Question

What type of stress situation is this? You are trying to decide if you should go to the dentist. You want to get ride of the pain but you dread going to the dentist.

a) Approach-approach
b) Approach-avoidance
c) Avoidance-avoidance

Answer 1

The stress situation where one wants to relieve dental pain but dreads visiting the dentist is an approach-avoidance conflict, as it involves a single goal with both positive and negative aspects.

Step-by-step explanation:

The situation described where you are trying to decide whether or not to go to the dentist involves stress because there is a desire to get rid of pain, which creates an approach motivation, but also a fear or dread of going to the dentist, which creates an avoidance motivation. This type of stress situation is known as an approach-avoidance conflict. It is characterized by a single goal or event that is both attractive and aversive. The individual wants to approach the goal due to the positive aspects (e.g., relief from pain), but also wants to avoid it because of the negative aspects (e.g., dread of dental procedures).

An approach-approach conflict, by contrast, would involve a choice between two desirable outcomes, while an avoidance-avoidance conflict would involve a choice between two undesirable outcomes. Therefore, since the decision about the dentist visit involves both a desire to approach (relief from pain) and a desire to avoid (aversion to visiting the dentist), it clearly fits the approach-avoidance conflict model.