Motivated behavior may be energized or directed by a positive or negative event or
possibility. For example, a person may desire to attain success or seek to deepen a …

The Functional Architecture of Approach and Avoidance Motivation When a young man
marries a woman just because he cannot bear his loneliness any longer, we would not be …

Approach and avoidance are basic categories of classical theories of motivation (Atkinson &
Feather, 1966; McClelland, Atkinson, Clark, & Lowell, 1953). According to those theories, a …

Abstract Approach motivation is the energization of behavior by, or the direction of behavior
toward, positive stimuli (objects, events, possibilities), whereas avoidance motivation is the …

Of the many conceptual distinctions present in psychology today, the approach-avoidance
distinction stands out as one of, if not the, most fundamental and basic. The distinction …

Abstract Approach motivation (striving for desired end-states, eagerly focusing on where one
wants to be) is often held up as the best type of motivation: It feels good and is associated …

This article first reviews the main theoretical propositions of Gray's Reinforcer Sensitivity
Theory (RST), Higgins' Regulatory Focus Theory (RFT), and Elliot's Achievement Goal …

The relationship between positive and negative temperament and approach and avoidance
behavior is well established. Furthermore, research suggests that positive and negative …

The distinction between approach and avoidance motivation has a long history in scientific
psychology, as well as in intellectual thought more generally. The approach–avoidance …

The purpose of this chapter is to resurrect an old area of research in psychology, that of the
study of “approach-avoidance behavior” This research topic, more or less forgotten for some …