Aversive Motivation Research Articles

Parsing the contributions of negative affect vs. aversive motivation to cognitive control: an experimental investigation.

Punishment is a powerful drive that fosters aversive motivation and increases negative affect. Previous studies have reported that this drive has the propensity to improve cognitive control, as shown by improved conflict processing when it is used. However, whether aversive motivation per se or negative affect eventually drives this change remains unclear because in previous work, the specific contribution of these two components could not be isolated. To address this question, we conducted two experiments where we administered the confound minimized Stroop task to a large group of participants each time (N = 50 and N = 47 for Experiment 1 and 2, respectively) and manipulated punishment and feedback contingency using a factorial design. These two experiments were similar except that in the second one, we also measured awareness of feedback contingency at the subjective level. We reasoned that cognitive control would improve the most when punishment would be used, and the contingency between this motivational drive and performance would be reinforced, selectively. Both experiments consistently showed that negative affect increased at the subjective level when punishment was used and the feedback was contingent on task performance, with these two effects being additive. In Experiment 1, we found that when the feedback was contingent on task performance and punishment was activated, conflict processing did not improve. In Experiment 2, we found that conflict processing improved when punishment was contingent on task performance, and participants were aware of this contingency. These results suggest that aversive motivation can improve conflict processing when participants are aware of the link created between punishment and performance.

Appetitive and Aversive Motivation in Dysregulated Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis.

Appetitive and aversive motivation are prominent in theories of dysregulated behaviors. The authors conducted a meta-analysis of the association between individual differences in appetitive and aversive motivation and several dysregulated behaviors (i.e., alcohol use, marijuana use, tobacco use, binge eating, aggression, gambling, and nonsuicidal self-injury). Alcohol use (r = .17, k = 141), marijuana use (r = .13, k = 23), aggression (r = .22, k = 52), and gambling (r = .08, k = 55) were all significantly positively related to appetitive motivation. Binge eating (r = .28, k = 34) and self-injury (r = .17, k = 10) were significantly positively related to aversive motivation. Effect sizes were similar to the median effect size in personality research. Together, these results provide some evidence that some dysregulated behaviors are more correlated with approach motivation, whereas others are more correlated with aversive motivation, which may indicate distinct etiological pathways.

Official Turnover and Corporate ESG Practices: Evidence from China.

In recent years, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) have been extensive concerned. However, few studies have focused on the impact of situational factors on corporate ESG practice decisions. Based on this, using 9428 observations of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2019, this paper attempts to explore the impact of local official turnover on corporate ESG practices, and analyzes the boundary effects of this impact from three aspects: region, industry, and corporate. Our results suggest that (1) official turnover can lead to changes in economic policies and redistribution of political resources, which can stimulate companies' "risk aversion motivation" and "development motivation" and thus promote their ESG practices; (2) this effect is more significant in the high degree of government intervention, the high level of industry competition and private corporates. (3) Further test finds that only when the official turnover abnormally and the regional economic development well, official turnover can significantly contribute to corporate ESG. This paper enriches the relevant research on the decision-making scenarios of corporate ESG practices from the macro-institutional perspective.

Arousal-driven interactions between reward motivation and categorization of emotional facial expressions.

