Approach-avoidance Theory Research Articles

Examining tourists’ personality traits and dining-in/dining-out preferences. An approach-avoidance theory perspective

ABSTRACT Food and dining are integral to the travel experience for tourists. Despite this, there is a lack of research on how tourists choose between dining in and dining out. Furthermore, these choices may be influenced by the tourists’ personality traits. To address this gap, this study explores how the Big Five personality traits impact tourists’ preferences for dining in or dining out hospitality services. We gathered data from 790 tourists through an online survey and employed Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the data. The results reveal that Openness to Experience is positively associated with the preference for dining in services but negatively associated with avoiding dining in or out. Conscientiousness is positively related to avoiding dining in or out. Extraversion is positively linked with the preference for dining in or out services, while Agreeableness has no association with either approaching or avoiding dining in/out. Neuroticism is positively associated with both approaching or avoiding dining in or out services. This study is not only one of the initial studies examining the influence of personality traits on tourists’ dining preferences but also help practitioners develop strategies via tourists’ personality traits to increase revenue for dining in/out services.

Comfort in active learning spaces – students’ perceptions and preferences

ABSTRACT Evidence suggests that Active Learning (AL) and Active Learning Spaces (ALSs) have the potential to improve student learning outcomes. In this study, the student experiences of AL and ALSs in four classes in mathematics and statistics at a Norwegian university are examined through classroom observations, surveys, and interviews. The student interviews are analysed using constant comparative method, which resulted in one main category and three sub-categories presenting what the students perceived to be significant factors that impacted their learning experiences in the ALSs and how these factors affected their motivation to engage with the subject. The main category is called Engagement and Comfort, and the three sub-categories are called Students’ Varying Preferences, Student-student Communication, and Teachers’ Communication. Students’ motivation was looked at through an Approach-Avoidance Theory lens. Crucial to the student experiences was that some students felt deeply uncomfortable in the ALSs, which prevented them from engaging and benefitting from the ALSs. This research highlights how students’ comfort in the ALSs is essential to ensure their engagement and suggests many aspects that can support students’ comfort. Future research and professional development programmes built upon the reflections here can be used to support improved educational quality.

The Psychometric Properties and Effectiveness of the Approach-Avoidance Job Crafting Scale among Chinese Kindergarten Teachers.

Job crafting is an important concept associated with many positive outcomes, particularly for kindergarten teachers. Specifically, job crafting can play a key role in improving kindergarten teachers' work experiences and reducing professional dysfunction, considering their stressful work environment. However, the existing scale that integrates the most accepted theories of job crafting-approach-avoidance theory-has not been examined for efficacy in a multicultural context. Thus, in this study, 1273 Chinese kindergarten teachers were selected as subjects to explore the psychological properties of the German version of the Approach-Avoidance Job Crafting Scale (AAJCS) within the Chinese culture context. The sample was randomly divided into two subsamples. In Sample 1 (N = 618), item analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were conducted. In Sample 2 (N = 655), CFA, reliability, and criterion-related validity tests were conducted. The results showed that job crafting has two independent components, each containing four factors, and the third-order model had the best fit. The reliability and validity of the scale were good, suggesting that AAJCS is an appropriate tool for measuring job crafting in a kindergarten population. Future research is needed to test the validity and reliability of the AAJCS on other populations.

The Effects of Atmospherics and Influencers on Purchase Intention in Social Commerce

This study uses the approach-avoidance theory to investigate the impact of the atmospherics of a social commerce page, which comprises page aesthetics and page interaction. The study looks at how a digital influencer's perceived influence affects a customer's purchase intention. The research also examines whether perceived risk influences customers' purchase intent. Four hundred twenty-eight customers who had recently engaged with a social commerce page were empirically surveyed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The research shows that page atmospherics and digital influencers do influence a customer's purchase intention through emotions and cognition in social commerce. Emotions and purchase intentions, as well as cognition and purchase intentions, are moderated by perceived risk. The findings have implications for marketers who want to develop customer engagement strategies based on social commerce platforms.

