Avoidance Motivation Research Articles

Approach or Avoidance: Contrasting Effects of Envy-Related Coping Strategies

High performing employees are often expected to take initiative and engage in extra-role activities. But the harmful consequences of coworker envy stemming from outperformance might discourage employees to take initiative – a disrupting factor that management scholars yet to fully understand. With the present research, we hope to address this deficiency and provide a deeper analysis of the envy-proactivity link. We draw upon regulatory theories and examine how approach and avoidance motivations of envied employees drive distinct patterns of their envy appraisal and subsequent coping strategies. Our findings suggest that the extent to which individuals focus on the potential negative impact of envy on themselves, drives the selection of avoidant coping strategies, which hinders proactivity. However, concern towards the envier stimulate approach motivated coping strategy, which in turn can enhance proactive behaviors. Our pilot study conducted among international working professionals provided initial evidence that self-oriented concern in the face of envy stimulate distancing behaviors (avoidance motivation), whereas other-oriented concern prompts envied individuals to engage in courtesy (approach motivation). Study 2 demonstrated that these two mechanisms have contrastive effect on proactivity: the serial mediation was negative through self-oriented concern and distancing, but positive through other-oriented concern and courtesy. An experimental design in Study 3 further strengthen the robustness of these findings.

Empirical Research of the Self-education Motivation of Students

The aim of the article is to present results of an empirical research of self-education motivation of students. The following methods are used: empirical: «Method for studying the motivation for success and avoidance of failure» by A.О. Rean, «Method for studying the motivation of higher education» by T.I. Iliina, «Test for assessing the ability to self-development and self-education» by V.I. Andreev, «Personal Orientation Inventory» by E. Shostrom; mathematical and statistical methods of data processing. The results of the research. The data of studying the components of self-education motivation (motivation for achieving success, motivation of learning, the ability to self-education and self-actualization) have been presented. Diagnostics of the motivation for success and avoidance of failure has shown that in the group of the first and third year undergraduate students, motivation for success prevails, but it is not marked, and in the 1–2nd year of magistracy, most students have a stable motivation for success. An empirical study of the motivation of educational activity has shown that the motive «Acquisition of knowledge» is the leading motive for students, and the motives «Mastering a profession» and «Getting a diploma» are almost at the same level. This demonstrates that students show curiosity, interest in acquiring knowledge, but still formally assimilate them. It has been found that the motivation for self-education of students grows during the course of study – from the level below average (at the 1st year of the higher education level «Bachelor») to above the average (at the 1st year of the higher education level «Master»). Diagnostics of the degree of self-actualization has shown that students of the first and third years of the baccalaureate have an average degree of self-actualization, and the first year of the magistracy – a high one, which indicates the desire to develop personal capabilities. Conclusions. Results of the empirical research and correlation analysis of components of the self-education motivation have confirmed the research hypothesis in that part that the self-education motivation of students increases during the course of education; it has been stated the ability for self-education leads to the desire to achieve success and depends on self-actualization.

Enhancing the Detection of Metamorphic Malware using Deep Learning

Malware is the name for a malicious variants. Malware models conatins code generated by cyberattackers, plan to cause distrupt to data and systems or to gain unauthorized access to a network. Malware have been enormously increasing in now a days. Majority of malware utilize obfuscation methods for avoidance and abstruse motive, but they conserve the purpose and malicious behaviour of native Rey. Attackers uses metamorphic techniques to build viruses that change their internal construction all bug. Malware signatures and behaviour samples acquire static and dynamic analysis that are ineffectual in recognising undetermine malwares.In general,these metamorphic viruses are very hard to detect. In this paper, we suggest HMM as a novel solution for metamorphic detection.