Reward motivation and emotion share common dimensions of valence and arousal, but the nature of interactions between the two constructs is relatively unclear. On the one hand, based on the common valence dimension, valence-compatible interactions are expected where reward motivation would facilitate the processing of compatible (i.e., positive) emotion and hamper the processing of incompatible (i.e., negative) emotion. On the other hand, one could hypothesize valence-general interactions driven by the arousal dimension, where the processing of both positive and negative emotions would be facilitated under reward motivation. Currently, the evidence for valence-compatible vs. valence-general type interactions between reward motivation and goal-relevant emotion is relatively mixed. Moreover, as most of the previous work focused primarily on appetitive motivation, the influence of aversive motivation on goal-relevant emotion is largely unexplored. To address these important gaps, in the present study, we investigated the interactions between motivation and categorization of facial emotional expressions by manipulating the valence dimension of motivation (appetitive and aversive motivation levels) together with that of emotion (positive and negative valence stimuli). Specifically, we conducted two behavioral experiments to separately probe the influence of appetitive and aversive motivation (manipulated via an advance cue signaling the prospect of monetary gains in Experiment 1 and losses in Experiment 2, respectively) on the categorization of happy, fearful, and neutral faces. We tested the two competing hypotheses regarding the interactions between appetitive/aversive motivation and emotional face categorization: Valence-compatible vs. Valence-general. We found evidence consistent with valence-general interactions where both appetitive and aversive motivation facilitated the categorization of happy and fearful faces relative to the neutral ones. Our findings demonstrate that interactions between reward motivation and categorization of emotional faces are driven by the arousal dimension, not by valence.

The selective use of punishments on congruent versus incongruent trials in the Stroop task

Conflict adaptation refers to the dynamic modulation of conflict processing across successive trials and reflects improved cognitive control. Interestingly, aversive motivation can increase conflict adaptation, although it remains unclear through which process this modulation occurs because previous studies presented punishment feedback following suboptimal performance on both congruent and incongruent trials. According to integrative accounts of conflict monitoring and aversive motivation in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, punishment feedback following slow or erroneous performance on incongruent trials in particular should lead to improved conflict adaptation. Second, selectively increasing motivation on incongruent trials should reduce the overall congruency effect. The current study sought to test both hypotheses. Specifically, we administered the confound-minimized Stroop task to a large group of participants and manipulated the position of feedback (following either congruent or incongruent trials) and aversive motivation (tied to a monetary loss or not) across different blocks. As expected, the congruency effect was found to be smaller when punishment was coupled with incongruent versus congruent trials. However, results showed that conflict adaptation was increased when punishment feedback was selectively coupled with congruent rather than incongruent trials. Together, these results suggest that aversive motivation does not uniformly improve cognitive control but this gain appears to be context dependent.

The lesser evil: Pavlovian-instrumental transfer & aversive motivation

While our understanding of appetitive motivation includes accounts of rich cognitive phenomena, such as choice, sensory-specificity and outcome valuation, the same is not true in aversive processes. A highly sophisticated picture has emerged of Pavlovian fear conditioning and extinction, but progress in aversive motivation has been somewhat limited to these fundamental behaviors. Many differences between appetitive and aversive stimuli permit different kinds of analyses; a widely used procedure in appetitive studies that can expand the scope of aversive motivation is Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT). Recently, this motivational transfer effect has been used to examine issues pertaining to sensory-specificity and the nature of defensive control in avoidance learning. Given enduring controversies and unresolved criticisms surrounding avoidance research, PIT offers a valuable, well-controlled procedure with which to similarly probe this form of motivation. Furthermore, while avoidance itself can be criticized as artificial, PIT can be an effective model for how skills learned through avoidance can be practically applied to encounters with threatening or fearful stimuli and stress. Despite sensory-related challenges presented by the limited aversive unconditioned stimuli typically used in research, transfer testing can nevertheless provide valuable information on the psychological nature of this historically controversial phenomenon.

Activating Corticotropin-Releasing Factor Systems in the Nucleus Accumbens, Amygdala, and Bed Nucleus of Stria Terminalis: Incentive Motivation or Aversive Motivation?

BackgroundCorticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neural systems are important stress mechanisms in the central amygdala (CeA), bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST), nucleus accumbens (NAc), and related structures. CRF-containing neural systems are traditionally posited to generate aversive distress states that motivate overconsumption of rewards and relapse in addiction. However, CRF-containing systems may alternatively promote incentive motivation to increase reward pursuit and consumption without requiring aversive states. MethodsWe optogenetically stimulated CRF-expressing neurons in the CeA, BNST, or NAc using Crh-Cre+ rats (n = 37 female, n = 34 male) to investigate roles in incentive motivation versus aversive motivation. We paired CRF-expressing neuronal stimulations with earning sucrose rewards in two-choice and progressive ratio tasks and investigated recruitment of distributed limbic circuitry. We further assessed valence with CRF-containing neuron laser self-stimulation tasks. ResultsChannelrhodopsin excitation of CRF-containing neurons in the CeA and NAc amplified and focused incentive motivation and recruited activation of mesocorticolimbic reward circuitry. CRF systems in both the CeA and NAc supported laser self-stimulation, amplified incentive motivation for sucrose in a breakpoint test, and focused “wanting” on laser-paired sucrose over a sucrose alternative in a two-choice test. Conversely, stimulation of CRF-containing neurons in the BNST produced negative valence or aversive effects and recruited distress-related circuitry, as stimulation was avoided and suppressed motivation for sucrose. ConclusionsCRF-containing systems in the NAc and CeA can promote reward consumption by increasing incentive motivation without involving aversion. In contrast, stimulation of CRF-containing systems in the BNST is aversive but suppresses sucrose reward pursuit and consumption rather than increase, as predicted by traditional hedonic self-medication hypotheses.

Limbic Generators of Incentive Motivation and Aversive Motivation

Limbic Generators of Incentive Motivation and Aversive Motivation

Investigating the Factors of Consumers’ Purchase Intention Towards Life Insurance in Bangladesh: An Application of the Theory of Reasoned Action

This study aims to examine the factors that influence consumer purchase intention towards life insurance. The study included religiosity, risk aversion motives, saving motives, and financial literacy with classical Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), therefore extending the model. A convenience sampling method was employed to collect data from 315 respondents working in different public and private institutions in Bangladesh. Collected data were analysed using the structural equation model (SEM). The results revealed that attitude, subjective norms, risk aversion motives, saving motives, and financial literacy have a significant positive impact on consumer purchase intention towards life insurance. Moreover, religiosity was found to have a negative impact on purchase intention. In addition, saving motives was found as a mediator in the relationship between risk aversion motives and purchase intention, as well as between financial literacy and purchase intention. Since attitude and subjective norms were found to have the most effect on purchase intention, the study implicated that marketers should emphasise company image, reputation, and the credibility of the agents, together with the significant others to whom we often turn to before making any financial decision. Finally, the study offered directions for further research after divulging several limitations.

Voluntary and mandatory provision of common-pool resources with heterogeneous users

Abstract Common-pool resource (CPR) users often face two types of problems to solve: provision and appropriation. Provision problems are often solved through the voluntary or mandatory contribution of users. This paper uses a laboratory experiment to explore how the provision scheme shapes extraction choices by CPR users who are heterogeneous in wealth. Users’ choices are compared under three conditions. In the progressive- and regressive-tax conditions, users’ contribution to the provision of CPR is determined exogenously, and in the third condition, users endogenously choose their contribution level. The standard model of own-payoff-maximization and the behavioral models of inequality aversion and equity theory predict different patterns of choices for rich and poor users under each condition. Experimental results are consistent with the predictions of the inequality-aversion model and clearly refute the predictions of equity theory. Importantly, inequality aversion appears to be motivating choices differently in the exogenous- and endogenous-provision conditions: under the regressive- and progressive-tax conditions, extraction choices are consistent with inequality aversion motives, whereas in the endogenous treatment, contribution decisions are consistent with inequality aversion but extraction choices are not.

Motivational factors underlying aversive Pavlovian-instrumental transfer.