Factors Influencing Consumer Intention to Purchase Plant-Based Milk in Indonesia: An Exploratory Research

The consumption rate of plant-based milk has been increasing in recent years. This also suggests the decreasing trend of cow milk consumption, as the consumers shift to plant-based milk. This study aims to examine what factors influence the consumers’ intention to drink plant-based milk. For this purpose, the approach-avoidance theory was adopted to explore both facilitating (positive) and inhibiting (negative) factors that influence the consumers’ intention to consume the product. This study adopts qualitative research by interviewing 15 plant-based milk consumers and comparing them with 10 cow milk consumers about their perception of plant-based milk consumption. Indonesia was chosen as one large emerging economy in Southeast Asia with a tremendous consumption rate. The research findings suggest nine factors affecting consumers' intention in purchasing plant-based milk, namely: trends, price, sickness awareness, nutrition awareness, sensory, environmental concerns, packaging, brand, and ways to consume.
 Keywords: plant-based milk, consumer intention, qualitative research, Indonesia

DETERMINANTS OF FACTORS INFLUENCING TAX AVOIDANCE IN PREPARING FINANCIAL STATEMENT AMONG SME TAXPAYERS

The tax avoidance cases in Malaysia increased year by year. The tax avoidance led to country revenue under collected. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the factors that lead to tax avoidance among SME taxpayers in Penang, Malaysia. The study is performed by adopting the Approach-Avoidance Theory model. This model widely used to explain the decision making by the taxpayers to involve in tax avoidance activities. The framework of the study focused on four level factors namely tax complexity, tax compliance costs, tax rate and government transparency spending and tax education and tax knowledge. The objectives of this study are to determine the level and the relationship of tax complexity, tax compliance costs, tax rate and government transparency spending and tax education and tax knowledge and tax avoidance. This study employed the quantitative method by distributing the surveys to the SME taxpayers in Penang state. The total sample of this study was 420 respondents. Collected data were analyzed by using SPSS statistic version 25. As a result, the findings from the regression analysis revealed that tax complexity, tax compliance costs and tax education and tax knowledge significantly on the tax avoidance activities among SME taxpayers in Penang state. However, the study discovered that there is an insignificantly relationship between tax rate and government transparency spending with tax avoidance activities in Penang state. The results of this research are used to develop awareness among the SME owners and to reduce the tax avoidance cases in Penang, Malaysia.

Research on the Influence Mechanism of Consumers' Perceived Risk on the Advertising Avoidance Behavior of Online Targeted Advertising.

In China, online sales continue to grow against the generally adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic development. Although advertisers favor online targeted advertising for its precision, consumers may find it intrusive and avoid it. This study constructed a conceptual model based on Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory, Approach-Avoidance Theory, and Brand Avoidance Theory to investigate the influence mechanism of consumers’ perceived risk on the avoidance behavior of online targeted advertising via an online survey. Collected 436 validated data was analyzed through structural equation method in AMOS statistical software. Results showed that the positively influenced advertising avoidance, and negative emotions mediated the relationship between perceived performance risk, time-loss risk, freedom risk, and advertising avoidance, but perceived privacy risk did not influence advertising avoidance through negative emotions. Perceived COVID-19 risk moderates the effect of negative emotions on advertising avoidance. The findings provide important insights for helping governments, advertisers and online platforms into which risk perceptions influence advertising avoidance, and suggests ways to mitigate consumers risk perceptions for the mutual benefit of brands and users.

