Being moved: valence activates approach-avoidance behavior independently of evaluation and approach-avoidance intentions

Trichotomy revisited: A monolithic theory of attentional control

The control of attention was long held to reflect the influence of two competing mechanisms of assigning priority, one goal-directed and the other stimulus-driven. Learning-dependent influences on the control of attention that could not be attributed to either of those two established mechanisms of control gave rise to the concept of selection history and a corresponding third mechanism of attentional control. The trichotomy framework that ensued has come to dominate theories of attentional control over the past decade, replacing the historical dichotomy. In this theoretical review, I readily affirm that distinctions between the influence of goals, salience, and selection history are substantive and meaningful, and that abandoning the dichotomy between goal-directed and stimulus-driven mechanisms of control was appropriate. I do, however, question whether a theoretical trichotomy is the right answer to the problem posed by selection history. If we reframe the influence of goals and selection history as different flavors of memory-dependent modulations of attentional priority and if we characterize the influence of salience as a consequence of insufficient competition from such memory-dependent sources of priority, it is possible to account for a wide range of attention-related phenomena with only one mechanism of control. The monolithic framework for the control of attention that I propose offers several concrete advantages over a trichotomy framework, which I explore here.

In the face of ambiguity: intrinsic brain organization in development predicts one's bias toward positivity or negativity

Exacerbated negativity bias, including in responses to ambiguity, represents a common phenotype of internalizing disorders. Individuals differ in their propensity toward positive or negative appraisals of ambiguity. This variability constitutes one's valence bias, a stable construct linked to mental health. Evidence suggests an initial negativity in response to ambiguity that updates via regulatory processes to support a more positive bias. Previous work implicates the amygdala and prefrontal cortex, and regions of the cingulo-opercular system, in this regulatory process. Nonetheless, the neurodevelopmental origins of valence bias remain unclear. The current study tests whether intrinsic brain organization predicts valence bias among 119 children and adolescents (6 to 17 years). Using whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity, a machine-learning model predicted valence bias (r = 0.20, P = 0.03), as did a model restricted to amygdala and cingulo-opercular system features (r = 0.19, P = 0.04). Disrupting connectivity revealed additional intra-system (e.g. fronto-parietal) and inter-system (e.g. amygdala to cingulo-opercular) connectivity important for prediction. The results highlight top-down control systems and bottom-up perceptual processes that influence valence bias in development. Thus, intrinsic brain organization informs the neurodevelopmental origins of valence bias, and directs future work aimed at explicating related internalizing symptomology.

Repeated response execution and inhibition alter subjective preferences but do not affect automatic approach and avoidance tendencies toward an object

Background

Repeated action or inaction toward objects changes preferences for those objects. However, it remains unclear whether such training activates approach-avoidance motivation toward the objects, which leads to actual behavior. We conducted a pre-registered online experiment to examine whether approach and avoidance tendencies were affected by the experience of having executed or withheld a button-press response to a stimulus.

Methods

Participants (N = 236) performed a Go/NoGo task in which they were asked to repeatedly execute a response to a picture of a mug (i.e., Go-primed stimulus) and suppress a response to another picture of a mug (i.e., NoGo-primed stimulus). They then received one of two manikin tasks, which were implicit association tests designed to assess approach-avoidance tendencies. One manikin task measured the reaction times of moving a manikin toward or away from the Go-primed stimulus and the other picture of a mug (i.e., unprimed stimulus). The other manikin task measured the reaction times of moving a manikin toward or away from the NoGo-primed stimulus and the unprimed stimulus. The participants then rated their preference for the Go-primed, NoGo-primed, and unprimed items.

Results

The Go-primed item was evaluated as more highly preferable than the unprimed item in the Go condition, while the NoGo-primed item was evaluated as less preferable than the unprimed item in the NoGo condition. In contrast, the mean approach/avoidance reaction times in the manikin task showed no difference between the Go-primed and unprimed stimuli or between the NoGo-primed and unprimed stimuli.

Conclusion

When participants repeatedly responded or inhibited their responses to an object, their explicit preference for the object increased or decreased, respectively. However, the effect did not occur in approach-avoidance behaviors toward the object.

Face coverings differentially alter valence judgments of emotional expressions

Face masks that prevent disease transmission obscure facial expressions, impairing nonverbal communication. We assessed the impact of lower (masks) and upper (sunglasses) face coverings on emotional valence judgments of clearly valenced (fearful, happy) and ambiguously valenced (surprised) expressions, the latter of which have both positive and negative meaning. Masks, but not sunglasses, impaired judgments of clearly valenced expressions compared to faces without coverings. Drift diffusion models revealed that lower, but not upper, face coverings slowed evidence accumulation and affected differences in non-judgment processes (i.e., stimulus encoding, response execution time) for all expressions. Our results confirm mask-interference effects in nonverbal communication. The findings have implications for nonverbal and intergroup communication, and we propose guidance for implementing strategies to overcome mask-related interference.

On the Relationship between Value- and Threat-Driven Attentional Capture and Approach-Avoidance Biases

Reward learning and aversive conditioning have consequences for attentional selection, such that stimuli that come to signal reward and threat bias attention regardless of their valence. Appetitive and aversive stimuli have distinctive influences on response selection, such that they activate an approach and an avoidance response, respectively. However, whether the involuntary influence of reward- and threat-history-laden stimuli extends to the manner in which a response is directed remains unclear. Using a feedback-joystick task and a manikin task, which are common paradigms for examining valence-action bias, we demonstrate that reward- and threat-signalling stimuli do not modulate response selection. Stimuli that came to signal reward and threat via training biased attention and invigorated action in general, but they did not facilitate an approach and avoidance response, respectively. We conclude that attention can be biased towards a stimulus as a function of its prior association with reward or aversive outcomes without necessarily influencing approach vs. avoidance tendencies, such that the mechanisms underlying the involuntary control of attention and behaviour evoked by valent stimuli can be decoupled.

Towards the self and away from the others: evidence for self-prioritization observed in an approach avoidance task

Processing advantages arising from self-association have been documented across various stimuli and paradigms. However, the implications of "self-association" for affective and social behavior have been scarcely investigated. The approach-avoidance task (AAT) offers an opportunity to investigate whether the privileged status of the "self" may also translate into differential evaluative attitudes toward the "self" in comparison to "others". In the current work, we first established shape-label associations using the associative-learning paradigm, and then asked the participants to engage in an approach-avoidance task to test whether attitudinal differences induced on the account of self-association lead to participants having different approach-avoidance tendencies toward the "self-related" stimuli relative to the "other-related" stimuli. We found that our participants responded with faster approach and slower avoidance tendencies for shapes associated with the "self" and slower approach and faster avoidance tendencies for the shapes associated with the "stranger." These results imply that "self-association" may lead to positive action tendencies toward "self-associated" stimuli, and at the same time lead to neutral or negative attitudes toward stimuli not related to the "self". Further, as the participants responded to self-associated vs. other-associated stimuli cohorts, these results may also have implications for the modulation of social group-behaviors in favor of those like the self and against those in contrast to the self-group.

