Fundamental Asymmetry Research Articles

Mapping the Gendered Contexts of the ‘Glocal’ Nation: A Critical Rereading of Alka Saraogi’s Kali-katha: Via Bypass

The announcement of the new economic policy in 1991 pushed India into hitherto unchartered domains of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation. Many literary writings by Indian women published in the 1990s and 2000s reflect the rupture of Nehruvian model of development as India entered and settled itself in the brave new world of globalisation. Reading Alka Saraogi’s Kali-katha: Via Bypass (1998), this article attempts to explore how women writers in the post-1991 era negotiated the category of nation and its concomitant identity politics when it was impinged on by the looming spectre of liberalisation and globalisation. When we place women’s writing at the interstices of gender, caste and class inequalities alongside the syndicated structures of nation and globalisation, we find how deeply it engages with the fundamental asymmetry of power relations in society. Kali-katha: Via Bypass attempts to trace the kind of changes that have been taking place since the onset of the 1990s, proposing a rethinking of the very terms in which the woman’s question has been framed in the post-independence years. Thereby, this text calls for revising the way we have been constructing our knowledge of the nation, especially its gendered contexts. Such an epistemological revision, however, would not preclude looking at the past, suggests the text.

Standard of proof in WTO dispute settlement proceedings: an applied statistical perspective

ABSTRACTThis paper proposes a statistical framework for establishing prima facie evidence in WTO proceedings in which empirical evidence and statistical analysis play an important role. As our main contribution, we suggest a general guideline for the choice of the significance level in a statistical analysis, in order to meet the requirements for establishing prima facie evidence of a claim. We consider a fundamental asymmetry between whether a complainant’s initial claim is positive or negative. Statistically, a positive claim is one in favour of the alternative hypothesis, whereas a negative claim is one in favour of the null hypothesis. To account for this asymmetry, we suggest using different significance levels for positive and negative assertions, respectively. For positive claims, we suggest using the most commonly applied significance level of 5%. For negative claims, we suggest the less strict (but still commonly accepted) significance level of 10%. Choosing a less strict significance level in the case of a negative claim than in the case of a positive claim accounts for another fundamental asymmetry between the two possible outcomes of a statistical hypothesis test: rejecting the null hypothesis or not. Our framework helps to define reasonable hurdles in WTO proceedings to substantiate claims using statistical methods while leaving enough leeway for the panel and the Appellant Body to make adjustments on a case-by-case basis.

Experimental Quantification of Asymmetric Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Steering.

Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) steering describes the ability of one observer to nonlocally "steer" the other observer's state through local measurements. EPR steering exhibits a unique asymmetric property; i.e., the steerability can differ between observers, which can lead to one-way EPR steering in which only one observer obtains steerability in the steering process. This property is inherently different from the symmetric concepts of entanglement and Bell nonlocality, and it has attracted increasing interest. Here, we experimentally demonstrate asymmetric EPR steering for a class of two-qubit states in the case of two measurement settings. We propose a practical method to quantify the steerability. We then provide a necessary and sufficient condition for EPR steering and clearly demonstrate one-way EPR steering. Our work provides new insight into the fundamental asymmetry of quantum nonlocality and has potential applications in asymmetric quantum information processing.

Abstract B26: Centriole amplification during mammalian multiciliated cell development reveals a novel centrosome asymmetry

