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Avoidance
The act of circumventing the expression of one's beliefs or feelings in an interaction with one or more parties. Avoidance can be nonverbal (e.g., withdrawal from social situations) or verbal (the artful manipulation or evading of information) and is generally viewed as a lack of contact. Anxiety, apprehension, and uncertainty are emotional processes considered to be associated with avoidance behavior. Avoidance can negatively influence one's ability to develop and maintain professional and personal relationships. Similarly, avoidance can function in a cyclical way, as seen in studies that draw on psychological notions of early attachment (especially parental attachment), wherein it affects the ability to form attachments later in life. Avoidance is considered to be a manifestation of conflict—intrapersonal, interpersonal, intragroup, and intergroup. Management of avoidance can ...