Spiritual Benefit from Cannabis

ABSTRACT Like many mind-altering plants, cannabis has been part of spiritual practices for thousands of years. It has deep roots in Hinduism, Islam, Rastafarianism, and indigenous traditions in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere. Yet almost no attention has been given to how contemporary adults employ it spiritually. A sample of 1087 participants (mean age = 38.9) completed an online survey assessing their use of cannabis and other substances, as well as spiritual and psychological characteristics. Spiritual benefit from cannabis was reported by 66.1% of the sample, and 5.5% reported it had sometimes been a spiritual hindrance. A MANOVA showed that those who reported spiritual benefit differed significantly from those who did not on several outcome variables, and a post hoc descriptive discriminant analysis revealed that expansiveness motivation, non-theistic daily spiritual experience, meditation frequency, and two mindfulness facets contributed most to differentiating the two groups. The majority of the sample (63%) was free of cannabis use disorder. Compared to disordered groups, the non-disordered group was significantly older and scored lower on experiential avoidance, psychological distress, and several motives for use. Results suggest that spiritual motives for cannabis use may be widespread. Implications for future research on spiritual use of cannabis are discussed.

Personal Characteristics of Students, Inclined to Internet-addicted Behaviour

Introduction. The article is devoted to the study of personality traits of students with different levels of Internet addiction. In connection with the rapid ubiquitous spread of the Internet, the problem of dependence on the global network is becoming more and more urgent. However, we have to state that there is a contradiction between the need to prevent Internet addiction among young people and insufficient knowledge of the personal characteristics of students who are prone to Internet addictive behaviour. Materials and Methods. The research used the following methods: theoretical analysis of scientific literature, testing (test for Internet addiction (K. Young (adapted by V. A. Loskutova)), test “Self-assessment” (L. D. Stolyarenko), personality questionnaire “Suggestibility” (S. V. Klauchek and V. V. Delariu), personality questionnaire EPI (Eysenck Personality Inventory) (G. Eysenck), methodology for diagnosing failure avoidance motivation (T. Ehlers)). For statistical analysis of empirical data, the Student’s test was used for independent samples. Results. The study found that among the respondents there are no people with a pronounced Internet addiction. Identified potential Internet addicts – students overly keen on the Internet. They tend to have low self-esteem scores and are more susceptible to suggestion than regular web users. Most students who are prone to Internet-addicted behaviour have a high and too high level of motivation for avoiding failure, while the majority of ordinary users are characterized by a high level. There are no significant differences between the groups of respondents on the introversion and extraversion scale. Statistical analysis of the data obtained confirmed the presence of significant differences between students who are potential addicts and students who are ordinary Internet users in terms of self-esteem and suggestibility. Discussion and Conclusion. The analysis of the results of the study allows us to conclude that students who are overly keen on the Internet differ from their peers – ordinary Internet users by their tendency to a low assessment of their own qualities and a higher suggestibility. They also have a higher level of failure avoidance motivation. The data obtained by us can be used in the development of programs for the prevention of Internet addiction among students.

Age Differences in Media Consumption and Avoidance With Respect to COVID-19.

Older versus younger adults are at greater risk from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but descriptive data show they are less likely to seek out related information in the media, although underlying mechanisms remain unclear. A representative adult life-span sample (N = 500) completed a preregistered online study assessing changes in media consumption in response to the pandemic, self-reported and behavioral media avoidance, avoidance motives, and demographic, socioemotional, and cognitive covariates. Age was associated with reduced media consumption and higher behavioral media avoidance, but lower self-reported media avoidance and lower endorsement of specific avoidance motives. Age differences in aspects of affect, motivation, and cognition statistically accounted for variations in behavioral avoidance but not for the other age effects. Age differences in media use in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic are not explained by deliberate avoidance intentions and motives but associated with broader age variations in socioemotional and cognitive functioning.

Is the Suppression Effect of the Color Red on Snack Food Consumption Reliable?

Two articles hypothesized that exposure to the color red would induce a state of avoidance motivation and reported that snack food consumption was decreased when the food was served on red plates, relative to white and blue plates. The current experiment combined their procedures and approximately tripled their group sizes. Participants were provided with pretzels on red, white, or blue plates in a mock sensory analysis task. The results indicated that more pretzels were consumed when presented on red plates, in direct contradiction of previous results. Alternative explanations, such as group differences in hunger or preference for pretzels, could not account for the results. The facilitation effect of red indicates that the color red does not always reduce snack food consumption and suggests that the reported inhibitory effect of red on snack consumption may not be reliable.