Abstract The centrosome comprises a mother and a daughter centriole, both regarded as equivalent in their ability to form new centrioles. Their symmetric duplication during the cell cycle is crucial for proper genetic partitioning between the daughter cells. In multiciliated cells, hundreds of centrioles are thought to appear de novo, i.e. independently from the centrosome, to nucleate the same number of motile cilia and propel physiological fluids. The origin of these centrioles remains unknown. Here we provide the cellular mechanism driving large-scale centriole production in multiciliated cells and identify the daughter centriole of the centrosome as the nucleation point for 95% of the new centrioles. Using live imaging combined with correlative super-resolution light and electron microscopy microscopy, we show that centriole amplification proceeds through a recurrent mechanism whereby the daughter centriole concomitantly generates the new centrioles and their cytoplasmic shuttles known as deuterosomes. By revealing this novel centrosome cycle, our work challenges the postulate that large-scale centriole production is a de novo mechanism in mammalian cells. In addition, it uncovers a fundamental asymmetry between mother and daughter centrioles in the control of centriole biogenesis and number. These results may have critical implications in the understanding of the etiology of cilia-related diseases, brain defects, and tumor formation. Citation Format: Adel Al Jord, Nathalie Spassky, Alice Meunier. Centriole amplification during mammalian multiciliated cell development reveals a novel centrosome asymmetry. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference: Developmental Biology and Cancer; Nov 30-Dec 3, 2015; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Res 2016;14(4_Suppl):Abstract nr B26.

The Road to Novelty III: Symmetry Bridges

The polar information concept introduced in Part II, which consists of decision information (Bits & Bytes) and symmetry information (CoIn), will be positioned in Part III in historical-philosophical perspective against the background of the deliberations by D. Hume, I. Kant, E. Husserl, K. Popper, J. Habermas and K. Mainzer. In doing so, we assess the relevance of the concept with respect to the standpoints of these philosophers on the acquisition of knowledge (towards the New). As a first substantial result, we ascertain a convergence of approaches regarding symmetry-centred cognition (CoIn) in the historic works of Hume, Kant and Husserl. This emerging convergence was later on obstructed to lasting effect by Popper’s rejection of the ‘primacy of repetition’. As Mainzer shows, the concept of symmetry enjoys a significant renaissance in the natural sciences; however, as also evident from Mainzer’s work, its relevance for thought and understanding remains hidden from the specific perspective of these very sciences. It is only with more recent insights from cognitive science regarding categorisation, the use of metaphors, and the formation of analogies (G. Lakoff, S. Pinker, D. Hofstadter, E. Sander) that the discussion on the nature of insight is once again developing towards our extended information concept.Following the discussion of various approaches to understanding insight, some of them historic and some of them recent, a contrasting comparison of these approaches yields an insight that reaches beyond them. This insight points towards a core of essence that is common to all these approaches. The core materialises as the limit of convergence of these approaches on ever higher levels of abstraction and is provided by our information-theoretic CoIn foundation. On this ultimate level of abstraction, the double nature of the economic principle also re-emerges, which already loomed in Part II. Using these theoretical foundations, we are finally able to prove a fundamental asymmetry between the worlds of decisions and insights. This asymmetry implies that there can be no symmetry bridge between those two worlds and, because the limits to algorithmization are equivalent to the limits of the decision access, neither the decision approach nor any algorithmization can serve to access Novelty in the sense of access to cognition. We call this result the bridge theorem.

Adopción igualitaria en Colombia Preceptos para un camino justo a un pacto de cuidado

