Active avoidance is the prototypical paradigm for studying aversively motivated instrumental behavior. However, avoidance research stalled amid heated theoretical debates and the hypothesis that active avoidance is essentially Pavlovian flight. Here I reconsider key ‘avoidance problems’ and review neurobehavioral data collected with modern tools. Although the picture remains incomplete, these studies strongly suggest that avoidance has an instrumental component and is mediated by brain circuits that resemble appetitive instrumental actions more than Pavlovian fear reactions. Rapid progress may be possible if investigators consider important factors like safety signals, response-competition, goal-directed versus habitual control and threat imminence in avoidance study design. Since avoidance responses likely contribute to active coping, this research has important implications for understanding human resilience and disorders of control.

主动回避是研究厌恶动机的工具行为的典型范式。然而，在激烈的理论争论和主动回避本质上是巴甫洛夫式逃跑的假设中，回避研究陷入了停滞。在这里，我重新考虑了关键的“回避问题”，并回顾了使用现代工具收集的神经行为数据。尽管情况还不完整，但这些研究强烈表明，回避具有工具性成分，并且是由类似于食性工具动作而不是巴甫洛夫式恐惧反应的大脑回路介导的。如果研究者在回避研究设计中考虑安全信号，应对竞争，目标导向与习惯控制以及威胁迫在眉睫等重要因素，则可能取得快速进展。由于回避反应可能有助于积极应对，