wants to work late, but also wants to meet her friend for dinner. If she works late, she will finish her project (want), but risk her safety walking home alone at night (fear). If she meets her friend for dinner, she will enjoy a good meal (want), but also suffer through stories of her friend's "perfect" relationship (fear).
"Deal or No Deal"
In NBC's "Deal or No Deal," a contestant chooses 1 of 26 unopened briefcases containing an unknown amount between 1 cent and $1 million and then proceeds to discover and eliminate the amounts in the remaining briefcases. After each round, the contestant is offered a deal for her unopened briefcase, which introduces the double approach-avoidance conflict. She could keep the unknown amount in her unopened briefcase (want), which could be as little as 1 cent (fear), or take the deal which could pay more (want) or less (fear) money.
"Fear Factor"
Would you eat a dead rat for $50,000?
"Fear Factor" airing on NBC brings contestants face to face with overwhelming fear. The double approach-avoidance conflict ensues when contestants are asked to complete a stunt that triggers one of their deepest fears. They can then suffer through the intense fear (fear) to finish the stunt and possibly win a cash prize (want) or they can avoid their fear (want) by giving up during the stunt and getting eliminated from the game (fear).
Mental Imagery and Emotional Responses
It is a well-documented fact that the brain cannot tell whether a current experience is real or imagined and so gives the same emotional response in either case. This is why athletes practice mental imagery to improve game performance. Watching double approach-avoidance conflicts on TV game shows allows viewers to experience feeling and resolving these conflicts on the mental plane before facing them in real time in their own personal lives.
Tags: Deal Deal, approach-avoidance conflict, double approach-avoidance, Fear Factor, game shows, approach-avoidance conflict