En 2014 la Corte Constitucional solicito a varias universidades “un concepto científico acerca de los efectos que para el desarrollo integral del menor podría tener el hecho de ser adoptado por personas de un mismo sexo” (Auto OPC-452/14). Este concepto fue requerido en virtud de la demanda 10135/14 por parte del ciudadano Diego Andrés Prada Vargas contra los artículos 64, 66 y 68 (parciales de la Ley 1098 de 2006) y contra el artículo primero (parcial) de la Ley 54 de 1990, los cuales excluyen a parejas del mismo sexo para la adopción. Por solicitud del director del Departamento de Psicología, elabore un concepto ratificando lo planteado en Domínguez (2009), al mostrar que los estudios internacionales desde el repertorio empirico-analitico han comprobado que el cuidado y la proveeduría dependen cada vez menos del género y la orientación sexual. La corte constitucional nuevamente desconoció los conceptos científicos favorables a las familias homoparentales, y solamente ratifico la adopción en el caso de que uno de los integrantes de la pareja fuera la madre biológica o el padre biológico. Al continuar la controversia, propongo revisar las reclamaciones de justica de la demanda 10135/14 desde las propuestas de un “pacto de cuidado” (Ricoeur, 1995, Ruiz & Prada, 2014) y de “neutralidad con respecto de Appiah (2007) en cuanto a: (1) el reconocimiento a las personas del mismo sexo de su “deseo de vivir bien” (teleológico), (2) la obligatoriedad de reglamentar la adopción para personas del mismo sexo o la custodia para padres biológicos en esta situación (deontológico); y (3) la inclusión dentro del pacto de cuidado de hijas o hijos de familias homoparentales en la educación (asimetría de segundo orden) al valorar la donación por parte de las parejas homosexuales de una socialización primaria basada en la estima y el respeto (asimetría fundamental o primordial). Primero, presento las avances de la jurisprudencia colombiana frente a los derechos de los homosexuales, muestro como la solicitud de conceptos psicológicos sobre las personas homosexuales ha sido una estrategia dilatoria, y propongo revisar las pretensiones de la demanda 10135/14 en cuanto a las razones suficientes para encontrar una distancia justa hacia el derecho a un pacto de cuidado para la <em>debida inclusión</em> de familias monoparentales en los beneficios y obligaciones frente al estado

Negative Doxastic Voluntarism and the concept of belief

Pragmatists have argued that doxastic or epistemic norms do not apply to beliefs, but to changes of beliefs; thus not to the holding or not-holding, but to the acquisition or removal of beliefs. Doxastic voluntarism generally claims that humans (sometimes or usually) acquire beliefs in a deliberate and controlled way. This paper introduces Negative Doxastic Voluntarism according to which there is a fundamental asymmetry in belief change: (i) humans tend to acquire beliefs more or less automatically and unreflectively, but (ii) they tend to withdraw beliefs in a controlled and deliberate way. I first present a variety of philosophical, empirical and logical arguments for Negative Doxastic Voluntarism. Then I raise two objections against it. First, the apparent asymmetry may result from a confusion of belief with other doxastic attitudes like assumption, supposition, hypothesis or opinion. Second, the apparent asymmetry seems to vanish if we focus on doxastic states rather than just beliefs. Some rejoinders and their consequences for the vague concept of belief are sketched.

Unified Field Theory

In the Einstein field equations, the geometry or the curvature of space-time defined as depended on the distribution of mass and energy principally resides on the left-hand side is set identical to a non-geometrical tensorial representation of matter on the right-hand side. In one or another form, general relativity accords a direct geometrical significance only to the gravitational field while the other physical fields are not of space time. They reside only in space time. Less well known, though of comparable importance is Einstein’s dissatisfaction with the fundamental asymmetry between gravitational and non-gravitational fields and his contributions to develop a completely relativistic geometrical field theory of all fundamental interactions, a unified field theory. Of special note in this context and equally significant is Einstein’s demand to replace the symmetrical tensor field by a non-symmetrical one and to drop the condition gik = gki for the field components. Historically, many other attempts were made too, to extend the general theory of relativity’s geometrization of gravitation to non-gravitational interactions, in particular, to electromagnetism. Still, progress has been very slow. It is the purpose of this publication to provide a unified field theory in which the gravitational field, the electromagnetic field and other fields are only different components or manifestations of the same unified field by mathematizing the relationship between cause and effect under conditions of general theory of relativity.