Faith and science mindsets as predictors of COVID-19 concern: A three-wave longitudinal study

The COVID-19 pandemic allowed for a naturalistic, longitudinal investigation of the relationship between faith and science mindsets and concern about COVID-19. Our goal was to examine two possible directional relationships: (Model 1) COVID-19 concern ➔ disease avoidance and self-protection motivations ➔ science and faith mindsets versus (Model 2) science and faith mindsets ➔ COVID-19 concern. We surveyed 858 Mechanical Turk workers in three waves of a study conducted in March, April, and June 2020. We found that science mindsets increased whereas faith mindsets decreased (regardless of religious type) during the early months of the pandemic. Further, bivariate correlations and autoregressive cross-lagged analyses indicated that science mindset was positive predictor of COVID-19 concern, in support of Model 2. Faith mindset was not associated with COVID-19 concern. However, faith mindset was a negative predictor of science mindset. We discuss the need for more research regarding the influence of science and faith mindsets as well as the societal consequences of the pandemic.

Measuring Implicit Approach-Avoidance Tendencies towards Food Using a Mobile Phone outside the Lab.

Implicit (‘unconscious’) approach–avoidance tendencies towards stimuli can be measured using the Approach Avoidance Task (AAT). We recently expanded a toolbox for analyzing the raw data of a novel, mobile version of the AAT (mAAT), that asks participants to move their phone towards their face (pull) or away (push) in response to images presented on the phone. We here tested the mAAT reaction time and the mAAT distance in a study with 71 Dutch participants that were recruited online and performed an experiment without coming to the laboratory. The participants used both the mAAT and (explicit) rating scales to respond to photographic images of food. As hypothesized, the rated wanting, rated valence and mAAT reaction time indicated a preference for palatable over unpalatable food, and for Dutch over Asian food. Additionally, as expected, arousal was rated higher for unpalatable than for palatable food, and higher for Dutch than for Asian food. The mAAT distance indicated that the unpalatable food images were moved across larger distances, regardless of the movement direction (pull or push), compared to the palatable food images; and the Dutch food images were moved across larger distances than the Asian food images. We conclude that the mAAT can be used to implicitly probe approach–avoidance motivation for complex images in the food domain. The new measure of mAAT distance may be used as an implicit measure of arousal. The ratings and the mAAT measures do not reflect the exact same information and may complement each other. Implicit measures, such as mAAT variables, are particularly valuable when response biases that can occur when using explicit ratings are expected.

Satisfying curiosities through “sextech”: Who is accessing non-traditional sexual education?

There is a growing field of apps/websites designed to address user concerns about sex using valid information (e.g., OMGYes.com). Young people may turn to this educational sexuality-related technology ("sextech") to address perceived shortcomings of traditional sex education. The current study investigated the prevalence, motivations, and outcomes associated with educational sextech use and examined links between sextech use and self-reported sexual function in a sample of 1029 young adults (18-24 years; 57% women). Those who reported past sextech use (n = 236; 32%) completed an anonymous survey assessing patterns of sextech use, perceptions of associated outcomes, and current sexual function. They reported use of one site/app on average. Sextech users had worse sexual function than a comparison group of non-users (n = 440; 18-24 years, 58% women) but reported perceiving sextech as helpful. Most users reported approach (vs avoidance) motives. This study is the first to our knowledge to investigate sextech use among young people and has implications for better reaching this group for sexual education.

Sibling Topic Avoidance in Emerging Adulthood: Associations with Sibling Communication Patterns, Interference/Facilitation, and Topic Avoidance Motivations

ABSTRACT Sibling topic avoidance was examined from the perspective of family communication patterns, relational turbulence theory, and topic avoidance. Respondents (n = 291) completed a survey on sibling communication patterns, interference/facilitation, topic avoidance motivations, and topics avoided. Sibling conversation orientation positively predicted facilitation, and negatively predicted interference, topic avoidance motivations, and topic avoidance. Sibling conformity orientation positively predicted interference and topic avoidance motivations. Topic avoidance motivations mediated links between sibling communication patterns and topics avoided. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Does the Normalization of Tax Enforcement Decrease Corporate Tax Avoidance? A Quasi-natural Experiment Based on Tax Administrative Penalty Discretion Standards