Audience Expectations of Advertising during the Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence from an Approach–Avoidance Theory Study in Ghana

Covid-19 (an acronym for the coronavirus disease of 2019) has revised how businesses the world over act, including how they engage their targets. As audiences battle the barrage of Covid-19 information already fighting for their attention, the boundaries of the already complex task of catching and retaining their attention is being re-defined. A cursory observation would show that, during the pandemic, brand advertising has evolved. Promotional messages deployed during the pandemic, particularly at its onset and during peak times, often include references to the pandemic either by way of providing education or solidarising with consumers. How well is this strategy in advertising messaging fitted to audience desires and to what extent does it dis/encourage audience engagement? This article reports on a study that was informed by approach–avoidance theory and explored audience expectations of and responses to advertising messages during the Covid-19 pandemic. Survey data from a sample of advertising audiences in Ghana served as the basis of the exploration. It found that the audience deemed it appropriate for brands to include pandemic information in their advertising and were unreceptive to advertisements (hereafter ads) that have a self-serving (i.e. focused only on the brand) ethos. There were, however, nuances to preference levels towards different themes of pandemic message infusions. These, along with their theoretical implications are discussed in the article.

Swiping for the right reasons: Approach and avoidance goals are associated with actual and perceived dating success on Tinder

Tinder, the mobile dating app, is widely used for meeting potential dating partners, but little research has investigated the dating experiences of users. In two studies, we applied the approach-avoidance theory of social motivation to understand the association between people’s goals for Tinder use and their perceived and actual dating success. In Study 1 we found that higher approach goals for using Tinder, such as to develop intimate relationships, were associated with more positive beliefs about people on Tinder, and in turn, associated with reporting greater perceived dating success, initiating more conversations on Tinder, and going on more second dates with people from Tinder. In contrast, people who had higher avoidance goals when using Tinder, such as aiming to avoid embarrassment, reported feeling more anxious when using Tinder and in turn, perceived less dating success and reported fewer second dates. In Study 2—a preregistered replication of Study 1—we largely replicated the effects from Study 1. Additional analyses in both studies revealed that the results were not accounted for by attractiveness of the user and were consistent between men and women, but differed based on the age of the user. The associations between approach goals and dating success were stronger for younger, compared to older users and the association between avoidance goals and dating success were stronger for older, compared to younger, users. The findings have implications for understanding the role of motivation in dating success on Tinder and reveal novel mechanisms for the associations between dating goals and dating success.

Triggers of engagement and avoidance: Applying approach-avoid theory

ABSTRACTThis study applies Approach–Avoidance Theory to investigate the constructs of advertising engagement and advertising avoidance on Facebook. Using the Critical Incident Technique, it identifies a typology of the seven antecedents of both engagement and avoidance. The results propose a continuum that describes consumer interaction, from active engagement to passive engagement and passive avoidance to active avoidance at the other end. While this paper provides an important test of Approach–Avoid Theory, it also assists practitioners to conduct engagement audits to minimize avoidance and maximize consumer engagement with advertising on SNSs.

The Psychometric Properties of the German Language Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory-Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ)

Abstract. The aim of this study was to assess the psychometric properties of a German translation of the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ; Corr & Cooper, 2016 ). Five hundred twenty-seven participants completed the German version of the RST-PQ, in addition to a battery of related self-report personality questionnaires. A six-factor structure, with two unitary defensive factors, fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS; related to fear) and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS; related to anxiety), and four behavioral approach system (BAS) factors (Reward Interest, Goal-Drive Persistence, Reward Reactivity, and Impulsivity), was supported by confirmatory factor analysis, confirming the English language version of the RST-PQ. Convergent and discriminant validity for the six-factor structure was demonstrated in relation to existing personality scales. Results showed that the German version of the RST-PQ is a reliable and valid self-report measure of the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST) of personality. This version of the RST-PQ is offered to facilitate work on approach-avoidance theories of personality using German language samples.