While interest in active avoidance has recently been resurgent, many concerns relating to the nature of this form of learning remain unresolved. By separating stimulus and response acquisition, aversive Pavlovian-instrumental transfer can be used to measure the effect of avoidance learning on threat processing with more control than typical avoidance procedures. However, the motivational substrates that contribute to the aversive transfer effect have not been thoroughly examined. In three studies using rodents, the impact of a variety of aversive signals on shock-avoidance responding (i.e., two-way shuttling) was evaluated. Fox urine, as well as a tone paired with the delivery of the predator odor were insufficient modulatory stimuli for the avoidance response. Similarly, a signal for the absence of food did not generate appropriate aversive motivation to enhance shuttling. Only conditioned Pavlovian stimuli that had been paired with unconditioned threats were capable of augmenting shock-avoidance responding. This was true whether the signaled outcome was the same (e.g., shock) or different (e.g., klaxon) from the avoidance outcome (i.e., shock). These findings help to characterize the aversive transfer effect and provide a more thorough analysis of its generalization to warning signals for different kinds of threats. This feature of aversive motivation has not been demonstrated using conventional avoidance procedures and could be potentially useful for applying avoidance in treatment settings.

Effects of Appetitive and Aversive Motivational States on Wanting and Liking of Interpersonal Touch

Social rewards represent a strong driving force behind decisions and behaviors. Previous research suggests that the processing of a reward depends on the initial state of the individual. However, empirical research in humans on the influence of motivational states on reward processing is scant, especially for rewards of social nature. In the present study, we aimed at investigating how aversive and appetitive motivation affects the processing of social rewards, such as interpersonal touch. Participants (n = 102) were assigned to an appetitive (positive) or aversive (negative) motivational state condition (via modified versions of the Trier Social Stress Test) or to a control condition. After the state induction, their (a) self-reports of wanting and liking, (b) effort, and (c) hedonic facial reactions during anticipation and consumption of interpersonal touch, were measured. Participants in the aversive group showed higher subjective wanting of interpersonal touch, but no changes in subjective liking, compared to the control group. The aversive group also showed stronger positive hedonic facial reactions during reward anticipation, reflecting stronger anticipatory pleasure. No significant effects were found for the appetitive group. The results indicate that, after being exposed to an aversive experience, the motivation to obtain interpersonal touch, as well as the associated anticipatory pleasure, increase, without a corresponding change in liking during or after its consumption. The findings point to differential state-dependent effects on the processing of social rewards, possibly due to the action of different neurobiological systems regulating reward anticipation and consumption.

The influence of threat and aversive motivation on conflict processing in the Stroop task.

Motivated attention can be driven by the desire to maximize gains or escape punishment. In the Stroop task, when rewards can be obtained by responding quickly to certain colors, corresponding color words are prioritized and produce enhanced interference, suggesting transfer of an attentional bias from color hues to color words. In the present study, we replicated this transfer effect using reward and conducted a parallel experiment exchanging the prospect of reward (appetitive motivation) with the opportunity to avert punishment (aversive motivation). Participants were required to identify the color (hue) of color words and received electric shocks for responses to particular hues that were slow or incorrect. Shock-related words similarly impaired color-ink naming performance. In contrast to prior studies with reward, however, responding to hues associated with shock was also impaired, with threat producing an increase in error rate that ironically resulted in more frequent shocks. Our results suggest that aversive and appetitive motivation affect attention to task-relevant information differently, although each produces a common bias in automatic stimulus processing presumably driven by valence.

Impaired cognitive control during reward pursuit and punishment avoidance

Two experiments were conducted to examine how cognitive control is modulated by response-contingent reward (Experiment 1) and response-contingent punishment (Experiment 2). The congruency sequence effect (CSE), which is the reduction of the congruency effect after incongruent trials compared to the effect after congruent trials, was analyzed as an index of cognitive control. In both experiments, response speed and accuracy were enhanced by reward or punishment. However, in Experiment 1, the CSE was not evident during anticipation of large reward, whereas a significant CSE was obtained during anticipation of small reward. In contrast, in Experiment 2, the CSE was equivalent regardless of the magnitude of punishment. Moreover, the magnitude of the congruency effect was greater in large punishment than a small one. These results indicate a discrepancy between appetitive and aversive motivations in modulating cognitive control even though both invigorated motor responses. In appetitive motivation, cognitive control is likely to be biased toward a proactive control mode, whereas reactive control is preferable in aversive motivation, where aversiveness also interferes with cognitive processes.