Thoughts, Processive Character and the Stream of Consciousness

This paper explores the relation of thought and the stream of consciousness in the light of an ontological argument raised against cognitive phenomenology views. I argue that the ontological argument relies on a notion of ‘processive character’ that does not stand up to scrutiny and therefore it is insufficient for the argument to go through. I then analyse two more views on what ‘processive character’ means and argue that the process-part account best captures the intuition behind the argument. Following this view, I reconstruct the ontological argument and argue that it succeeds in establishing that some mental episodes like judging, understanding and occurrent states of thought do not enter into the stream but fails to exclude episodes like entertaining. Contrary to what it might seem, this conclusion fits well with cognitive phenomenology views, given that, as I show, there is a way for non-processive mental episodes to be fundamentally related to processive ones, such that they cannot be excluded from the phenomenal domain. This paper sheds light on the nature of different kinds of thoughts and questions a fundamental asymmetry between the perceptual and the cognitive domain when it comes to their ontology and temporal character.

Unraveling torsional bath interactions with the CO stretching state in methanol

Quantum mechanical models describing the effects of a C3 internal rotor have been successful in modeling all the torsional manifolds of isolated vibrational states. However, modeling the coupling between nearly degenerate small amplitude vibrations in the C3 internal rotation case remains far from satisfactory and a variety of practical and fundamental questions persist on basis sets, the relative importance of effects and how the problem should be approached. The ν8 C–O stretching state of methanol has been well studied with infrared techniques and has the potential to serve as an experimental reference data set for the development of models for the coupled large and small amplitude motion case. A combined infrared-microwave study of the lowest K A-states of vt=3, vt=4 and ν8 has been performed to understand the nature of the interactions between ν8 the excited torsional states. The interaction between vt=4 and ν8 at K=0+ has been confirmed to be Fermi type with magnitude of 2.5cm−1. Additionally, the fundamental a-symmetry and b-symmetry Coriolis interactions between vt=3 and ν8 have been estimated to be 8900MHz and −360MHz, respectively. The magnitude of these interactions suggests that modeling the ν8 state, the vt=3 state, and the vt=4 states will have to carefully account for these interactions.

Dis/unity of Knowledge: Models for the Study of Modern Esotericism and Science

Research on relations between esotericism and science exhibits a fundamental asymmetry. While historians of science have been eager to uncover esoteric contexts for early modern sciences, scholars of modern esoteric movements look almost solely at esotericism in the context of scientific progress. This asymmetry is largely due to a division of intellectual labor following lines of specialization in the humanities. The early modern period has been of supreme interest for historians of science, who have applied their expertise to uncovering important connections. In contrast, late modern esoteric thought has almost exclusively fallen under the purview of religious studies scholars, who lack the tools (and often the interest) to dissect the workings of the sciences. The result has been that, for relations of science and esotericism in the late modern period, the prevailing picture has been one of a unidirectional influence from “proper” science to a culturally parasitic esoteric discourse.The present article aims to remedy this asymmetry. A systematization and evaluation of existing approaches to esotericism/science leads to an argument that new methodology and conceptual tools are needed for a sufficient analysis of esotericism/science relations in the modern world to develop. These tools are found in the interdisciplinary field of science and technology studies.

Coevolution can explain defensive secondary metabolite diversity in plants.

Many plant species produce defensive compounds that are often highly diverse within and between populations. The genetic and cellular mechanisms by which metabolite diversity is produced are increasingly understood, but the evolutionary explanations for persistent diversification in plant secondary metabolites have received less attention. Here we consider the role of plant-herbivore coevolution in the maintenance and characteristics of diversity in plant secondary metabolites. We present a simple model in which plants can evolve to invest in a range of defensive toxins, and herbivores can evolve resistance to these toxins. We allow either single-species evolution or reciprocal coevolution. Our model shows that coevolution maintains toxin diversity within populations. Furthermore, there is a fundamental coevolutionary asymmetry between plants and their herbivores, because herbivores must resist all plant toxins, whereas plants need to challenge and nullify only one resistance trait. As a consequence, average plant fitness increases and insect fitness decreases as number of toxins increases. When costs apply, the model showed both arms race escalation and strong coevolutionary fluctuation in toxin concentrations across time. We discuss the results in the context of other evolutionary explanations for secondary metabolite diversification.

