Should I stay or should I go? The exploration-exploitation dilemma when in pain

Daily life operates as a chain of decisions. Typically, an individual may choose to pursue what s/he already knows (exploitation), or to search for a better option (exploration). This explore/exploit dilemma has been developed, especially when people strive for rewards. To date however, decision processes in aversive contexts — such as when experiencing pain — remain poorly understood, despite their detrimental impact on daily functioning. Indeed, maladaptive avoidance behavior — which may be conceived as (over)exploiting current safety information to reduce or avert threat or harm — is considered a major risk factor in the development and maintenance of chronic pain problems. In the proposed research, we first aim to model decision processes in the face of pain by mapping how individuals balance the exploration/exploitation trade-off. Second, we investigate how decision-making flexibly alters when the exploited option is no longer beneficial. Third, we examine how decision-making behaves when all options include both “negative” and “positive” outcomes. Lastly, we test the idea that individual characteristics affect decision-making, and subsequently affect daily functioning. This research will increase our understanding of decision-making, especially in aversive events such as pain. The results of this research are likely to lead to improvements of current treatments of dysfunctional avoidance behavior in individuals suffering chronic pain and beyond.