Keeping tabs on bad experiences

Neuroscience Identifying the neural basis underlying how we acquire, process, and store negative experiences could help the search for effective treatments for mood disorders. Szőnyi et al. used a range of neuroscientific tools to elucidate the role of a specific neural circuit that originates in the median raphe region of the murine brainstem (see the Perspective by Ikemoto). A subpopulation of excitatory neurons projected to aversive brain areas and received recurrent feedback from the lateral habenula and convergent feedback from a range of fear-related circuitry. These neurons were activated by aversive stimuli, and artificial stimulation promoted aversion or anxiety-related behavior. This group of cells thus plays a pivotal role in a network that helps to mediate aversive motivation. Science , this issue p. [eaay8746][1]; see also p. [1071][2] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aay8746 [2]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aaz8638

Appetitive and aversive motivation in depression: The temporal dynamics of task-elicited asymmetries in alpha oscillations

The capability model of alpha asymmetries posits that state emotional manipulations are a more powerful detector of depression-related motivational deficits than alpha activity at rest. The present study used a time-frequency approach to investigate the temporal dynamics of event-related changes in alpha power during passive viewing of emotional pictures in individuals with dysphoria (n = 23) and in individuals without dysphoria (n = 24). In the whole group, the processing of pleasant and unpleasant compared to neutral pictures was associated with a decrease in event-related alpha power (i.e., alpha desynchronization) at centro-parietal and parietal scalp sites in the 538–1400 ms post-stimulus. The group with dysphoria revealed a smaller alpha desynchronization than the group without dysphoria in response to pleasant, but not neutral and unpleasant, stimuli at frontal, fronto-central and centro-parietal sites. Interestingly, at central and centro-parietal scalp sites, the difference between groups in response to pleasant stimuli was lateralized to the right hemisphere, whereas no clear lateralization was observed at frontal and fronto-central scalp sites. These findings suggest that decreased cortical activity (i.e., reduced alpha desynchronization) in a network involving bilateral frontal and right-lateralized parietal regions may provide a specific measure of deficits in approach-related motivation in depression.

Chemogenetic Inhibition Reveals That Processing Relative But Not Absolute Threat Requires Basal Amygdala.

While our understanding of appetitive motivation has benefited immensely from the use of selective outcome devaluation tools, the same cannot be said about aversive motivation. Findings from appetitive conditioning studies have shown that basal amygdala is required for behaviors that are sensitive to updates in outcome value, but similar results in aversive motivation are difficult to interpret due to a lack of outcome specificity. The studies reported here sought to develop procedures to isolate sensory-specific processes in aversive learning and behavior and to assess the possible contribution of the basal amygdala. Post-training changes to outcome value produced commensurate changes to subsequently tested conditioned responding in male rodents. Specifically, increases in shock intensity (i.e., inflation) augmented, while repeated exposure to (i.e., habituation of) an aversive sound (klaxon-horn) reduced freezing to conditioned stimuli previously paired with these outcomes. This was extended to a discriminative procedure, in which following revaluation of one event, but not the other, responding was found to be dependent on outcome value signaled by each cue. Chemogenetic inactivation of basal amygdala impaired this discrimination between stimuli signaling differently valued outcomes, but did not affect the revaluation process itself. These findings demonstrate a contribution of the basal amygdala to aversive outcome-dependent motivational processes.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The specific content of pavlovian associative learning has been well studied in appetitive motivation, where the value of different foods can be easily manipulated. This has facilitated our understanding of the neural circuits that generate different forms of motivation (i.e., sensory specific vs general). Studies of aversive learning have not produced the same degree of understanding with regard to sensory specificity due to a lack of tools for evaluating sensory-specific processes. Here we use a variant of outcome devaluation procedures with aversive stimuli to study the role of basal amygdala in discriminating between aversive stimuli conveying different degrees of threat. These findings have implications for how we study generalized threat to identify dysregulation that can contribute to generalized anxiety.

