Approach-avoidance conflict
Encyclopedia
Approach-avoidance conflicts are choices regarding something positive
, such as going out to a party, that has a negative
valence
(avoidance), such as getting grounded for being at the party. These decisions
and the emotional state of ambivalence
cause stress
.
Approach-avoidance occurs when an individual
moves closer to a seemingly desirable object, only to have the potentially negative consequences of contacting that object push back against the closing behavior. The negative consequences often are only imagined, so it is frequently fear that creates the problem.
Kurt Lewin
(September 9, 1890 - February 12, 1947), a Jewish psychologist who is recognized as the founder of social psychology, created theories about the conflicts humans experience as: approach-avoidance, approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, and double approach-avoidance.
Approach-avoidance conflicts occur when one goal contains both positive and negative characteristics. That is, an individual fears something that he desires. When the goal is far away, both positive and negative feelings about the goal are less strong; however, as he approaches the goal, a person's feelings about the negative characteristics arise, and he backs down, avoiding getting too close to achieving the goal. Then, as the goal is further away, he approaches again, only to have the same feelings of avoidance arise again, and he backs off, which decreases the internal conflict. Balance is achieved in ambivalence.
Positive
Positive is a property of positivity and may refer to:- Mathematics and science :* Converging lens or positive lens, in optics* Plus sign, the sign "+" used to indicate a positive number* Positive , a polarity of electrical charge...
, such as going out to a party, that has a negative
Negative
- Science and mathematics :* Negative number* Negative mass* Negative energy * Electrical polarity* Negative result * Negative lenses, uses to describe diverging optics, see lens - Photography :...
valence
Valence (psychology)
Valence, as used in psychology, especially in discussing emotions, means the intrinsic attractiveness or aversiveness of an event, object, or situation. However, the term is also used to characterize and categorize specific emotions. For example, the emotions popularly referred to as "negative",...
(avoidance), such as getting grounded for being at the party. These decisions
Decision making
Decision making can be regarded as the mental processes resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice. The output can be an action or an opinion of choice.- Overview :Human performance in decision terms...
and the emotional state of ambivalence
Ambivalence
Ambivalence is a state of having simultaneous, conflicting feelings toward a person or thing. Stated another way, ambivalence is the experience of having thoughts and/or emotions of both positive and negative valence toward someone or something. A common example of ambivalence is the feeling of...
cause stress
Stress (medicine)
Stress is a term in psychology and biology, borrowed from physics and engineering and first used in the biological context in the 1930s, which has in more recent decades become commonly used in popular parlance...
.
Approach-avoidance occurs when an individual
Individual
An individual is a person or any specific object or thing in a collection. Individuality is the state or quality of being an individual; a person separate from other persons and possessing his or her own needs, goals, and desires. Being self expressive...
moves closer to a seemingly desirable object, only to have the potentially negative consequences of contacting that object push back against the closing behavior. The negative consequences often are only imagined, so it is frequently fear that creates the problem.
Kurt Lewin
Kurt Lewin
Kurt Zadek Lewin was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology....
(September 9, 1890 - February 12, 1947), a Jewish psychologist who is recognized as the founder of social psychology, created theories about the conflicts humans experience as: approach-avoidance, approach-approach, avoidance-avoidance, and double approach-avoidance.
Approach-avoidance conflicts occur when one goal contains both positive and negative characteristics. That is, an individual fears something that he desires. When the goal is far away, both positive and negative feelings about the goal are less strong; however, as he approaches the goal, a person's feelings about the negative characteristics arise, and he backs down, avoiding getting too close to achieving the goal. Then, as the goal is further away, he approaches again, only to have the same feelings of avoidance arise again, and he backs off, which decreases the internal conflict. Balance is achieved in ambivalence.