The Effect of Menstrual Cycle Phases on Approach-Avoidance Behaviors in Women: Evidence from Conscious and Unconscious Processes

The menstrual cycle affects women’s emotional states, with estrogen and progesterone having predominant roles. However, it remains unclear whether the phases of the menstrual cycle also affect women’s motivational behaviors. In this study, the main aim was to investigate how the menstrual cycle influences approach–avoidance behavior under conditions of conscious versus unconscious processing of emotions. Briefly, after recruitment by advertisement and screening with a menstrual cycle survey questionnaire, 27 naturally cycling, healthy women participated in an improved “manikin task” and were presented both positive and negative emotional stimuli during early follicular, late follicular, and mid-luteal phases. Estrogen and progesterone levels were measured. Women in the late follicular phase exhibited the shortest response times for approaching positive stimuli, while women in the mid-luteal phase exhibited the shortest response times for avoiding negative stimuli. Estrogen and progesterone levels significantly correlated with the speed of the approach–avoidance responses observed for the women, indicating the important role that sex hormones have in mediating emotionally motivated behavior. Overall, these findings suggest that the menstrual cycle has strong and specific influences on women’s approach–avoidance behaviors that are in part mediated by estrogen and progesterone. By identifying characteristics of these behaviors in the late follicular and mid-luteal phases, greater insight can be provided to women regarding the physiological influences of the menstrual cycle on their personal growth and security.

Get to grips with motivation: Slipping and gripping movements are biased by approach-avoidance context

People are better at approaching appetitive cues signaling reward and avoiding aversive cues signaling punishment than vice versa. This action bias has previously been shown in approach-avoidance tasks involving arm movements in response to appetitive or aversive cues. It is not known whether appetitive or aversive stimuli also bias more distal dexterous actions, such as gripping and slipping, in a similar manner. To test this hypothesis, we designed a novel task involving grip force control (gripping and slipping) to probe gripping-related approach and avoidance behavior. 32 male volunteers, aged 18–40 years, were instructed to either grip (“approach”) or slip (”avoid”) a grip-force device with their right thumb and index finger at the sight of positive or negative images. In one version of this pincer grip task, participants were responding to graspable objects and in another version of the task they were responding to happy or angry faces. Bayesian repeated measures Analysis of variance revealed extreme evidence for an interaction between response type and cue valence (Bayes factor = 296). Participants were faster to respond in affect-congruent conditions (“approach appetitive,” “avoid aversive”) than in affect-incongruent conditions (“approach aversive,” “avoid appetitive”). This bias toward faster response times for affect-congruent conditions was present regardless of whether it was a graspable object or a face signaling valence. Since our results mirror the approach and avoidance effects previously observed for arm movements, we conclude that a tendency favoring affectively congruent cue-response mappings is an inherent feature of motor control and thus also includes precision grip.

Social Message Account or Processing Conflict Account - Which Processes Trigger Approach/Avoidance Reaction to Emotional Expressions of In- and Out-Group Members?

Faces are characterized by the simultaneous presence of several evaluation-relevant features, for example, emotional expression and (prejudiced) ethnicity. The social message account (SMA) hypothesizes the immediate integration of emotion and ethnicity. According to SMA, happy in-group faces should be interpreted as benevolent, whereas happy out-group faces should be interpreted as potentially malevolent. By contrast, fearful in-group faces should be interpreted as signaling an unsafe environment, whereas fearful out-group faces should be interpreted as signaling inferiority. In contrast, the processing conflict account (PCA) assumes that each face conveys two rather independent evaluative features, emotion and ethnicity. Thus, stimuli might be either affectively congruent or incongruent, and thereby exert influences on behavior. The article reviews the evidence with regard to the two accounts before reporting an experiment that aims at disentangling them. In an approach/avoidance task (AAT), either happy/fearful faces of German and Turks were presented or happy/fearful faces of young and old persons. There are prejudices against Turk/Middle-eastern persons (in Germany) as well as against old persons. For SMA, the two prejudices are of different type; thus prediction for the AAT diverge for the two group conditions. In contrast, for PCA both group features (i.e., Turk ethnicity and old age) are negative features (in comparison to their counterparts) which are affectively congruent or incongruent to the emotional expression. Hence, the results pattern in the AAT should be comparable for the two group conditions. In accordance with SMA but in contrast to PCA, we found different patterns for the two group conditions.

The effect of irrelevant response dimension on stimulus response compatibility

The well-known Stroop, Simon, and Eriksen flanker effects reflect the influence of an irrelevant dimension of a stimulus on task performance. In contrast, this study investigated the effect of an irrelevant (color) dimension of a response on performance. In Experiment 1, participants performed a color-discrimination Simon task with left and right responses. The novel feature of the experiment was that two-colored labels were presented at the bottom of the display, on the left and right side respectively, which were irrelevant to the task and had nothing to do with response keys. The results revealed a Color Compatibility effect. Participants responded faster and more accurately when the color of the label appearing on the same side (left or right) as the correct response matched the color of the stimulus than when it did not. Experiment 2A replicated the Color Compatibility effect. Experiment 2B showed that the Color Compatibility effect in reaction times disappeared when color was irrelevant to both the stimulus and the response. The results suggest that the presence of an irrelevant color dimension at response may result in a stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) effect as long as the color is represented in working memory. These studies have implications for the dimensional overlap model and the broader understanding of stimulus-response compatibility effects.

Generalized Approach/Avoidance Responses to Degraded Affective Stimuli: An Informational Account

Two studies tested whether affective stimuli presented auditorily spontaneously trigger approach/avoidance reactions toward neutral visual stimuli. Contrary to hypotheses, Experiment 1 revealed that when the target was present, participants responded faster after positive (vs. negative) stimuli, and faster to the absence of the target following negative (vs. positive) stimuli, whatever the response modality (i.e., approach/avoidance). Instructions were to approach/avoid stimuli depending on whether a target was presented or not presented. We proposed that affective stimuli were used in this study as information about the presence/absence of the target. In Experiment 2, we replicated the results of Experiment 1 when participants responded to the presence/absence of the target, whereas an approach/avoidance compatibility effect was observed when each response modality was associated with a target. These results indicate that affective stimuli influence approach/avoidance across perceptual modalities and suggest that the link between affective stimuli and behavioral tendencies could be mediated by informational value of affect.

