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Spider-fearful people tend to avoid spiders, resulting in maintaining their phobia. However, some people can overcome their fear and approach spiders. This approach might be key in the reduction of fear and avoidance behaviour. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of approach-avoidance behaviour on (changes in) spider fear and avoidance. Participants (n = 122) with varying levels of spider fear played the online “collect the coins” game. In this game, participants had to collect 100 coins by clicking on different symbols. One symbol always resulted in one coin (safe option); another symbol mostly resulted in a large reward (3 coins), but sometimes in a spider (risky option). Participants rated the digital spider on evoked fear, disgust, and distress. Spider fear was measured with the fear of spiders questionnaire (FSQ). Avoidance was measured via symbol selection, self-reported avoidance, and a digital behavioural avoidance test, dBAT. Higher FSQ scores correlated with more self-reported spider-fear, -distress and -disgust, and larger dBAT-distances. Additionally, higher FSQ scores correlated with less risky- and more safe-selections. Importantly, more risky selections resulted in a stronger decrease in self-reported spider-fear and -disgust, whereas safe selections increased these emotions. Future studies are necessary to test if this link between approach-avoidance behaviour and emotional changes holds for spider phobics and real spiders.

Anxiety patients often experience conflicts between approaching (pass barking dog) and avoiding (take detour) feared situations. In most experimental avoidance paradigms, response options are limited or forced, making it difficult to generalize the results to daily life situations. The aim of the present study was twofold: 1) to develop a more ecologically valid avoidance paradigm; 2) to examine the influence of individual characteristics (trait anxiety; distress tolerance) on approach-avoidance behaviour. To encourage free exploration behaviour, a virtual reality (VR) escape room was developed. In this room, participants searched for cues to decipher a code-locked door. Opening a marked vase (conditioned stimulus, CS) was followed by a jump scare, a rat jumping out of the vase (unconditioned stimulus, US). Avoidance was measured via questionnaires and relative manipulation time of CS-marked (EXPgen) or nonmarked (CONT) objects in the room; questionnaires measured trait anxiety and distress tolerance. EXPgen participants reported higher US expectancies and more avoidance of the (marked) vase compared to the CONT participants, yet behavioural data did not support these ratings. Additionally, higher trait anxiety scores coincided with higher US expectancies before the jump scare. The current flexible free-exploratory paradigm provides multiple opportunities to examine avoidance behaviour in different populations and settings.