A common-coding account of the bidirectional evaluation–behavior link.

Three experiments tested the influence of approach- and avoidance-related lever movements on the perception of masked affectively positive and negative stimuli. A motivational account of the bidirectional evaluation–behavior link predicted an enhanced detection of response-compatible stimuli, whereas a common-coding model predicted a reduced evaluative sensitivity toward such stimuli due to feature binding conflicts. The results consistently supported the common-coding explanation. In Experiment 1, detection (d′) of positive and negative stimuli was selectively impaired by the generation of congruent approach- and avoidance-related lever movements, respectively. This effect, referred to as action-valence blindness, was replicated in Experiment 2 and shown to depend on the evaluative meaning of the generated movement rather than on the movement per se. Experiment 3 revealed that action-valence blindness depends on a temporal overlap between movement generation and stimulus evaluation. A common-coding link between evaluation and motor behavior is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The prepared emotional reflex: Intentional preparation of automatic approach and avoidance tendencies as a means to regulate emotional responding.

Advance preparation of action courses toward emotional stimuli is an effective means to regulate impulsive emotional behavior. Our experiment shows that performing intentional acts of approach and avoidance in an evaluation task influences the unintended activation of approach and avoidance tendencies in another task in which stimulus valence is irrelevant. For the evaluation-relevant blocks, participants received either congruent (positive-approach, negative-avoidance) or incongruent (positive-avoidance, negative-approach) mapping instructions. In the evaluation-irrelevant blocks, approach- and avoidance-related lever movements were selected in response to a stimulus feature other than valence (affective Simon task). Response mapping in the evaluation task influenced performance in the evaluation-irrelevant task: An enhanced affective Simon effect was observed with congruent mapping instructions; in contrast, the effect was reversed when the evaluation task required incongruent responses. Thus, action instructions toward affective stimuli received in one task determined affective response tendencies in another task where these instructions were not in effect. These findings suggest that intentionally prepared short-term links between affective valence and motor responses elicit associated responses without a deliberate act of will, operating like a “prepared reflex.” (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of Motivational Cues on Perceptual Asymmetry: Implications for Creativity and Analytical Problem Solving.

In 4 experiments, participants were led to focus on either the prospect of positive outcomes (approach anticipation) or the prospect of negative outcomes (avoidance anticipation) and were subsequently administered behavioral measures of relative hemispheric activation. It was found that approach, relative to avoidance-related anticipatory states, produced greater relative right (diminished relative left) hemispheric activation. Experiment 3 additionally demonstrated that this pattern of activation was reversed when approach and avoidance states were not merely anticipatory but were also emotionally arousing. Finally, Experiment 4 replicated earlier findings demonstrating an influence of approach and avoidance anticipatory states on creativity and analytical problem solving (R. S. Friedman & J. F?rster, 2001, 2003) and provided evidence that such effects are mediated by differences in relative hemispheric activation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Procedural justice and the hedonic principle: How approach versus avoidance motivation influences the psychology of voice.

The authors investigate the relation between the hedonic principle (people's motivations to approach pleasure and to avoid pain) and procedural justice. They explore whether approach or avoidance motivation increases the effect that people feel they were treated more fairly following procedures that do versus do not allow them an opportunity to voice their opinion. Experiments 1 and 2 reveal that these procedures influence procedural justice judgments more strongly when people conduct approach motor action (arm flexion) than when they conduct avoidance motor action (arm extension). Experiment 3 indicates that individual-difference measures of participants' approach motivations predicted procedural justice judgments following voice versus no-voice procedures. The authors conclude that people's motivational orientations stimulate their fairness-based reactions to voice procedures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of politics: does measuring different foci matter?

Recent research on perceptions of politics in organizations and other organizational phenomena (e.g., commitment) has suggested the use of a multiple-foci approach to understand important politics-outcome relationships. This study confirms separate measures of perceptions of politics at the organizational and work-group levels and demonstrates differential effects in the prediction of various outcomes. After controlling for the effects of the relationship with one's supervisor (leader-member exchange), perceptions of politics existing at the organizational level predicted turnover intentions, whereas citizenship behavior was predicted by perceptions of politics at the group level. Both foci of politics significantly predicted organizational commitment.     

Assessment of relationship-specific incentive and threat sensitivities: Predicting satisfaction and affect in adult intimate relationships.