Facial expressions elicit multiplexed perceptions of emotion categories and dimensions

Human facial expressions are complex, multi-component signals that can communicate rich information about emotions,1-5 including specific categories, such as "anger," and broader dimensions, such as "negative valence, high arousal."6-8 An enduring question is how this complex signaling is achieved. Communication theory predicts that multi-component signals could transmit each type of emotion information-i.e., specific categories and broader dimensions-via the same or different facial signal components, with implications for elucidating the system and ontology of facial expression communication.9 We addressed this question using a communication-systems-based method that agnostically generates facial expressions and uses the receiver's perceptions to model the specific facial signal components that represent emotion category and dimensional information to them.10-12 First, we derived the facial expressions that elicit the perception of emotion categories (i.e., the six classic emotions13 plus 19 complex emotions3) and dimensions (i.e., valence and arousal) separately, in 60 individual participants. Comparison of these facial signals showed that they share subsets of components, suggesting that specific latent signals jointly represent-i.e., multiplex-categorical and dimensional information. Further examination revealed these specific latent signals and the joint information they represent. Our results-based on white Western participants, same-ethnicity face stimuli, and commonly used English emotion terms-show that facial expressions can jointly represent specific emotion categories and broad dimensions to perceivers via multiplexed facial signal components. Our results provide insights into the ontology and system of facial expression communication and a new information-theoretic framework that can characterize its complexities.

Avoiding a feared stimulus: Modelling costly avoidance of learnt fear in a sensory preconditioning paradigm

Avoidance of learnt fear prevents the onset of a feared stimulus and the threat that follows. In anxiety-related disorders, it turns pathological given its cost and persistence in the absence of realistic threat. The current study examined the acquisition of costly avoidance of learnt fear in healthy individuals (n = 45), via a sensory preconditioning paradigm. Two neutral preconditioning stimuli (PSs) were paired with two neutral conditioned stimuli (CSs). One CS then came to predict an aversive outcome whereas the other CS came to predict safety. In test, participants engaged in stronger avoidance to the PS associated with the fear-related CS than the PS associated with the safety-related CS. Of note, executing behavioral avoidance led to missing out a competing reward, thus rendering avoidance costly. The results also provide preliminary evidence that threat anticipation and a negative change in valence play a role in driving costly avoidance of learnt fear. Future studies should examine how avoidance of learnt fear maintains pathological anxiety.

Spring Break or Heart Break? Extending Valence Bias to Emotional Words

Ambiguous stimuli are useful for assessing emotional bias. For example, surprised faces could convey a positive or negative meaning, and the degree to which an individual interprets these expressions as positive or negative represents their "valence bias." Currently, the most well-validated ambiguous stimuli for assessing valence bias include nonverbal signals (faces and scenes), overlooking an inherent ambiguity in verbal signals. This study identified 32 words with dual-valence ambiguity (i.e., relatively high intersubject variability in valence ratings and relatively slow response times) and length-matched clearly valenced words (16 positive, 16 negative). Preregistered analyses demonstrated that the words-based valence bias correlated with the bias for faces, r _s (213) = .27, p < .001, and scenes, r _s (204) = .46, p < .001. That is, the same people who interpret ambiguous faces/scenes as positive also interpret ambiguous words as positive. These findings provide a novel tool for measuring valence bias and greater generalizability, resulting in a more robust measure of this bias.

Validation of New Methods of Using Simulated Whole-Body Movements as Implicit Indicators of Sound and Odor Preferences

Would you get close to a stinky perfume bottle or to a loudspeaker producing noise? In this paper, we present two procedures that allowed us to assess the ability of auditory and olfactory cues to elicit automatic approach/avoidance reactions toward their sources. The procedures resulted from an adaptation of the Visual Approach/Avoidance by the Self Task (VAAST; Rougier et al., 2018), a task having the peculiarity of simulating approach/avoidance reactions by using visual feedback coming from the whole-body movements. In the auditory VAAST (Experiment 1), participants were instructed to move forward or backward from a loudspeaker that produced spoken words differentiated by their level of distortion and thus by their hedonic value. In the olfactory VAAST (Experiment 2), participants were asked to move forward or backward from a perfume bottle that delivered pleasant and unpleasant odors. We expected, consistent with the approach/avoidance compatibility effect, shorter latencies for approaching positive stimuli and avoiding negative stimuli. In both experiments, we found an effect of the quality of the emotional stimulus on forward actions of participants, with undistorted words and pleasant odors inducing faster forward movements compared with that for distorted words and unpleasant odors. Notably, our results further suggest that the VAAST can successfully be used with implicit instructions, i.e., without requiring participants to explicitly process the valence of the emotional stimulus (in Experiment 1) or even the emotional stimulus itself (in Experiment 2). The sensitivity of our procedures is analyzed and its potential in cross-modal and (contextualized) consumer research discussed.

Who avoids being involved in personal carbon trading? An investigation based on the urban residents in eastern China

Personal carbon trading scheme has been pulled into the public eye with the increasing urgency of downstream carbon emission reduction, and its feasibility largely depends on public acceptability. This study established a hierarchical framework for urban residents' approach-avoidance responses to personal carbon trading; adopted Likert scale and manikin task methods to assess the current states of residents' responses by investigating 1892 respondents in eastern China; employed one-way analysis of variance to identify the demographic differences of their responses; and used regression analysis to explore the influences of psychological factors on their responses. The findings showed that urban residents' responses to personal carbon trading scheme and participation could be classified into five response hierarchies: deep avoidance, shallow avoidance, uncertain, shallow approach, and deep approach. The average of residents' responses denoted a shallow approach, with the characteristics of median stability, duration, and noise. Moreover, residents holding deep approach responses to the scheme and participation respectively accounted for 42.365% and 34.275% of the total, which indicated a gap between attitude and behavior. Urban residents' responses exhibited significant differences with respect to demographic characteristics. Most of the residents with the most avoidance response were young males (i.e., 18-20 years old), older first-line employees (i.e., older than 50 years old), and those on subsistence incomes (i.e., annual individual or household income was RMB 30,000-50,000 yuan). Additionally, residents who held egoistic values, had low senses of social responsibility, knew little about carbon reductions, and preferred comfortable life were likely to avoid the scheme and participation. Finally, policy suggestions are proposed for the enhancement of urban residents' attitudes towards personal carbon trading, thereby providing valuable references for its implementation.

Mindfulness and equanimity moderate approach/avoidance motor responses

A person's tendency to approach pleasant stimuli and to avoid unpleasant stimuli reflects a basic psychological phenomenon. The present research aimed to investigate the extent to which mindfulness practices and trait equanimity can attenuate this motivational process. In two studies, participants were asked to perform an Approach/Avoidance Task (AAT). In Study 1 (N = 84), prior to completing the AAT, participants were randomly assigned to one of two guided mindfulness-based meditation conditions (breathing or body-scan) or to an active control condition. In Study 2 (N = 71), which controlled for mindfulness practice, motor responses to the AAT were compared by level of equanimity of the participants (low vs. high). The results revealed that breathing meditation practice and trait equanimity significantly moderated participants' motor responses to the AAT, and that the body-scan meditation did not moderate these responses. Bayesian analyses showed that participants in the breathing meditation group (Study 1) and those with higher equanimity (Study 2) showed a reduction of bias in their motor responses to the AAT. These results suggest that meditation practice and trait equanimity may promote a decrease in automatic motivational approach and avoidance tendencies evoked by positive and negative stimuli.

