ReportsHow farsighted are behavioral tendencies of approach and avoidance? The effect of stimulus valence on immediate vs. ultimate distance change
Section snippets
Experiment 1
In Experiment 1, we manipulated ultimate DC by means of “normal” and “magic flying carpets”. On each trial of the approach–avoidance task, a manikin appeared flanked by either normal or magic flying carpets (see Fig. 1). Normal flying carpets were carpets that continued to move in the same direction as the initial movement of the manikin. For instance, when the manikin stepped on the left carpet it moved to the left. Magic flying carpets were carpets that moved in the opposite direction. For
Experiment 2
The aim of Experiment 2 was to replicate and extend the results of Experiment 1. Particularly, Experiment 2 focused on the observation that stimulus valence facilitated immediate-compatible DC in parallel to ultimate-compatible DC. Because response latencies in Experiment 1 were relatively long, Experiment 1 cannot exclude that valence facilitates immediate-compatible responses at early stages of processing, whereas ultimate-compatible responses are facilitated only at later stages of
General discussion
In two experiments, stimulus valence facilitated responses that ultimately caused a compatible DC, regardless of the direction of immediate DC. Most importantly and going beyond previous research, the present experiments show that stimulus valence facilitates even immediate-incompatible DC if it ultimately leads to a compatible DC. Whereas stimulus valence also facilitated immediate-compatible responses to some degree in Experiment 1, no such evidence was found in Experiment 2. Following Lewin
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a postdoctoral travel grant from the European Association of Social Psychology to Regina Krieglmeyer, Grant KR 3742/1-1 from the German Science Foundation to Regina Krieglmeyer, and Grant BOF09/01M00209 of Ghent University to Jan De Houwer. We thank the Attitude and Social Cognition Lab at UCD for helpful discussions.
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Neural underpinnings of valence-action interactions triggered by cues and targets in a rewarded approach/avoidance task
2021, CortexCitation Excerpt :The behavioral data were first cleaned by excluding trials with responses before and within 150 msec from target onset. This cut-off was based on the data cleaning procedures used in related approach/avoidance studies (e.g., Hoofs et al., 2019; Hoofs, Carsten, et al., 2019; Krieglmeyer et al., 2010; Krieglmeyer, De Houwer, & Deutsch, 2011; Reichardt, 2018a, 2018b) and should prevent inclusion of trials with premature responses that are not actually triggered by target presentation (Samson, 2017). Next, trials in which no responses were registered (misses) were excluded from the dataset.
Support from a TMS/MEP study for a direct link between positive/negative stimuli and approach/avoidance tendencies
2020, NeuropsychologiaCitation Excerpt :The results of Experiment 1 were not replicated in Experiment 2, which was confirmed by analyzing the aggregated data. Taken together, the results of both experiments support the idea that stimulus valence can elicit the tendencies to approach or avoid (Krieglmeyer et al., 2011)—or any positive or negative action tendencies more generally (Eder and Rothermund, 2008)—, but that representations of clear visual action outcomes are necessary for this effect to occur. A few potential limitations deserve attention.
Using Motion Tracking to Measure Avoidance in Children and Adults: Psychometric Properties, Associations With Clinical Characteristics, and Treatment-Related Change
2018, Behavior TherapyCitation Excerpt :Even in approach-avoidance tests that have greater capacity for standardization, methods have varied a great deal. In most studies subjects pull or push a lever in response to valenced words, but in other studies subjects move an on-screen manikin representing themselves toward or away from a stimulus, and in other studies the subject may be asked to move valenced words toward or away from their own name (Cacioppo, Priester, & Berntson, 1993; Chen & Bargh, 1999; Krieglmeyer, De Houwer, & Deutsch, 2011; Markman & Brendl, 2005). Classical behavioral avoidance tests often generate a single datum by which the avoidance is indexed, for example the number of feet from a stimulus at which a subject halted their approach.
A new look at sensorimotor aspects in approach/avoidance tendencies: The role of visual whole-body movement information
2018, Journal of Experimental Social PsychologyCitation Excerpt :With arm movements, a flexion can represent approach (e.g., bringing a cake closer) but also avoidance (e.g., withdrawing one's hand from a snake), the same being true for extension. In contrast, this level of ambiguity is very low for movements of the whole-self because, almost by definition, moving forward and backward always means approach and avoidance, respectively (Kozlik, Neumann, & Lozo, 2015; Krieglmeyer & Deutsch, 2010; Stins et al., 2011; “almost” because there are exceptions, for instance, when an obstacle first needs to be bypassed; Krieglmeyer, De Houwer, & Deutsch, 2011). The second reason relates to an intrinsic asymmetry between movements of the self and arm movements.