On the Explosion Geometry of Red Supergiant Stars

AbstractWe present the observed “continuum” levels of polarization as a function of time for four well-observed Type II-Plateau supernovae (SNe II-P; Fig. 1), the class of SNe decisively determined to arise from red supergiant stars (Smartt 2009). All four objects show temporally increasing degrees of polarization through the end of the photospheric phase, with some exhibiting early-time polarization that challenge existing models (e.g., Dessart and Hillier 2011) to reproduce. A fundamental ejecta asymmetry is present in this photometrically diverse sample of type II SNe, and it probably takes different forms (e.g., 56Ni blobs/fingers, large scale deformation). We acknowledge support from NSF grants AST-1009571 and AST-1210311.

Generosity in intergovernmental negotiations: The impact of state power, pooling and socialisation in the Council of the European Union

AbstractScholars have long emphasised the consensual nature of the intergovernmental negotiations in the Council of the European Union. Unlike other international organisations, where surface consensus has been found to be merely a cover for the dominance of powerful states, the EU literature describes a norm of generosity that works as a real constraining factor. In contrast, this article warns against descriptions of the EU as different in kind. Based on interviews with 231 EU Member State representatives involved in day‐to‐day negotiations in the Council, it finds a strong bias in generosity on behalf of the three dominant powers: France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The ‘Big 3’ are strikingly unwilling to make generous concessions, compared to other states. Furthermore, from a rational perspective, there are good reasons for expecting this pattern. The study also shows that extensive pooling of power in the form of qualified majority rule and hard law commitment is associated with less generosity, while there seems to be no socialising effect towards generosity from exposure to the ‘Brussels community’. These findings cast a new light on the common narrative of the EU as a ‘soft‐bargaining’ anomaly among international organisations, where national interests are upgraded into common interests by a process of norm socialisation. Instead, it seems that the purported ‘consensus norm’ has been far from successful in transcending fundamental power asymmetries between the EU Member States.

Duplication and Adaptive Evolution of a Key Centromeric Protein in Mimulus, a Genus with Female Meiotic Drive.

The fundamental asymmetry of female meiosis creates an arena for genetic elements to compete for inclusion in the egg, promoting the selfish evolution of centromere variants that maximize their transmission to the future egg. Such "female meiotic drive" has been hypothesized to explain the paradoxically complex and rapidly evolving nature of centromeric DNA and proteins. Although theoretically widespread, few cases of active drive have been observed, thereby limiting the opportunities to directly assess the impact of centromeric drive on molecular variation at centromeres and binding proteins. Here, we characterize the molecular evolutionary patterns of CENH3, the centromere-defining histone variant, in Mimulus monkeyflowers, a genus with one of the few known cases of active centromere-associated female meiotic drive. First, we identify a novel duplication of CENH3 in diploid Mimulus, including in lineages with actively driving centromeres. Second, we demonstrate long-term adaptive evolution at several sites in the N-terminus of CENH3, a region with some meiosis-specific functions that putatively interacts with centromeric DNA. Finally, we infer that the paralogs evolve under different selective regimes; some sites in the N-terminus evolve under positive selection in the pro-orthologs or only one paralog (CENH3_B) and the paralogs exhibit significantly different patterns of polymorphism within populations. Our finding of long-term, adaptive evolution at CENH3 in the context of centromere-associated meiotic drive supports an antagonistic, coevolutionary battle for evolutionary dominance between centromeric DNA and binding proteins.

What asymmetry? Knowledge of self, knowledge of others, and the inferentialist challenge

There is widely assumed to be a fundamental epistemological asymmetry between self-knowledge and knowledge of others. They are said to be ’categorically different in kind and manner’ (Moran), and the existence of such an asymmetry is taken to be a primitive datum in accounts of the two kinds of knowledge. I argue that standard accounts of the differences between self-knowledge and knowledge of others exaggerate and misstate the asymmetry. The inferentialist challenge to the asymmetry focuses on the extent to which both self-knowledge and knowledge of others are matters of inference and interpretation. In the case of self-knowledge I focus on the so-called ‘transparency method’ and on the extent to which use of this method delivers inferential self-knowledge. In the case of knowledge of others’ thoughts, I discuss the role of perception as a source of such knowledge and argue that even so-called ’perceptual’ knowledge of other minds is inferential. I contend that the difference between self-knowledge and knowledge of others is a difference in the kinds of evidence on which they are typically based.