Neural underpinnings of valence-action interactions triggered by cues and targets in a rewarded approach/avoidance task

Incentive-valence signals have a large impact on our actions in everyday life. While it is intuitive (and most often beneficial) to approach positive and avoid negative stimuli, these prepotent response tendencies can also be maladaptive, as exemplified by clinical conditions such as overeating or pathological gambling. We have recently shown that targets associated with monetary incentives can trigger such valence-action biases (target condition), and that these are absent when valence and action information are provided by advance cues (cue condition). Here, we explored the neural correlates underlying the absence of the behavioral bias in this condition using fMRI. Specifically, we tested in how far valence and action information are integrated at all in the cue condition (where no behavioral biases are observed), assessing activity at the moment of the cue (mainly preparation) and the target (mainly implementation). The cue-locked data was dominated by main effects of valence with increased activity for incentive versus no-incentive cues in a network including anterior insula, premotor cortex, (mostly ventral) striatum (voxel-wise analysis), and across five predefined regions of interest (ROI analysis). Only one region, the anterior cingulate cortex, featured a valence-action interaction, with increased activity for win-approach compared to no-incentive-approach cues. The target-locked data revealed a different interaction pattern with increased activity in loss-approach as compared to win-approach targets in the cerebellum (voxel-wise) and across all ROIs. For comparison, the uncued target condition (target-locked data only) featured valence and action main effects (incentive > no-incentive targets; approach > avoid targets), but no interactions. The results resonate with the common observations that performance benefits after incentive-valence cues are promoted by increased preparatory control. Moreover, the data provide support for the idea that valence and action information are integrated according to an evolutionary benefit (cue-locked), requiring additional neural resources to implement non-intuitive valence-action mappings (target-locked).

The Self-Prioritization Effect: Self-referential processing in movement highlights modulation at multiple stages

A wealth of recent research supports the validity of the Self-Prioritization Effect (SPE)—the performance advantage for responses to self-associated as compared with other-person-associated stimuli in a shape–label matching task. However, inconsistent findings have been reported regarding the particular stage(s) of information processing that are influenced. In one account, self-prioritization modulates multiple stages of processing, whereas according to a competing account, self-prioritization is driven solely by a modulation in central-stage information-processing. To decide between these two possibilities, the present study tested whether the self-advantage in arm movements previously reported could reflect a response bias using visual feedback (Experiment 1), or approach motivation processes (Experiments 1 and 2). In Experiment 1, visual feedback was occluded in a ballistic movement-time variant of the matching task, whereas in Experiment 2, task responses were directed away from the stimuli and the participant’s body. The advantage for self in arm-movement responses emerged in both experiments. The findings indicate that the self-advantage in arm-movement responses does not depend on the use of visual feedback or on a self/stimuli-directed response. They further indicate that self-relevance can modulate movement responses (predominantly) using proprioceptive, kinaesthetic, and tactile information. These findings support the view that self-relevance modulates arm-movement responses, countering the suggestion that self-prioritization only influences central-stage processes, and consistent with a multiple-stage influence instead.

Impact of Distracting Emotional Stimuli on the Characteristics of Movement Performance: A Kinematic Study

It is well-documented that emotional stimuli impact both the cognitive and motor aspects of “goal-directed” behavior. However, how emotional distractors impact motor performance remains unclear. This study aimed to characterize how movement quality was impacted during emotional distractors. We used a modified oddball paradigm and documented the performance of pure movement. Participants were designated to draw a triangle or a polygon, while an emotional stimulus was presented. Speed was assessed using reaction time and movement time. The quality and precision of movement were assessed by calculating the accuracy and root-mean-square error (RMSE). Compared to drawings of triangles, polygons had higher accuracy under negative stimuli, but lower RMSE under positive stimuli. The results indicate that distracting emotional stimuli impact different aspects of movement quality, with movement complexity influencing accuracy under negative distractors and precision under positive distractors. This study provides further evidence that movement precision is an important feature of emotional embodiment that should be incorporated in future studies.

Positive and negative emotions predict weight loss intentions and behaviors beyond theory of planned behavior constructs

PURPOSE

The current study examined the predictive utility of emotional valence (i.e., positive and negative emotions) on weight loss intentions and behaviors, beyond theory of planned behavior constructs (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, and perceived control), among a community sample of people who were overweight (BMI > 25 kg/m²).

METHODS

Participants were recruited for a longitudinal study via an online panel. They completed a baseline survey (N = 732) and a follow-up survey 6 months later (N = 526), both administered online. The surveys included measures of attitude, subjective norms, perceived control, positive and negative emotions regarding one's current weight, intentions to engage in weight loss behaviors (time 1), and having engaged in weight loss behaviors in the past 6 months (time 2).

RESULTS

Emotion explained additional variance in weight loss intentions (range ΔR² = 0.03-0.10, all ps < 0.01) and behaviors (range ΔR² = 0.01-0.02, all ps < 0.05) beyond theory of planned behavior constructs. Negative emotions mainly predicted the intake of unhealthy food and seeking social support, whereas positive emotions predicted physical activity (intention and behavior). These results suggested that the differential relations might be based on whether the strategy is approach or avoidance oriented.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these findings, comprehensive models of weight loss behaviors should consider emotion, and the valence of such emotion, regarding current weight.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level IV, multiple time series without intervention.

Let Me Make You Happy, and I'll Tell You How You Look Around: Using an Approach-Avoidance Task as an Embodied Emotion Prime in a Free-Viewing Task

The embodied approach of human cognition suggests that concepts are deeply dependent upon and constrained by an agent's physical body's characteristics, such as performed body movements. In this study, we attempted to broaden previous research on emotional priming, investigating the interaction of emotions and visual exploration. We used the joystick-based approach-avoidance task to influence the emotional states of participants, and subsequently, we presented pictures of news web pages on a computer screen and measured participant's eye movements. As a result, the number of fixations on images increased, the total dwell time increased, and the average saccade length from outside of the images toward the images decreased after the bodily congruent priming phase. The combination of these effects suggests increased attention to web pages' image content after the participants performed bodily congruent actions in the priming phase. Thus, congruent bodily interaction with images in the priming phase fosters visual interaction in the subsequent exploration phase.