An important action in the taxation area is to strengthen the normalization of tax enforcement in the processing of the construction of law-based government in China. Furthermore, the core of the normalization of tax enforcement is to establish and perfect the tax administrative penalty discretion standards. Based on the perspective of the tax administrative penalty discretion standards, on the one hand, the normalization of tax enforcement has fully absorbed the predisposing factors of tax enforcement, clarified the specific standards of taxation offences, strengthened the legal deterrence of tax enforcement, and reduced taxpayers’ subjective motivation of tax avoidance; on the other hand, the normalization of tax enforcement could improve the tax enforcement system to some extent, curb the rent-seeking possibility of the collusion between tax supervisors and firms, and further break the external environment of tax avoidance from the collusion through informal payments (e.g., business entertainment expenses) between taxpayers and tax supervisors. Therefore, an interesting and meaningful question is that, based on the perspective of tax administrative penalty discretion standards, how the normalization of tax enforcement restrains corporate tax avoidance behaviors.The province-level practice of tax administrative penalty discretion standards constructs a quasi-natural experiment to explore the relationship between the normalization of tax enforcement and corporate tax avoidance. Based on the province-level practice of tax administrative penalty discretion standards, this study examines the effect of the normalization of tax enforcement on corporate tax avoidance. It shows that compared with the ex-ante period of tax administrative penalty discretion standards implemented in every province, in the ex-post period of tax administrative penalty discretion standards implemented in every province, the negative relationship is more pronounced between the normalization of tax enforcement and corporate tax avoidance. Moreover, the former relationship is more pronounced in firms with less financial reporting quality, lower internal control quality and more collusion between tax supervisors and firms. Further, the former relationship is also more pronounced in private and smaller firms. As a result, as tax administrative penalty discretion standards are implemented, the normalization of tax enforcement can decrease corporate tax avoidance.This study makes several contributions as follows: First, based on the province-level practice of tax administrative penalty discretion standards, besides considering the traditional consequence of tax enforcement, this study also considers the effect of the normalization of tax enforcement from the predisposing perspective of tax administrative penalty discretion standards, broadens the horizon of tax enforcement research, and further enriches the relevant literature of tax enforcement. Second, this study broadens the horizon of the determinants of tax avoidance research, especially in the aspect of tax enforcement, and further enriches the relevant literature of the determinants of tax avoidance research. Third, this study reveals that the normalization of tax enforcement can optimize the external environment of listed firms’ governance and further offer beneficial implications for the fact that tax policies are implemented in the processing of the law-based government.

Visual disgust elicitors produce an attentional blink independent of contextual and trait-level pathogen avoidance.

Multiple studies report that disgust-eliciting stimuli are perceived as salient and subsequently capture selective attention. In the current study, we aimed to better understand the nature of temporal attentional biases toward disgust-eliciting stimuli and to investigate the extent to which these biases are sensitive to contextual and trait-level pathogen avoidance motives. Participants (N = 116) performed in an emotional attentional blink task in which task-irrelevant disgust-eliciting, fear-eliciting, or neutral images preceded a target by 200, 500, or 800 ms (i.e., lag 2, 5 and 8, respectively). They did so twice-once while not exposed to an odor and once while exposed to either an odor that elicited disgust or an odor that did not-and completed a measure of disgust sensitivity. Results indicate that disgust-eliciting visual stimuli produced a greater attentional blink than neutral visual stimuli at lag 2 and a greater attentional blink than fear-eliciting visual stimuli at both lag 2 and at lag 5. Neither the odor manipulations nor individual differences measures moderated this effect. We propose that visual attention is engaged for a longer period of time following disgust-eliciting stimuli because covert processes automatically initiate the evaluation of pathogen threats. The fact that state and trait pathogen avoidance do not influence this temporal attentional bias suggests that early attentional processing of pathogen cues is initiated independent from the context in which such cues are perceived. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

High avoidance and low approach motivation affect cognitive reappraisal generation in the face of anger

