TY - JOUR

T1 - Miller (1944) revisited

T2 - Movement times in relation to approach and avoidance conflicts

AU - Boyd, Ryan L.

AU - Robinson, Michael D.

AU - Fetterman, Adam K.

PY - 2011/11/1

Y1 - 2011/11/1

N2 - Three experiments (total N= 291) sought to provide support for the idea that avoidance conflicts, relative to approach conflicts, are more difficult to motorically resolve. Conflicts were instantiated by asking individuals to approach desirable stimuli and avoid undesirable stimuli under conditions in which there was no objectively-correct direction of movement. To control for baseline movement speeds, non-conflict trials presented desirable (e.g., reward) and undesirable (e.g., threat) stimuli in the absence of any spatial conflict. In addition, movement times were isolated through the use of a joystick movement paradigm in which movement speeds were quantified subsequent to some initial tendency to move in one direction or the other. Consistent with hypotheses, all experiments found that movement times were slowed in the context of avoidance conflicts relative to approach conflicts. Results are discussed in terms of theories of motivation, affective processing, conflict, and anxiety.

AB - Three experiments (total N= 291) sought to provide support for the idea that avoidance conflicts, relative to approach conflicts, are more difficult to motorically resolve. Conflicts were instantiated by asking individuals to approach desirable stimuli and avoid undesirable stimuli under conditions in which there was no objectively-correct direction of movement. To control for baseline movement speeds, non-conflict trials presented desirable (e.g., reward) and undesirable (e.g., threat) stimuli in the absence of any spatial conflict. In addition, movement times were isolated through the use of a joystick movement paradigm in which movement speeds were quantified subsequent to some initial tendency to move in one direction or the other. Consistent with hypotheses, all experiments found that movement times were slowed in the context of avoidance conflicts relative to approach conflicts. Results are discussed in terms of theories of motivation, affective processing, conflict, and anxiety.

KW - Approach

KW - Avoidance

KW - Conflict

KW - Implicit

KW - Motivation

KW - Movement

U2 - 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.04.017

DO - 10.1016/j.jesp.2011.04.017

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:80051896545

VL - 47

SP - 1192

EP - 1197

JO - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

JF - Journal of Experimental Social Psychology

SN - 0022-1031

IS - 6

ER -