Touchscreen-based assessment of food approach biases: Investigating reliability and item-specific preferences

Strong cravings for unhealthy foods and implicit tendencies to approach them threaten the physical and mental health of vulnerable populations. Yet, implicit measures of food approach tendencies have methodological limitations, as existing approach-avoidance tasks (AAT) are often unreliable and require specialized hardware. We propose a novel method to measure approach biases: on a touchscreen, participants slide their hand either toward a food item (and away from control images) or away from it (and toward control images) in separate blocks. Adequate attention to the stimuli is ensured by the coupling of stimulus category to the required response. We found that this touchscreen-variant of the AAT yielded reliable bias scores when approach and avoidance were defined as movements relative to the stimulus rather than to the body. Compared to control images, we found an approach bias for low-calorie foods but not for high-calorie foods. This bias additionally varied on a food-by-food basis depending on the participant's desire to eat individual food items. Correlations with state and trait cravings were inconclusive. Future research needs to address the order effects that were found, in which participants avoiding foods in the first block showed larger biases than participants approaching food in the first block, likely due to insufficient opportunity to practice the task. Our findings highlight the need for approach bias retraining paradigms to use personalized stimulus sets. The task can enrich the methodological repertoire of research on eating disorders, obesity and cognitive bias modification.

Enhancing extinction with response prevention via imagery-based counterconditioning: Results on conditioned avoidance and distress

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Maladaptive avoidance is a core characteristic of anxiety-related disorders. Its reduction is often promoted using extinction with response prevention (ExRP) procedures, but these effects are often short-lived. Research has shown that pairing a feared stimulus with a stimulus of an incompatible valence (i.e., counterconditioning) may be effective in reducing fear. This laboratory study tested whether positive imagery during ExRP (i.e., imagery counterconditioning protocol) can also reduce avoidance.

METHODS

In the counterconditioning procedure, participants imagined a positive sound. There were four phases. First, participants were presented with squares on a computer screen of which one (CS+) was paired with an aversive sound and another (CS-) was not. Second, they learned to avoid the negative sound in the presence of the CS+, via a key press. Third, they were assigned to either the Counterconditioning (that was asked to imagine a positive sound during ExRP) or No Counterconditioning group (standard ExRP). Finally, they performed a test phase that consisted of two parts: in the first part, avoidance responses were available for each CS and in the second part, these responses were prevented.

RESULTS

The Counterconditioning intervention resulted in a short-lived reduction of distress associated with the CS+. However, groups did not differ in avoidance or distress during the test phases.

LIMITATIONS

US-expectancy ratings were collected only at the end of the experiment.

CONCLUSIONS

The results indicate that positive imagery during ExRP may be effective in reducing distress during the intervention. Explanations for the persistence of avoidance and fear are discussed.

No consistent startle modulation by reward

Previous studies have not clearly demonstrated whether motivational tendencies during reward feedback are mainly characterized by appetitive responses to a gain or mainly by aversive consequences of reward omission. In the current study this issue was addressed employing a passive head or tails game and using the startle reflex as an index of the appetitive-aversive continuum. A second aim of the current study was to use startle-reflex modulation as a means to compare the subjective value of monetary rewards of varying magnitude. Startle responses after receiving feedback that a potential reward was won or not won were compared with a baseline condition without a potential gain. Furthermore, startle responses during anticipation of no versus potential gain were compared. Consistent with previous studies, startle-reflex magnitudes were significantly potentiated when participants anticipated a reward compared to no reward, which may reflect anticipatory arousal. Specifically for the largest reward (20-cents) startle magnitudes were potentiated when a reward was at stake but not won, compared to a neutral baseline without potential gain. In contrast, startle was not inhibited relative to baseline when a reward was won. This suggests that startle modulation during feedback is better characterized in terms of potentiation when missing out on reward rather than in terms of inhibition as a result of winning. However, neither of these effects were replicated in a more targeted second experiment. The discrepancy between these experiments may be due to differences in motivation to obtain rewards or differences in task engagement. From these experiments it may be concluded that the nature of the processing of reward feedback and reward cues is very sensitive to experimental parameters and settings. These studies show how apparently modest changes in these parameters and settings may lead to quite different modulations of appetitive/aversive motivation. A future experiment may shed more light on the question whether startle-reflex modulation after feedback is indeed mainly characterized by the aversive consequences of reward omission for relatively large rewards.

Specifying separation: avoidance, abstraction, openness to new experiences

Lee and Schwarz suggest grounded procedures of separation as a mechanism for embodied cleansing. We compare this process to other mechanisms in grounded cognition and suggest a broader conceptualization that allows integration into general cognitive models of social behavior. Specifically, separation will be understood as a mindset of completed avoidance resulting in high abstraction and openness to new experiences.

Assessing the influence of warnings with testimonies from former smokers on smoking and quitting behaviour

OBJECTIVES

Cigarette pack warnings are widely used internationally for reducing smoking behaviour. Current warnings typically consist of a textual or graphic warning that smoking can lead to negative (health) outcomes. Though these warnings have proven benefits, they also have important limitations. Most notably, they do not produce beneficial changes in important cognitive determinants of smoking cessation such as self-efficacy to refrain from smoking and they do not reduce smoking for specific subsets of the target population. Recent studies provide evidence for the effectiveness of health warnings that include health-related testimonies from former smokers.

METHODS

We designed cigarette pack warnings that consist of more general testimonial statements from former smokers, selected in a pilot study for their potential impact on two important cognitive determinants of smoking (i.e., self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectancies). In the main study, online participants were either exposed to the new testimonial warnings, to graphic health warnings, or to text-only health warnings on four separate occasions during a 24-h window.

RESULTS

In a sample of 416 daily smokers, we observed beneficial changes in self-reported cigarette smoking, craving, quit intentions, evaluations of smoking, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancies, immediately after viewing the warnings a first time and after multiple exposures. These effects were comparable for participants in the three warning type groups, with some (small) differences for changes in outcome expectancies and craving.

CONCLUSIONS

Warnings with general testimonies from former smokers might provide a useful evidence-based addition to currently used cigarette pack health warnings.

Developing a non-verbal, self-report assessment tool of action tendencies: The Depicted Action Tendencies (DAT) instrument

The objectives of this series of studies were to develop and evaluate a visual self-report measure, the Depicted Action Tendencies (DAT), for the assessment of action tendencies, and to examine relations between action tendencies and emotions. In three independent studies, 938 participants evaluated drawings depicting individuals engaged in actions, reflecting four classes of action tendencies; the tendency to approach reward, approach threat, avoid threat, and avoid reward. The DAT instrument showed specificity in terms of associations with emotions and verbal action-tendency items with minimal overlap between drawings (Study 1). The specificity of the drawings extended to settings in which participants recalled events from their lives (Study 2 and 3). The findings suggest that the drawings can capture different action tendencies in contexts labeled with the same emotion and provide initial support for the DAT instrument as a valid and reliable measure of action tendencies. We believe the DAT instrument offers potential value both in experimental and clinical settings. Given its pictorial format, the DAT is easy to comprehend and may represent a valuable instrument for assessing action tendencies in a quick manner at the momentary level. It may also be useful to individuals with limited linguistic skills or difficulties in verbalizing sensations and feelings.