Self-report scales assessing relationship-specific incentive and threat sensitivity were created. Initial tests of factor structure and associations with relationship quality were conducted in a sample of persons in intimate relationships (Study 1). Associations with conceptually related measures were examined to determine convergent and discriminant validity in a sample of dating couples (Study 2). Cross-validation of the factor structure was established in engaged couples (Study 3) and in newlywed couples (Study 4). In Study 4, couples also engaged in a laboratory-based threat task (discussion about a significant marital problem) and incentive task (discussion about loving aspects of the partner/marriage). Relationship incentive sensitivity predicted higher positive affect after the incentive task for both husbands and wives. Relationship threat sensitivity predicted greater anxiety in response to the threat laboratory task for wives only. Implications of approach and avoidance motivations in close relationship processes and outcomes are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Giving up and giving in: The costs and benefits of daily sacrifice in intimate relationships.

This research provided the first empirical investigation of how approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice in intimate relationships are associated with personal well-being and relationship quality. In Study 1, the nature of everyday sacrifices made by dating partners was examined, and a measure of approach and avoidance motives for sacrifice was developed. In Study 2, which was a 2-week daily experience study of college students in dating relationships, specific predictions from the theoretical model were tested and both longitudinal and dyadic components were included. Whereas approach motives for sacrifice were positively associated with personal well-being and relationship quality, avoidance motives for sacrifice were negatively associated with personal well-being and relationship quality. Sacrificing for avoidance motives was particularly detrimental to the maintenance of relationships over time. Perceptions of a partner's motives for sacrifice were also associated with well-being and relationship quality. Implications for the conceptualization of relationship maintenance processes along these 2 dimensions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping with moral commitment to long-distance dating relationships.

The uncertainty of relationship transitions should elicit more elaborate cognitive processing about one's relationship. As a result, reports of a type of relationship commitment distinctive from satisfaction—moral commitment—might be obtained from those about to begin long distance relationships. Students assessed prior to the academic year reported 2 types of commitment: moral and enthusiastic. Moral commitment was highly correlated with the meaning of the relationship and investment in the relationship, whereas enthusiastic commitment was highly correlated with satisfaction. Moral (but not enthusiastic) commitment predicted the subsequent survival of the relationship. Moral commitment also predicted appraisals of increased investment in and meaning of the relationship by the end of the term. Finally, moral commitment predicted negative affect and illness symptoms for those whose relationships ended. For people remaining in relationships, a new construct of moral burden emerged at Time 2. Burden was related to relationship dissatisfaction and stress and predicted the initiation of a subsequent breakup. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dyadic perfectionism as a predictor of relationship continuity and distress among college students.

This study examined the nature and impact of dyadic perfectionism over a 3-month interval within a sample of 116 college students who were currently involved in an intimate heterosexual relationship. Dyadic perfectionism scores were stable and correlated as expected with scores on concurrent measures of adult attachment orientations and relationship satisfaction. Logistic regression analyses revealed that, controlling for initial commitment status and adult attachment orientations, Time 1 dyadic perfectionism scores significantly and uniquely predicted relationship continuity 3 months later. Lastly, controlling for social desirability, relationship commitment status, and Time 1 adult attachment orientation scores, Time 1 dyadic perfectionism scores also uniquely predicted Time 2 relationship distress. Findings provide additional evidence that dyadic perfectionism is a risk factor for relationship dysfunction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Grief Processing and Deliberate Grief Avoidance: A Prospective Comparison of Bereaved Spouses and Parents in the United States and the People's Republic of China.

In this study, the authors measured grief processing and deliberate grief avoidance and examined their relationship to adjustment at 4 and 18 months of bereavement for 2 types of losses (spouse, child) in 2 cultures (People's Republic of China, United States). Three hypotheses were compared: the traditional grief work assumption, a conditional grief work hypothesis, and a view of grief processing as a form of rumination absent among resilient individuals. Although cultural differences in grief processing and avoidance were observed, the factor structure of these measures proved invariant across cultures. Consistent with the grief work as rumination hypothesis, both grief processing and deliberate grief avoidance predicted poor long-term adjustment for U.S. participants. Furthermore, initial grief processing predicted later grief processing in both cultures. However, among the participants in the People's Republic of China, neither grief processing nor deliberate avoidance evidenced clear psychological consequences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing the "side-bet theory" of organizational commitment: Some methodological considerations.

