PSY 3109 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Andrew Elliot, Behavior
15 May 2018
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The Hierarchical Model of Approach-Avoidance Motivation
History of Approach & Avoidance Concept:
• Quote on pain and pleasure is the gateway to a complex and nuanced literature on
the nature of human action
• May be considered one of the oldest ideas in the history of psychological thinking
about organisms
• 1st appeared in the writings of Greek philosopher Democritus
• Within the field of psychology, the approach-avoidance distinction was used from
the very beginning. William James (1890), in his classic Principles of Psychology, for
example, considered pleasure and pain to be springs of action, noting that pleasure
is a tremendous reinforcer of behaviour and pain a tremendous inhibitor of
behaviour
• Indeed, many other prominent contributors to psychological theory from the time of
James and Freud through the 1960s also made central use of the approach-
avoidance distinction
• The approach-avoidance distinction as it is used today is different from prior use in
two important ways:
1. Until recently, the approach-avoidance distinction had been widely used and
applied without taking a step back to explicitly define and articulate the
nature of approach and avoidance motivation per se.
2. Until recently, the approach-avoidance distinction has been applied to
isolated situations and constructs without broader consideration of how this
distinction might be applied as a general organizer of motivation and action.
• The approach- avoidance distinction is now being considered as fundamental and
basic in many motivational analyses
• Over the past 15 years or so, Andrew Elliot and his colleagues have been
reinvigorating the approach-avoidance concept in mainstream social psychological
research.
Defining the Constructs:
• Approach motivation: the energization of behaviour by, or the direction of
behaviour toward, positive stimuli (objects, events, possibilities)
• Avoidance motivation: the energization of behaviour by, or the direction of
behaviour away from, negative stimuli (objects, events, possibilities)
• Approach and avoidance encompasses both the energization and direction of
behaviour.
• Energization refers to the initial instigation or spring to action
• There is a notion that the organism is always active, with instigation functionally
representing a shift from one form of orienting to another
• Direction refers to the guiding or channeling of behaviour in a precise way.
• Inherent in the approach-avoidance distinction is the concept of physical or
psychological movement. Positively evaluated stimuli are inherently associated with
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Document Summary
William james (1890), in his classic principles of psychology, for example, considered pleasure and pain to be (cid:494)springs of action(cid:495), noting that pleasure is a (cid:494)tremendous reinforcer(cid:495) of behaviour and pain a (cid:494)tremendous inhibitor(cid:495) of behaviour. Indeed, many other prominent contributors to psychological theory from the time of. Defining the constructs: approach motivation: the energization of behaviour by, or the direction of behaviour toward, positive stimuli (objects, events, possibilities) Inherent in the approach-avoidance distinction is the concept of physical or psychological movement. We automatically evaluate most, if not all, encountered stimuli on a positive/negative dimension, and these evaluations instantly evoke approach and avoidance behavioral predispositions: goals are posited to serve a directional function in motivation. That is, goals focus on a specific, cognitively represented end point, and serve to guide the individual(cid:495)s behaviour toward or away from that end point.