This study investigates the link between the revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) and individuals’ capacity to spontaneously invent alternate appraisals for aversive events. Eighty-two women completed the Reappraisal Inventiveness Test for anger-eliciting situations, and quantity and quality of reappraisal ideas were correlated with BIS, BAS, and FFFS sensitivity (RST-Personality Questionnaire). Results revealed that high BIS and high FFFS reduced the total number of reappraisal ideas, indicating that combined heightened sensitivity of the two avoidance systems may deplete individuals’ repertoire of potential reappraisals. RST effects on the quality of generated reappraisals were also found. High BIS and low BAS lowered individuals’ propensity to produce positive re-interpretations, which are considered a more adaptive reappraisal tactic. High FFFS sensitivity was linked to a lower preference for problem-oriented reappraisals. This study underlines that certain interactions of motivational subsystems may be particularly detrimental for successful reappraisal of anger-eliciting events. Our findings reveal potential links between revised RST effects and adaptive emotion regulation.

The diagnosis of avoidant restrictive food intake disorder in the presence of gastrointestinal disorders: Opportunities to define shared mechanisms of symptom expression.

Individuals with a gastrointestinal (GI) disorder often alter their diet to manage GI symptoms, adding complexity to understanding the diverse motivations contributing to food avoidance/restriction. When a GI disorder is present, the DSM-5 states that Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) can be diagnosed only when eating disturbance exceeds that expected. There is limited guidance to make this determination. This study attempts to address this gap by characterizing the presentation of ARFID in adults with and without a self-reported GI disorder. Participants were 2,610 adults ages 18-44 who self-identified as "picky eaters." Participants reported on motivations for food avoidance, affective experiences towards food, and perceived impairment. Responses were compared across four groups: GI issues and likely ARFID (L-ARFID/GI), L-ARFID-only, GI-only, and No-ARFID/No-GI. Groups with a GI disorder (L-ARFID/GI, GI-only) reported more fear of aversive consequences of eating than those without a GI disorder, while groups with L-ARFID (L-ARFID, L-ARFID/GI) evidenced significantly greater sensory aversion to food and indifference to food or eating, negative emotional reactions to food and overall disgust sensitivity, and eating related impairment. Consideration of the interplay of a GI disorder with ARFID can add precision to case conceptualization. Food avoidance may be attempts to manage fears of aversive consequences that are augmented by a history of GI symptoms, while sensory aversions and negative emotional reactions towards foods may be more elevated in ARFID. These findings emphasize the need to consider an ARFID diagnosis in patients with GI disorders to optimize care.

Customer and tax behaviour: how customer concentration affect suppliers’ tax avoidance

ABSTRACT This study discusses, from the perspective of the supplier-customer relationship, whether and how firms’ customer concentration affects corporate tax avoidance in the context of China. The results indicate that firms with higher customer concentration are more likely to engage in tax avoidance. Higher customer concentration increases firms’ operational risks, and hence, they tend to conduct more aggressive tax activities to meet the increasing demand for internal liquidity. Additionally, we find that the positive association between corporate customer concentration and tax avoidance is stronger in non-state-owned enterprises. Moreover, when firms face more cash flow volatility, less cash holdings, and a poorer external legal environment, aggressive tax activities induced by concentrated customers are more pronounced. Our findings not only extend the growing literature on the consequences of customer concentration for firms, but also provide new evidence on their motivation for corporate tax avoidance, with significant implications for supply chain management and corporate governance.

Emotional State and Feedback-Related Negativity Induced by Positive, Negative, and Combined Reinforcement.

Reinforcement learning relies on the reward prediction error (RPE) signals conveyed by the midbrain dopamine system. Previous studies showed that dopamine plays an important role in both positive and negative reinforcement. However, whether various reinforcement processes will induce distinct learning signals is still unclear. In a probabilistic learning task, we examined RPE signals in different reinforcement types using an electrophysiology index, namely, the feedback-related negativity (FRN). Ninety-four participants were randomly assigned into four groups: base (no money incentive), positive reinforcement (presentation of money rewards), negative reinforcement (removal of money losses), and combined reinforcement (money rewards and removal of money losses) groups. In addition, in order to evaluate the engagement of emotional activity in the different reinforcement processes, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Expanded Form (PANAS-X) scales were applied before and after the experiment to detect the emotional changes. The results showed that there was no difference between groups in the dopamine-related learning bias. However, compared to the other three groups, negative reinforcement elicited smaller FRN (the difference-wave measure) during the learning, stronger positive affect and joviality, and less fatigue after the learning, in which the difference between the negative and positive reinforcement groups was smaller. The results indicated that pure avoidance motivation may induce distinct emotional fluctuations, which influence the feedback processing.