Two studies were conducted to demonstrate that both the instruments used to measure commitment—those scales developed by G. Ritzes and H. M. Trice (1969) and by L. G. Hrebiniak and J. A. Alutto (see record 1973-12150-001)—and the side-bet indexes (age and tenure) used in previous tests of the side-bet theory of H. S. Becker are inappropriate for that purpose. In Study 1, 64 undergraduate scenarios in which an employee was described as being high or low in continuance commitment and high or low in affective commitment and responded to several commitment instruments as they felt the employee would respond. As expected, the continuance commitment manipulation accounted for a relatively small portion of the variance in scores on the 2 commitment scales, whereas the affective commitment manipulation accounted for a substantially larger portion. The continuance manipulation did, however, account for a large portion of the variance in scores on an author-developed continuance commitment scale (CCS). In Study 2, 130 university employees completed the same commitment instruments. As predicted, the 2 commitment scales correlated significantly with measures of affective commitment but not with the CCS. Also as predicted, age and tenure correlated with the commitment scales and with the affective commitment measures but not with the CCS. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Strategic hope-focused relationship-enrichment counseling with individual couples.

Strategic hope-focused relationship enrichment is a brief, eclectic, research-based program to enhance couples' relationships. Couples (N?=?51; 16 married, 24 cohabiting, 11 engaged) completed 5 sessions of enrichment counseling (n?=?26) or 3 written assessments (n?=?25) from 1 of 12 counselors. Couples receiving enrichment counseling had higher relationship satisfaction and quality-of-couple skills at posttest and at the 3-week follow-up than did written-assessment-only (control) couples. Conditions did not differ in terms of quality of overall attraction or 2 measures of commitment. We concluded that relationship enrichment using this program was effective, powerful, and cost-effective. Future research should focus on testing the effectiveness of the program presented in a group format. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pregnancy decision making as a significant life event: A commitment approach.

A value-laden basis for commitment to goals and the behavioral and affective sequelae of commitment were examined in the context of a stressful life event. Fifty-seven women who were interviewed during a clinic visit for a pregnancy test (Time 1 [T1] ) subsequently received positive test results and were then interviewed 2 days later (Time 2 [T2]) and a month later (Time 3 [T3]). The intentionality and the meaning of the pregnancy were associated with self-reported commitment to the pregnancy at T1. In turn, commitment predicted affective states both prior to (T1) and shortly after (T2) receiving test results. Initial commitment also predicted decisions to continue versus to terminate the pregnancy. The decision to continue the pregnancy appeared to bolster self-reported commitment. Relatedly, those continuing the pregnancy reported smoking fewer cigarettes at T3 than at T1. For those aborting the pregnancy, commitment at T1 was negatively related to adjustment at T3. Initial commitment predicted subsequent depression, guilt, and hostility among those who aborted, whereas commitment predicted anxiety among those who continued the pregnancy. Other correlates of commitment (pregnancy concerns, religion, abortion history, and other lifegoals) were explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What Makes Experiences Satisfying? The Interaction of Approach-Avoidance Motivations and Emotions in Well-Being.

Two studies examined how dispositional approach-related and avoidance-related motivations moderate the degree to which people base satisfaction judgments on past experiences of positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA). Using both laboratory-based (Study 1) and experience sampling (Study 2) methodologies, the authors found that high approach participants, as compared with low approach participants, made satisfaction ratings that were more strongly tied to PA. In contrast, avoidance-related motivations did not moderate the degree to which satisfaction ratings were based on either PA or NA. Results indicate that approach motivations may influence well-being not only through emotion over time but also through the degree to which people weight particular emotional experiences in broader judgments of satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religious commitment, adult attachment, and marital adjustment in newly married couples.

Existing literature on the role of religiosity in marital functioning is often difficult to interpret due to the frequent use of convenience samples, statistical approaches inadequate for interdependent dyadic data, and the lack of a theoretical framework. The current study examined the effects of religious commitment and insecure attachment on marital adjustment. Newly married couples who did not have children (N = 92 couples, 184 individuals) completed measures of religious commitment, adult attachment, and marital functioning. There was a small positive association between religious commitment and marital adjustment. Religious commitment buffered the negative association between attachment avoidance and marital adjustment, but exacerbated the negative association between attachment anxiety and marital adjustment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Assessment of Substance Cue Reactivity: Advances in Reliability, Specificity, and Validity.