Feel Bad and Keep Steady: Emotional Images and Words and Postural Control during Bipedal Stance

The study investigates effects of emotional pictures and words on Center of Pressure (CoP) whole-body reactions, based on theories of emotional valence and arousal, approach–avoidance theory, freezing in humans, and stimulus type (pictures vs. words). For freezing, the study differentiated between rambling and trembling components of the CoP reaction. We hypothesized that negative versus positive emotional valence caused stronger CoP avoidance, for both emotional pictures and words. In addition, freezing was hypothesized to be evident in the CoP trembling component caused by high emotional arousal. Forty-five students enrolled in a teacher program completed a bipedal assessment on a force plate while watching positive versus negative and high- versus low-arousal pictures and words that had been selected from stimulus lists in a pretest. Participants rated the valence and arousal of all stimuli in a questionnaire, the results of which indicated a relationship between negative valence and high arousal. The force plate data confirm the hypotheses. First, negative stimuli elicited significant avoidance CoP shifts, independent of their arousal, as indicated by t tests. This effect was found for both emotional pictures and words. CoP for positive stimuli did not differ from zero. Second, indicating freezing, the CoP trembling component was increased by high arousal, independent of valence. Freezing was only found for emotional pictures. The study discusses both the CoP avoidance effect with respect to valence and stimulus type, and the value of the trembling analysis for freezing. It closes with an analysis of the methodological limitations and with recommendations for future studies.

Seeking Connection Versus Avoiding Disappointment: An Experimental Manipulation of Approach and Avoidance Sexual Goals and the Implications for Desire and Satisfaction

Previous correlational research has demonstrated an association between people’s reasons for having sex (i.e., their sexual goals) and their sexual desire and sexual and relationship satisfaction. Across two studies of people in romantic relationships (N = 396) we extend previous research and demonstrate, for the first time, that manipulating the salience of approach sexual goals (i.e., engaging in sex to pursue positive outcomes, such as enhanced intimacy) compared to avoidance sexual goals (i.e., engaging in sex to avert negative outcomes, such as a partner’s disappointment) or a control condition leads people to feel higher sexual desire for their romantic partners and to report higher sexual and relationship satisfaction. In addition, in Study 2 we demonstrate that focusing on approach sexual goals over the course of a week leads people to report more satisfying sexual experiences during that week, as well as higher desire and overall relationship satisfaction, compared to a control group. The current findings advance approach–avoidance theory by providing evidence that it is possible to manipulate people’s sexual goals and, in turn, impact their feelings of desire and satisfaction. Results are promising for the development of interventions to promote sexual and relational well-being.

The Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire (RST-PQ): Development and validation.

We report the development and validation of a questionnaire measure of the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (rRST) of personality. Starting with qualitative responses to defensive and approach scenarios modeled on typical rodent ethoexperimental situations, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) revealed a robust 6-factor structure: 2 unitary defensive factors, fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS; related to fear) and the behavioral inhibition system (BIS; related to anxiety); and 4 behavioral approach system (BAS) factors (Reward Interest, Goal-Drive Persistence, Reward Reactivity, and Impulsivity). Theoretically motivated thematic facets were employed to sample the breadth of defensive space, comprising FFFS (Flight, Freeze, and Active Avoidance) and BIS (Motor Planning Interruption, Worry, Obsessive Thoughts, and Behavioral Disengagement). Based on theoretical considerations, and statistically confirmed, a separate scale for Defensive Fight was developed. Validation evidence for the 6-factor structure came from convergent and discriminant validity shown by correlations with existing personality scales. We offer the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory of Personality Questionnaire to facilitate future research specifically on rRST and, more broadly, on approach-avoidance theories of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record

Escalation in Information Technology Projects

According to the information systems literature, many information technology (IT) projects go wildly over budget, drag on long past their originally scheduled completion date, and do not deliver according to initial specification. Theories that have been used to understand the escalation phenomenon in general are the self-justification theory, the prospect theory, the agency theory, and the approach avoidance theory. These theories have contributed to a considerable insight in the phenomenon of escalation, but divergence among them indicates that there are still some unanswered questions. Discounting describes how the subjective value of an outcome is altered because its outcome is either uncertain and/or delayed. Since a key factor in IT project is the uncertainty and/or delay associated with cost, schedules and functionality of the IT solutions that are made, the authors decided to introduce the concept of discounting to expand understanding of escalation behavior in IT projects.