Approach-avoidance conflict and shyness: A developmental investigation.

One long-standing theoretical model of shyness proposes that the origins and maintenance of shyness are associated with an approach-avoidance motivational conflict (Asendorpf, 1990), such that shy individuals are motivated to socially engage (high approach motivation) but are too anxious to do so (high avoidance motivation). However, this model has not been empirically tested in predicting the development of shyness. In two separate longitudinal studies, we used the Carver and White (1994) Behavioral Inhibition and Activation System (BIS/BAS) scales as a proxy of approach-avoidance motivations and growth curve analyses to examine whether individual differences in these hypothesized motivational tendencies were associated with the development of shyness across 3 years from late childhood to adolescence (Study 1, N = 1284; 49.8% female, Mage = 10.72, SDage = 1.73, M level of parental education fell between associate's degree/diploma and undergraduate degree) and across nearly a decade from emerging adulthood to young adulthood (Study 2, N = 83; 57.8% females, Mage = 23.56 years, SDage = 1.09 years, 92.8% had at least a high school education). Contrary to the approach-avoidance conflict model of shyness, we found that a combination of high BIS/low BAS, not high BIS/high BAS, was associated with relatively higher shyness contemporaneously and across development in both studies. We discuss the processes that might link individual differences in approach-avoidance motivations to the development of shyness in adolescence and young adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Investigation of the Motivation of Nurses Working in a Mental Health and Psychiatry Hospital to Approach or Avoid Emotion Inducing Situations in Terms of Some Parameters

Objective: This study aims to investigate the motivation of nurses, who are working in a mental health and illness hospital, to approach or avoid emotion inducing situations in terms of some parameters.Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with 101 nurses who worked in Samsun Mental Health and Illness Hospital between June 2017 and July 2017 and met the inclusion criteria. In the study, the “Demographic Information Sheet” and “Need for Affect Scale” were used as a data collection tool.Results: The nurses who thought that they were capable of recognizing their feelings had a low score from the avoidance sub-scale (p<0.05). The nurses who thought that they were capable of expressing their feelings had a high score from the approach sub-scale but a low score from the avoidance sub-scale (p<0.05). The nurses, who expressed that they partially abstain from participating in emotionally intense environments in their social lives, had a higher score from the avoidance sub-scale (p<0.05).Conclusion: It was concluded that for the nurses working in the mental health and illness hospital where the study was conducted, the parameter of thinking to be capable of expressing their feelings affected the motivation to approach emotion-inducing situations; while the parameters of thinking to be capable of recognizing feelings, of abstaining from participating in emotionally intense environments in social life, of thinking that individuals with mental illness are dangerous and having difficulty when working with them affected the avoidance motivation.

Outbreaks and Outgroups: Three Tests of the Relationship Between Disease Avoidance Motives and Xenophobia During an Emerging Pandemic.

Given the persistent threat posed by infectious disease throughout human history, people have a sophisticated suite of cognitive and behavioral strategies designed to mitigate exposure to disease vectors. Previous research suggests that one such strategy is avoidance of unfamiliar outgroup members. We thus examined the relationship between dispositional worry about disease and support for COVID-19-related travel bans across three preregistered studies (N = 764) conducted at the outset of the pandemic in the United States and Singapore. Americans higher in Perceived Infectability were more supportive of travel bans, whereas Singaporeans higher in Germ Aversion were more supportive of travel bans. In Study 2, priming saliency of the pandemic increased support for travel bans from high (but not low) pandemic-risk countries. This prime did not increase general xenophobia. These results are consistent with threat-specific perspectives of outgroup avoidance, and provide an ecologically-valid test of the implications of perceived disease threat for policy-related attitudes and decision-making.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40806-021-00283-z.