Individuals often form more reasonable judgments from complex information after a period of distraction vs. deliberation. This phenomenon has been attributed to sophisticated unconscious thought during the distraction period that integrates and organizes the information (Unconscious Thought Theory; Dijksterhuis and Nordgren, 2006). Yet, other research suggests that experiential processes are st...

This study explored the relations among internalized homophobia (IH), experiential avoidance, and psychological symptom severity in a community sample of 74 gay male sexual assault survivors. Results indicated that IH is associated with both depressive and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom severity. IH accounted for more variance than assault severity in predicting both PTSD and depr...

Interpersonal relationships are essential to well-being, and gifts are often given to cultivate these relationships. To inform gift givers of what to give and to gain insight into the connecting function of gifts, this research investigates what type of gift is better at strengthening relationships according to gift recipients—material gifts (objects for recipients to keep) or experiential gift...

This paper presents elements of the experiential learning in engineering education through a real-life project case. The project included a team of university students from Hong Kong traveling to Sichuan, China and implementing various engineering systems from solar energy to e-learning systems for a reconstructed school in Sichuan, which was destroyed by the 5.12 Sichuan earthquake in 2008. So...

In this study 436 adults, who reported being diagnosed with trichotillomania (TTM), completed an anonymous survey examining the relationship between experiential avoidance (i.e., escape from or avoidance of unwanted thoughts or emotions) and TTM severity. Results showed a significant positive correlation between measures of experiential avoidance and TTM severity, indicating that more experient...

This research explores the concept of vicarious observational learning as a component of an experiential learning sequence. We compare measures of task performance when participants observe a task before engaging in direct experience versus immediate direct experience without observation. Two experimental studies were conducted using different types of tasks and different levels of performance ...

Experiential learning methods have become increasingly popular in marketing education. Factors underlying this trend are: the desire to respond to the changing higher education environment (the student-customer); to endow students with employability skills; the common sense assumption that since marketing is a practical activity learning from experience makes sense; and, pedagogic methods desig...

The present study investigates experiential avoidance and forgiveness, two general response styles to emotional distress that may impact reactions to trauma exposure, as potential mediators of the link between interpersonal trauma exposure and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms in a cross–sectional survey of 229 undergraduate students reporting interpersonal trauma exposure. Utilizin...

This article examines the significance of psychology to experiential education (EE) and critiques EE models that have developed in isolation from larger psychological theories and developments. Following a review of literature and current issues, select areas of psychology are explored with reference to experiential learning processes. The state of knowledge and emerging paradigms in positive p...