Analysis of Consumer Purchase Intention of Life Insurance: Bangladesh Perspective

Purpose- The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors affecting customer intention to purchase life insurance. Design/Methodology/Approach- Based on a sample of 200 individuals, this study is basically descriptive in nature and used both primary and secondary sources of data. To investigate the relationship between dependent and independent variables one way ANOVA tests, Correlation and Multiple Regression Analysis were conducted throughout the research. Findings- The paper demonstrates that socio-demographic variables except occupation have no significant influence on purchase intentions for life insurance. The study also demonstrated that bequest motive and financial literacy had the most significant impact on customer purchase intention for life insurance. However, precautionary motive was found to be insignificant in influencing customer interest or intention to purchase Life insurance. Research Limitations- The major limitations of this paper is the small sample size. Additionally, future studies may incorporate some other variables such as religiosity and national culture which were not considered in this study. Practical implications- The paper will be helpful for marketer to gain a better understanding of customer and the factors that make them interested or intended to purchase life insurance in Bangladesh. Originality- It is apparent that there are very few studies that focused on several determinants of life insurance demand and indeed none of them incorporated collectively the factors considered in this study for predicting customer purchase intention for life insurance. In this regard this paper makes significant contribution in satisfying the gap in the scope. Therefore, the authors expects that this paper will provide marketers with a clear understanding of general peoples’ interest in life insurance and the cumulative impact of socio-demographic, financial literacy, saving motives and risk aversion motives on purchase intention for life insurance.

Size matters in the case of graphic health warnings: Evidence from physiological measures

Objectives>50 countries use graphic health warnings (GHWs) with the minimum size that is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the size of GHWs on physiological responses that serve as indices of arousal and aversive motivation in nonsmokers, weekly smokers, and daily smokers. MethodsThe skin conductance response, corrugator muscle activity, and startle reflex were recorded in 35 nonsmokers, 35 weekly smokers, and 35 daily smokers while they observed pictures of cigarette packs without GHWs, cigarette packs with GHWs that covered 30% of the pack, and cigarette packs with GHWs that covered 60% of the pack. ResultsCigarette packs with 30% GHWs did not generate significantly higher responses on any of the physiological measures compared with cigarette packs without GHWs. Conversely, cigarette packs with GHWs that covered 60% of the pack generated a greater skin conductance response, greater corrugator muscle activity, and an increase in the startle reflex compared with cigarette packs without GHWs. No significant differences were found between groups in any of the physiological measures. ConclusionsThe minimum size of GHW that is recommended by the WHO is insufficient to generate an emotional response that favors avoidance of the cigarette pack. GHW that cover 60% of the cigarette pack significantly reduced the attractiveness of the tobacco packaging and generated greater arousal responses.

Open field, panel length discrimination by homing pigeons (Columba livia)

Pigeons were trained to find a food reward in a square environmental space where two opposing walls had longer panels attached to them, and the other two opposing walls had shorter panels attached to them. Magnitude discrimination theory would lead to the prediction that there would be asymmetrical discriminative performance between experimental groups; rewarded associations with longer panels were expected to yield better correct choice performance than to shorter panels. Interestingly, pigeons trained with food rewards abutting the long panels did not outperform pigeons trained with food rewards abutting the short panels, although discrimination performance in both groups at the end of training was modest. Reversal training following the initial discrimination training provided the strongest evidence of successful initial learning, and more importantly, that there was no difference in learning performance between the two groups. The difference in the performance of pigeons compared to previous studies in rats is most easily explained by the different experimental procedures employed, most notably the use of appetitive (pigeons-food reward) compared to aversive (rats-escape in a water maze) motivation. Alternatively, the data support the hypothesis that in similar training environments pigeons, compared to rats, are more likely to combine panels of different lengths into a more holistic geometric representation of space.