Glossary // Glossary term Theoretical

Relief versus resolution

The distinction, central to this project, between a change in how a state feels (relief) and a change in the conditions that produce it (resolution). Both are followed by feeling better, which makes them easy to confuse, and relief alone reinforces whatever preceded it. The artwork's status line problem_solved: false expresses this distinction in compressed form.

Where the site uses it

Relief is not resolution: reinforcement, avoidance and memory
Why a restorative experience can leave the underlying difficulty unchanged: negative reinforcement, experiential avoidance, acute mood effects of exercise, rumination and the peak-end rule.
After relief, ask which condition actually changed
Relief reinforces whatever produced it, and memory overweights peaks and endings. A short, honest review after a cathartic experience separates relief from resolution and prevents escape from becoming a habit.

Studies behind it

The works the definition rests on, with the level of evidence each was appraised at.

Hayes, S. C., Wilson, K. G., Gifford, E. V., Follette, V. M., & Strosahl, K. (1996). Experiential avoidance and behavioral disorders: A functional dimensional approach to diagnosis and treatment. doi:10.1037/0022-006X.64.6.1152

Level D Theory

Supports the claim that experiential avoidance was proposed as a process common to many psychological difficulties. A theoretical argument drawing on diverse research, not a direct test.
Fredrickson, B. L., & Kahneman, D. (1993). Duration neglect in retrospective evaluations of affective episodes. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.65.1.45

Level B Experiment

Supports the claim of duration neglect: retrospective evaluations were little affected by duration. Film clips in the laboratory, not real-life episodes.