Avoidance response

<p>An avoidance response is a response that prevents an aversive <a href="/facts/Stimulus_(psychology)/el6C43FY">stimulus</a> from occurring. It is a kind of <a href="/facts/Negative_reinforcement/bn271VLa">negative reinforcement</a>. An avoidance response is a behavior based on the concept that animals will avoid performing behaviors that result in an aversive outcome. This can involve learning through operant conditioning when it is used as a training technique. It is a reaction to undesirable sensations or feedback that leads to avoiding the behavior that is followed by this unpleasant or fear-inducing stimulus. 
</p><p>Whether the aversive stimulus is brought on intentionally by another or is naturally occurring, it is adaptive to learn to avoid situations that have previously yielded negative outcomes. A simple example of this is <a href="/facts/Conditioned_food_aversion/6kATB2QB">conditioned food aversion</a>, or the aversion developed to food that has previously resulted in sickness. Food aversions can also be conditioned using <a href="/facts/Classical_conditioning/ddtohoz3">classical conditioning</a>, so that an animal learns to avoid a stimulus previously neutral that has been associated with a negative outcome. This is displayed nearly universally in animals since it is a defense against potential poisoning. A wide variety of species, even slugs, have developed the ability to learn food aversions.
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Avoidance response