Avoidance vs. Approach Motivation

Avoidance and approach are “two basic and fundamental motivations that regulate goal attainment.”^​1​ Avoidance motivation is the “energisation and direction of behaviour away from negative stimuli” while approach motivation is the “energisation and direction of behaviour toward positive stimuli”^​1,2​

Tendency to favor one over the other is generally considered “relatively stable chronic dispositions,” each can also be evoked by situational cues.^​1​ An approach motivation towards a goal can be activated by positive feedback, while negative feedback will activate avoidance motivation. The brain seems wired to pick up on even subtle differences between such stimuli, with “[e]ven subtle cues of danger, such as the color red, evok[ing] avoidance motivation, whereas the colors blue or green [will] evoke approach motivation.”^​1​

While approach motivation is important (as “when goals are framed in terms of their positive outcomes, they are more attractive,”^​1​) it appears that avoidance motivation can be crucial as well. This appears especially true for starting and following through with important tasks. For example, after a goal has been chosen, avoidance motivation can spur on goal attainment “because it is associated with vigilant and careful strategies that are needed to control and arrange actions and to meet deadlines.”^​1​

“For example, falling in love (approach motivation) is needed to initiate a romantic relationship, but fear of losing the relationship (avoidance motivation) may help to maintain the relationship long term”^​1​

While it may seem that those high in avoidance motivation may deal with higher anxiety (“[t]hinking about what could go wrong might, after all, increase anxiety, reduce performance, and decrease well- being,”^​1​) that is not necessarily the case.

Avoidance motivation is associated with higher survival rates in animal experiments, likely because “possible harm or danger (which evokes avoidance motivation) facilitates the recruitment of cognitive control processes to handle dangerous situations carefully.”^​1​ That “increased cognitive control and focused-problem solving”^​1​ can lead not only to more efficient goal pursuit, but in humans may also lead to “[the use of] strategies such as removing stressors, providing structure and focus, and creating opportunities for replenishment [that] could combat these negative effects and enable the use of avoidance motivation when it is necessary or beneficial.”^​1​

Impaired Task Initiation/ Procrastination

Some problems with task initiation, then, may actually come from a low level of avoidance motivation.

“This may seem surprising because procrastinators avoid action, at least concerning one important goal. However, they are not necessarily inactive in general. Rather, they do not fully detect the danger in delaying, or fail to detect it quickly enough. In other words, they do not demonstrate enough vigilance to ensure the right amount of progress on time.”^​1​

People with high avoidance motivation have heightened sensitivity to possible negative outcomes (“I could fail this class if I don’t study this chapter tonight for the exam tomorrow,” or “I could lose my job if I don’t finish this project today.”)

People with low avoidance motivation, then, are “characterised by low sensitivity to the possibility of negative outcomes,”^​1​ which may explain why their brains don’t seem to activate avoidance motivation appropriately, and thus they miss out on the necessary “cognitive control and focused problem solving” which could help plan, initiate, and complete the necessary tasks.^​1​

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