Approach and Avoidance Behaviour: Multiple Systems and their Interactions

Approach–avoidance theories describe the major systems that motivate behaviours in reaction to classes of appetitive (rewarding) and aversive (punishing) stimuli. The literature points to two major “avoidance” systems, one related to pure avoidance and escape of aversive stimuli, and a second, to behavioural inhibition induced by the detection of goal conflict (in addition, there is evidence for nonaffective behavioural constraint). A third major system, responsible for approach behaviour, is reactive to appetitive stimuli, and has several subcomponents. A number of combined effects of these systems are outlined. Finally, the hierarchical nature of behavioural control is delineated, including the role played by conscious awareness in behavioural inhibition.

Life-threatening event reduces subjective well-being through activating avoidance motivation: A longitudinal study.

Drawing on the approach-avoidance theory, we have examined the role of avoidance motivation in explaining the negative effects of a life-threatening event on subjective well-being (SWB). Residents of the south of Israel were surveyed during heavy missile attacks in January 2009 (T1; n = 283), and again after 6 months (T2; n = 212) and 1 year (T3; n = 154). During the missile attacks, we also surveyed a group from the center of the country (T1; n = 102), not exposed to the attacks. The results indicate that avoidance motivation was activated by the life threat and further mediated its detrimental influence on SWB measures (positive/negative affects, anxiety, and subjective health). Moreover, within the southern sample, the drop in avoidance motivation over time mediated the parallel drop in SWB. In contrast to avoidance motivation, approach motivation remained stable over time and was related to positive emotions. The role of avoidance and approach motivations in life-threatening situations is further discussed.

The Approach-Avoidance Model of Work Engagement

Work engagement has been a construct that, to date, is not well understood in terms its underlying motivational processes. Further, research has almost exclusively taken a job characteristics approach in terms of understanding the antecedent conditions that give rise to work engagement, largely ignoring characteristics of the individual (e.g., psychological traits). The present paper provides a new theoretical framework for understanding the motivational processes that occur during the onset work engagement and the actual experience of work engagement based on approach–avoidance motivation. Previous research on engagement is reviewed with a focus on the conceptual issues that have caused a great deal of ambiguity in the construct. We then present a model that integrates both job characteristics and individual differences and outline our approach-avoidance theory of work engagement and. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Instructional Feedback II: How Do Instructor Immediacy Cues and Facework Tactics Interact to Predict Student Motivation and Fairness Perceptions?

During feedback interventions (FIs), instructors may feel torn between directing students’ learning or maintaining productive rapport with them. Existing research suggests how instructional communication can achieve both outcomes. This study examined how students’ motivation to learn and perceptions of fairness were enhanced or eroded via particular instructional behaviors. Actual face-threat mitigation (FTM) tactics and teacher nonverbal immediacy (TNI) cues were manipulated in differing combinations to manage an FI situation, with varying effects on the outcome variables. Multivariate analysis detected main effects and a significant interaction effect between FTM and TNI regarding students’ motivation to learn, but main effects only for their perceptions of interactional fairness. Theoretical and pedagogical implications are discussed in light of self-determination, facework, approach-avoidance, and feedback intervention theories.

Instructional Feedback I: The Interaction of Facework and Immediacy on Students' Perceptions of Instructor Credibility

Instructors routinely provide feedback for students concerning the work the students produce as part of a classroom course. Although such information is required of instructors and expected by students, the communication of feedback creates a potentially face-threatening interaction in which the student's self-esteem may be diminished and/or the instructor–student relationship may be strained. This study investigated a video instructor's attempts to mitigate such face threats by using sensitive verbal strategies combined with nonverbal immediacy cues. A 2 x 2 experimental design allowed manipulation of these two variables in higher and lower combinations and subsequent detection of a significant interaction effect between them. In the presence of higher face-threat mitigation cues and higher nonverbal immediacy cues, students attributed greater credibility to the video instructor and evaluated the instructor more highly. These findings are interpreted in light of approach-avoidance theory, which posits that people draw near to others whom they like and avoid those they dislike. Implications for classroom instructors are discussed.