Charismatic Nonverbal Displays by Leaders Signal Receptivity and Formidability, and Tap Approach and Avoidance Motivational Systems

Status cues and signals act as guidance systems by regulating social approach and avoidance. Applied to leadership, we hypothesized that nonverbal displays conveying the dual-status messages of receptivity and formidability and the approach/avoidance motives they activate set conditions for charismatic, leader–follower relationships. We investigated perceptions of charisma, the nonverbal signals associated with them, the motives they energize, and the relationships they support across levels of analysis. At the social–perceptual level (studies 1a–d), eligible voters rated political leaders’ traits after viewing silent, 30-s videos of speeches presented online. As predicted, perceptions of politicians’ receptivity (warmth and attractiveness) and formidability (competence and power) were independently associated with perceptions of their charisma; perceptions of trustworthiness and authenticity showed weaker or negligible associations. Results were similar when the stimuli were female, Jamaican educational leaders. Leaders’ nonverbal behavior was linked to perceptions of their receptivity, formidability, and charisma in study 2. At the brain systems level, studies 3a and 3b tested predictions that charismatic nonverbal performances stimulate equivalent degrees of approach and avoidance motivation in observers. Brain recordings via electroencephalography (EEG) were made while undergraduates viewed leaders rated high or low in charisma. Discrepancies in alpha activity in the left and the right frontal hemispheres (associated with approach and avoidance, respectively) were relatively diminished when participants viewed highly charismatic political leaders, indicating that approach and avoidance motives are energized in response to charismatic performances. The EEG patterns for Jamaican leaders were similar but not significant. At the group level of analysis, study 4 sought evidence that charismatic leaders create uniquely influential relationships with followers. Video recordings of student leaders interacting with pairs of unfamiliar students during a group decision-making task were assessed for leader receptivity, formidability, and charisma by independent sets of undergraduate judges. Perceptions of student leaders’ receptivity and formidability predicted their charisma, and charismatic leaders were most influential in bringing followers to privately accept a controversial group decision. Across studies, evidence generally supported hypotheses generated from status cues theory: charismatic leadership builds upon the nonverbal projection of dual-status messages and the approach/avoidance motives they engender, setting conditions for a uniquely powerful brand of influence.

Reward history impacts attentional orienting and inhibitory control on untrained tasks

It has been robustly shown that stimuli with reward history receive attentional priority. However, the majority of this research tests reward history effects on attentional bias using similar tasks for both the reward learning phase and the unrewarded testing phase, which limits our understanding of how the effects of reward history generalize beyond the trained tasks and mental sets. Across two new experiments, the current study addresses these issues by first associating reward with a stimulus in a visual search paradigm, and then testing value-driven effects of that stimulus in untrained and unrewarded tasks, including a cueing paradigm, a go/no-go task, and a delay discounting task. Results of Experiment 1 demonstrate that history of reward association in a visual search task generalizes to value-driven attentional bias in a different attention paradigm (i.e., cueing), indicating these effects are indeed attributable to imbued value that can transfer to other tasks beyond that in which the reward was trained. The results of Experiment 2 demonstrate that in addition to eliciting attentional orienting on untrained tasks, reward history can lead to better inhibitory control in the go/no-go task. We find no evidence for reward history effects in the delay discounting task. Together, these experiments demonstrate that when the reward association task is in the attention domain, reward history modulates attentional priority, and this effect generalizes to untrained and unrewarded tasks that utilize both spatial and nonspatial attention.

A personalized approach-avoidance modification intervention to reduce negative body image. A placebo-controlled pilot study

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Drive for thinness is considered an important factor in the onset and maintenance of negative body image and can be conceptualized as a motivational approach tendency towards thin bodies. The goal of this study was to test whether training thinness-related approach-avoidance tendencies is effective in improving body satisfaction using a personalized training with individuals' own body pictures.

METHODS

Undergraduate women scoring high on drive for thinness (N = 104) were randomly assigned to an experimental, placebo or no training control condition. The experimental training consisted of four training sessions in which participants pushed away thin versions of their own body pictures and pulled closer realistic pictures of themselves. The same stimuli were shown with 50/50 contingency in the placebo training.

RESULTS

The experimental training procedure did not show an effect on self-reported body satisfaction or drive for thinness after one session, four sessions, or one week later. While reaction time indices suggested a marginally significant change in approach-avoidance tendencies in the expected direction, this effect may have been driven by relatively strong thin-approach tendencies in the experimental condition before the start of the training.

LIMITATIONS

High error rates limit the interpretability of the effects on approach-avoidance tendencies. Selection was based on a single item assessing drive for thinness.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, our study did not provide evidence that training approach-avoidance tendencies is effective in improving negative body image.

The Influence of Sexual Arousal on Self-Reported Sexual Willingness and Automatic Approach to Models of Low, Medium, and High Prior Attractiveness

Anecdotal evidence suggests that sexual attraction is flexible, and that high levels of sexual arousal can promote sexual willingness and approach tendencies toward a priori low attractive mates. This experimental study tested whether heightened sexual arousal can lower the threshold for sexual willingness and automatic approach tendencies toward potential sex partners of low and medium attractiveness. Heterosexual male (n =54) and female (n =61) participants were randomly assigned to a sexual arousal or control condition. Approach tendencies were indexed using a reaction time task. Sexual willingness was indexed using participant ratings of willingness to kiss and to consider having sex with same- and other-sex models of low, medium, and high attractiveness. Overall, participants showed stronger approach to models of high and medium than of low attractiveness. Sexual arousal weakened this differential responding but did not result in a robust increase of approach toward less attractive other-sex or same-sex models. Sexual willingness toward less attractive models was not affected by sexual arousal. Independent of condition, women reported greater sexual willingness toward same-sex models. The current pattern of findings does not support the notion that sexual arousal promotes automatic approach and sexual willingness to a broader array of sex partners.

Approach and avoidance bias for thin-ideal and normal-weight body shapes in anorexia nervosa

OBJECTIVE

The two studies aimed to examine implicit affective evaluations of thin-ideal and normal-weight body shapes in women with anorexia nervosa (AN), taking identification with body shapes into account.

METHOD

In study 1, approach-avoidance bias for thin-ideal and normal-weight bodies was assessed in 40 women with AN and 40 healthy women by using an Approach-Avoidance Task and female avatar bodies with a standard face as stimuli. In study 2, 39 women with AN and 38 healthy women underwent a similar task but identification with bodies was manipulated by presenting bodies once with the participant's own face and once with another woman's face.

RESULTS

In study 1, patients with AN did not differ from healthy participants in their automatic approach-avoidance tendencies towards thin-ideal and normal-weight bodies. In study 2, no definite approach bias for a thin self and no avoidance bias for thin other women or for a normal-weight self were found. However, as compared to healthy women, those with AN showed a less positive implicit evaluation of thin other women, and an implicit preference for thin bodies depicted as themselves over thin bodies depicted as another woman.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that intra-sexual competition for being slim is increased in AN.