An arousal-control and cross-over design was used to evaluate the reliability, specificity, and validity of the Normative Appetitive Picture System (NAPS), a cue exposure protocol with sets of visual alcohol, cigarette, and control cues. The authors also examined the utility of conceptualizing cue reactivity as a multidimensional phenomenon involving independent approach and avoidance dimensions. University student participants (n=369) rated multiple cue images in terms of arousing properties and capacity to elicit separate approach and avoidance inclinations. They also completed a battery of substance-related individual-difference measures. Results indicated that NAPS protocol reactivity profiles had good reliability and high specificity across cue types and individuals with different substance use histories. Avoidance reactivity independently predicted self-reports of substance-related behaviors, after controlling for approach reactivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Coping and Anxiety in Women Recalled for Additional Diagnostic Procedures Following an Abnormal Screening Mammogram.

This study characterized women's concurrent and subsequent levels of emotional distress associated with a questionable mammogram screening and relationships between women's coping and psychosocial adjustment. State anxiety was assessed in 98 women 1 day after receiving a mammogram screening (Time 1), after notification of a questionable screening result that necessitated additional testing (Time 2), and after being informed of their breast-cancer-free status (Time 3). Key findings include (a) women reported a significant increase in anxiety following notification of the need to return for follow-up testing; (b) significant and positive associations were found between anxiety and behavioral approach, behavioral avoidance, cognitive approach, and cognitive avoidance coping in cross-sectional analyses; and (c) cognitive avoidance coping was a strong predictor of final levels of state anxiety in women. Findings suggest that cognitive avoidance coping plays an important role in reducing anxiety in women recalled to clarify an initially ambiguous screening procedure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Approach-avoidance motivation in personality: Approach and avoidance temperaments and goals.

The present research examined the role of approach and avoidance motivation in models of personality. Specifically, it examined the hypothesis that approach and avoidance temperaments represent the foundation of several basic dimensions espoused in the trait adjective, affective disposition, and motivational system approaches to personality. Factor analytic support for the hypothesis was obtained in Studies 1, 2, and 6; measures of extraversion, positive emotionality, and behavioral activation system loaded together on 1 factor (Approach Temperament) and measures of neuroticism, negative emotionality, and behavioral inhibition system loaded on another factor (Avoidance Temperament). This 2-factor structure was shown to be independent of response biases. In Studies 3-7, approach and avoidance temperaments were shown to be systematically linked to achievement goals (both nomothetic and idiographic). The findings are discussed in terms of an integrative approach to personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Handedness and approach-avoidance behavior in chipanzees (Pan).

The relationship between hand preference and approach–avoidance behavior was examined in 49 chimpanzees (Pan). Ss were presented with 2 sets of novel objects on 4 consecutive days. The objects were presented for 2 hrs during each session, and latency to touch any object was recorded for each S. Latency scores were then compared for chimpanzees that had been determined to be non-right- or right-handed. Right-handed Ss approached and touched the objects significantly faster than non-right-handed Ss did. In addition, males touched the objects significantly faster than did females. Correlations in approach–avoidance behavior were significant across stimulus sets and days of testing. The overall results support recent theoretical models linking hemispheric specialization with the expression of positive and negative affective behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relative steepness of approach and avoidance gradients as a function of magnitude and valence of incentive.

20 undergraduates tapped rapidly to either win (approach) or avoid losing (avoidance) sums of money. The experimental design permitted height and steepness of arousal gradients to be examined as a function (a) of magnitude of incentive, with valence and quality of incentive held constant; and (b) of valence of incentive, with magnitude and quality of incentive held constant. An increase in incentive increased both the slope and height of approach and avoidance arousal gradients. Results support the conceptualization of motive strength as a multiplicative function of drive-related cues and an internal state rather than as an additive function, as proposed by N. E. Miller (1944, 1959). Avoidance gradients were significantly steeper than approach gradients, but the effect was not very robust and was far from uniform across Ss, some of whom produced much steeper approach than avoidance gradients. It is concluded that although there may be an intrinsic tendency for avoidance gradients to be steeper than approach gradients, this tendency is not strong and is easily reversed, giving rise to "avoidance–approach" conflict. Such conflict has interesting theoretical and practical implications that have not been recognized because of uncritical acceptance of the assumption that avoidance gradients are invariably steeper than approach gradients. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)