Affective processes are thought to contribute to more than 50% of all mental healthy problems. A variety of studies in the lab are aimed at gathering knowledge about the critical mechanisms as well as the most effective treatment of affective psychopathology. This work encompasses studies into both disorders of anxiety (ptsd, social phobia; names of those involved) as well as agression (psychopathy; Dr. Inge Volman & Dr. Verena Ly). Ongoing work focusses on longitudinal approaches, with large samples that are tested from young age (the Nijmegen Longitudinal Studies) and a sample of police officers that are followed from the moment of entering the police academy until they are exposed for the first time to potentially traumatic events in the line of duty (Police in Action). Finally, we have started a research line that aims to unravel the critical biological markers of anxious avoidance behaviour (Headed by Dr. Floris Klumpers). The idea behind this work is that avoidance is a critical etiological and maintaining factor in anxiety, but we have yet to unravel why some people avoid excessively to their own demise. To test this we have developed a new paradigm to assess costly fearful avoidance and we are combining this with fysiological recordings (EMG/HR) as well as fMRI scanning to see how fear and reward circuitry may interact to explain this detrimental behaviour.