Expecting the good: Symbolic valence signals provoke action biases and undermine goal-directed behavior

Positive and negative events are known to trigger opposing action tendencies (approach vs. avoidance). Recently, we found that advance monetary incentive cues can override such valence-action biases. In the present study we tested whether symbolic emotional valence cues can lead to similar adjustments and facilitate performance regardless of the required action. To this end, we performed three closely related experiments in which valence prospect (positive vs. neutral; indicated by stimulus color) and action requirements (approach vs. avoid; indicated by stimulus shape) were manipulated in a trial-to-trial fashion. Orthogonal to this, valence prospect was either embedded in the cue or target stimulus in discrete blocks (cue-valence vs. target-valence blocks). Actual valence was presented in the form of emotional face stimuli after response execution, which mirrors monetary incentive manipulations. In two of the experiments, we observed a positive-approach bias in form of performance benefit for positive versus neutral valence trials, which was exclusive for approach actions. Although numerically more pronounced in target-valence blocks, the bias was not significantly diminished in cue- versus target-valence blocks. This opposes our prediction that emotional valence cues can diminish such biases and instead highlights the robustness of inherent mappings between emotional valence and action tendencies - even if this goes against the task goal.

Self-bias effect: movement initiation to self-owned property is speeded for both approach and avoidance actions

Recall of, and physical interaction with, self-owned items is privileged over items owned by other people (Constable et al. in Cognition 119(3):430-437, 2011; Cunningham et al. in Conscious Cognit 17(1):312-318, 2008). Here, we investigate approach (towards the item), compared with avoidance (away from the item) movements to images of self- and experimenter-owned items. We asked if initiation time and movement duration of button-press approach responses to self-owned items are associated with a systematic self-bias (overall faster responses), compared with avoidance movements, similar to findings of paradigms investigating affective evaluation of (unowned) items. Participants were gifted mugs to use, and after a few days they completed an approach-avoidance task (Chen and Bargh in Pers Soc Psychol Bull 25(2):215-224, 1999; Seibt et al. in J Exp Soc Psychol 44:713-720, 2008; Truong et al. in J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 42(3), 375-385, 2016) to images of their own or the experimenter's mug, using either congruent or incongruent movement direction mappings. There was a self-bias effect for initiation time to the self-owned mug, for both congruent and incongruent mappings, and for movement duration in the congruent mapping. The effect was abolished in Experiment 2 when participants responded based on a shape on the handle rather than mug ownership. We speculate that ownership status requires conscious processing to modulate responses. Moreover, ownership status judgements and affective evaluation may employ different mechanisms.

Approach, Avoidance, and the Perception of Credibility

Based on a functional approach to credibility judgments, the authors hypothesize that receivers’ judgments of senders’ credibility involve an evaluative dimension (i.e., good–bad) and are associated with approach and avoidance tendencies. In three experiments (total N = 645), participants (receivers) judged the credibility of suspects (senders) denying involvement in a mock theft. While watching or reading the message, receivers performed an approach-related (arm flexion) or an avoidance-related (arm extension) motor action. Although receivers’ affective evaluations of senders (good–bad) correlated strongly with credibility judgments in all three experiments, the results of the arm position manipulation were mixed. In Experiment 1, receivers in an arm flexion (vs. arm extension) state judged the sender as more credible, but only when informed beforehand about the upcoming credibility judgment. In Experiment 2 and 3, however, there was no evidence of an arm position effect on credibility judgments. A cross-experimental meta-analysis revealed that the effect of the manipulation was statistically indistinguishable from zero, Hedges’ g = 0.07, 95% CI [−0.09, 0.22], and provided strong support for the null hypothesis. Multiple interpretations of the results are discussed.

The importance of motivational orientation towards the muscular ideal versus the stigmatised burdensome body in male body dissatisfaction

Internalisation of the muscular ideal is a vulnerability factor for body dissatisfaction in males. It is unclear, however, whether body dissatisfaction results from approach towards the muscular ideal versus fear of the stigmatised burdensome body. The current study sought to address this gap by assessing both approach and avoidance motivation regarding muscular and non-muscular bodies, respectively, and evaluating the unique associations between approach-avoidance tendencies and body dissatisfaction. Eighty-three male undergraduate students completed an implicit measure of approach-avoidance tendencies, the Stimulus Response Compatibility task, and a self-report measure of trait body dissatisfaction. Results revealed that participants were quicker to approach than to avoid muscular bodies; however, there were no differences in approach vs. avoidance tendencies regarding non-muscular bodies. Furthermore, in a multiple regression model comprising motivational bias scores regarding muscular and non-muscular bodies, only an approach bias towards muscular bodies predicted unique variance in body dissatisfaction. These findings are novel in showing an implicit approach motivation towards the muscular ideal in male undergraduates. Furthermore, in this population, motivational orientation towards the muscular ideal, versus the stigmatised burdensome body, seems to be more tightly associated with body dissatisfaction.

Empathic concern and personal distress depend on situational but not dispositional factors

Empathic concern and personal distress are empathic responses that may result when observing someone in discomfort. Even though these empathic responses have received much attention in past research, it is still unclear which conditions contribute to their respective experience. Hence, the main goal of this study was to examine if dispositional empathic traits or rather situational variables are more likely to evoke empathic concern and personal distress and how the two empathic responses influence motor responses. We presented pictures of persons in psychological, physical, or no pain with matched descriptions of situations that promoted an other-focused state. Approach-avoidance movements were demanded by a subsequently presented tone. While psychological pain led to more empathic concern, physical pain led to higher ratings of personal distress. Linear mixed-effects modelling analysis further revealed that situational factors, such as the type of pain but also the affect experienced by the participants before the experiment predicted the two empathic responses, whereas dispositional empathic traits had no significant influence. In addition, the more intensely the empathic responses were experienced, the faster were movements initiated, presumably reflecting an effect of arousal. Overall, the present study advances our understanding of empathic responses to people in need and provides novel methodological tools to effectively manipulate and analyze empathic concern and personal distress in future research.

The online-VAAST: A short and online tool to measure spontaneous approach and avoidance tendencies

Among the great variety of approach/avoidance tasks, the Visual Approach/Avoidance by the Self Task (VAAST, Rougier et al., 2018) appears to be a promising tool. Previous work showed that the VAAST leads to large and replicable compatibility effects (e.g., faster response time to approach positive stimuli and avoid negative stimuli than the reverse). In the present contribution, we provide an online and easy-to-use version of the VAAST (namely, the online-VAAST). Across four experiments, we show that the online-VAAST produces effects that are of similar magnitude to those of the lab version of this task. Specifically, we obtained compatibility effects when using positive/negative words (Experiment 1), positive/negative images (Experiment 2), French/North-African first names (Experiment 3), and European American/African American first names (Experiment 4). Moreover, these effects emerged with culturally different populations (i.e., Americans in Experiments 1, 2, and 4, French in Experiment 3). Overall, the online-VAAST could be of great interest for all researchers interested in measuring approach/avoidance tendencies: Its specificities allow reaching large samples both offline and online with no accessibility constraints regarding programming abilities or program copyright.

Biasing Actions by Incentive Valence in an Approach/Avoidance Task

The present study investigates interactions between incentive valence and action, which mirror well-known valence-action biases in the emotional domain. In three joystick experiments, incentive valence (win/loss) and action type (approach/avoid) were signaled by distinct orthogonal stimulus features. By combining several design aspects, i.e., the use of bi-directional joystick movements, the inclusion of no-incentive baseline trials, and cue-locked versus target-locked valence and action signals, we tried to bridge between paradigms used in the emotional and motivational domain, and to understand previous, partly inconsistent results. In the first task variant (Experiment 1), we observed performance benefits for compatible mappings (win-approach; loss-avoid) relative to incompatible ones (loss-approach; win-avoid) when valence and action signals were target-locked, consistent with a fairly automatic response activation that can benefit or impair task performance. In contrast, cue-locked valence signals led to response facilitation (relative to a no-incentive baseline) more or less independent of actual valence (win/loss) and action type (approach/avoid), which is reminiscent of general facilitation effects of incentive cues across diverse cognitive tasks. Slight design variations did not change this main result pattern, indicating that it was neither driven by the close proximity between target and performance feedback (Experiment 2), nor by mere temporal coincidence of valence and action signals (Experiment 3), but rather by differences between preparatory (cued) and immediate (non-cued) effects of incentive valence. The present study provides novel insights regarding the nature of valence-action biases in the motivational domain and helps to integrate previous, partly inconsistent findings across domains.

Taking the fight out of people: Exploring how defeat modulates the automatic aggressive response to facial anger

Past studies indicate that angry facial expressions automatically activate an aggressive response, seeming to support the view that humans possess an inborn, automatic tendencies to aggress. However, the current authors drew on influential models from evolutionary game theory to suggest that experiences of defeat may modulate this tendency. To examine this, four experiments were conducted to explore how defeat may modulate this aggressive response. In each study, participants executed simulated fight or flight responses based a computerized opponent's facial expression. Across studies, participants were typically faster to initiate fight (than flight) responses against an angry opponent. Simply losing simulated fights (Experiment 1) or experiencing aversive, white noise following simulated losses (Experiment 2) did not eliminate this tendency. However, when aversive noise was specifically experienced after losing to an angry opponent, the automatic aggressive response was eliminated (Experiment 3). This result was directly replicated (Experiment 4). Thus, these studies isolate the cues which automatize submissive behavior and show that fighting experience can modulate even our automatic aggressive responses to others' anger displays.

Cueing healthier alternatives for take-away: a field experiment on the effects of (disclosing) three nudges on food choices

Background

The current field experiment demonstrates the effectiveness of nudging to promote healthy food choices.

Methods

Three types of nudges were implemented at a take-away food vendor: 1) an accessibility nudge that placed fruits at the front counter; 2) a salience nudge that presented healthy bread rolls to be more visually attractive; and 3) a social proof nudge that conveyed yoghurt as a popular choice. We additionally assessed whether nudging effects would remain robust when a disclosure message was included. The field experiment was conducted over a seven-week period. The measured outcome was the sales of the targeted healthy food products.

Results

The accessibility nudge significantly increased the sales of the fresh fruits. The impact of the salience nudge was limited presumably due to existing preferences or habits that typically facilitate bread purchases. As the sales of the yoghurt shakes remained consistently low over the seven-week period the impact of the social proof nudge remained unexamined. Critically, disclosing the purpose of the nudges did not interfere with effects.

Conclusions

Current findings suggest nudging as an effective strategy for healthy food promotion, and offer implications for topical debate regarding the ethics of nudges.

Does it matter if we approach or withdraw when reading? A comparison of fear-related words and anger-related words

The main aim of the present research was to explore the role of affective features beyond valence and arousal (i.e., the approach-withdrawal dimension) in visual word processing. For this purpose, fear-related words and anger-related words were compared in three tasks: a lexical decision task (LDT), a valence decision task (VDT) and an approach-distancing decision task (ADDT). Although these two types of words did not differ in the first two tasks, faster 'distancing' responses were given to anger-related words than to fear-related words in the ADDT. As long as these two types of words were matched in valence and arousal (among other variables), these results illustrate the need to consider other emotional dimensions (in this case, the approach-withdrawal dimension) beyond the two-dimensional perspective in order to account for the emotional effects in visual words processing and to describe how the affective space is organized. In addition, the results suggest a task-dependence effect: differential effects of fear and anger only emerged when participants were explicitly focused on the approach-withdrawal dimension. These findings are discussed in relation to motivationally-based mechanisms.

Dynamic grounding of emotion concepts

Emotion concepts are important. They help us to understand, experience and predict human behaviour. Emotion concepts also link the realm of the abstract with the realm of bodily experience and actions. Accordingly, the key question is how such concepts are created, represented and used. Embodied cognition theories hold that concepts are grounded in neural systems that produce experiential and motor states. Concepts are also contextually situated and thus engage sensorimotor resources in a dynamic, flexible way. Finally, on that framework, conceptual understanding unfolds in time, reflecting embodied as well as linguistic and cultural influences. In this article, we review empirical work on emotion concepts and show how it highlights their grounded, yet dynamic and context-sensitive nature. The conclusions are consistent with recent developments in embodied cognition that allow concepts to be linked to sensorimotor systems, yet be flexibly sensitive to current representational and action needs.This article is part of the theme issue 'Varieties of abstract concepts: development, use and representation in the brain'.

Neural evidence for automatic value-modulated approach behaviour

Reward learning has the ability to bias both attention and behaviour. The current study presents behavioural and neural evidence that irrelevant responses evoked by previously reward-associated stimuli are more robustly represented in the motor system using a combined go/no-go and flankers task. Following a colour-reward association training, participants were instructed to respond to a central target only in a response-relevant context, while ignoring flankers that appeared either in a high-value or low-value colour. The motor cortex and cerebellum exhibited reduced activation to low-value flankers in a response-irrelevant context, consistent with goal-directed response suppression. However, these same regions exhibited similar activation to high-value flankers regardless of their response relevance, indicating less effective suppression, and the resulting interaction in motor cortex activation was strongly predicted by the influence of the flankers on behaviour. These findings suggest that associative reward learning produces a general approach bias, which is particularly evident when it conflicts with task goals, extending the principle of value-driven attention to stimulus-evoked responses in the motor system.