Polarization screening-induced magnetic phase gradients at complex oxide interfaces.

Thin-film oxide heterostructures show great potential for use in spintronic memories, where electronic charge and spin are coupled to transport information. Here we use a La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO)/PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 (PZT) model system to explore how local variations in electronic and magnetic phases mediate this coupling. We present direct, local measurements of valence, ferroelectric polarization and magnetization, from which we map the phases at the LSMO/PZT interface. We combine these experimental results with electronic structure calculations to elucidate the microscopic interactions governing the interfacial response of this system. We observe a magnetic asymmetry at the LSMO/PZT interface that depends on the local PZT polarization and gives rise to gradients in local magnetic moments; this is associated with a metal-insulator transition at the interface, which results in significantly different charge-transfer screening lengths. This study establishes a framework to understand the fundamental asymmetries of magnetoelectric coupling in oxide heterostructures.

ПОГЛИБЛЕННЯ Й РАДИКАЛІЗАЦІЯ ДІАЛОГІЧНИХ ІДЕЙ В ЕТИЧНІЙ КОНЦЕПЦІЇ ЕМАНЮЕЛЯ ЛЕВІНАСА НА ПРИКЛАДІ СТАВЛЕННЯ Я ДО ІНШОГО

Ношин Я. І. Поглиблення й радикалізація діалогічних ідей в етичній концепції Еммануеля Левінаса на прикладі ставлення Я до Іншого. – Стаття. Стаття присвячена аналізові діалогічний ідей у філософських поглядах Еманюеля Левінаса, а особливо стосунку Я з Іншим в етичній концепції французького мислителя. Під час дослідження показано, що стосунки між Я та Іншим, на думку Е. Левінаса, має принципово асиметричний характер. Саме це вирізняє діалогічні ідеї Е. Левінаса порівняно з іншими представниками філософії діалогу, зокрема з Мартіном Бубером. Аналізуючи хід думки Левінаса, варто зазначити, що, з одного боку, французький мислитель залишається в руслі основних ідей філософії діалогу, акцентуючи на суб’єктно-суб’єктному характері світорозуміння, з іншого – поглиблюючи та радикалізуючи окремі положення парадигми філософії діалогу (маємо на увазі характерну особливість у відносинах між Я та Іншим, якій властива принципова асиметрія), Е. Левінас виходить за її межі. Noshyn Y. І. Extending and Radicalization of Dialogical Ideas in the Emmanuel Levinas’ Ethical Conseption, Using the Example of Relation Between I and the Other. – Article. The article reviews the relation between I and the Other in Emmanuel Levinas’ ethical concepts. The survey shows that the relation between I and the Other is fundamentally asymmetric. This is what distinguishes dialogical ideas of Levinas in comparison with other representatives in the philosophy of dialogue, Martin Buber in particular. Analyzing Levinas’ trend of thought, it should be noted that, on the one hand, the French thinker is in line with the basic ideas of the philosophy of dialogue, focusing on subject-subject nature worldview, on the other – extending and making certain theses of the philosophy of dialogue paradigm more radical (mean characteristic feature the relationship between I and the Other, which is characterized by a fundamental asymmetry), Levinas goes beyond it.

Case study reflecting principles and treatment techniques of postural restoration

The etiology of scoliosis has eluded definition. Relative Anterior Spinal Overgrowth (RASO) is generally accepted as an initiating phenomenon but predisposing factors to RASO are not understood. A revolutionary new approach to physical therapy known as Postural Restoration (PR) which, in the US, has been especially successful in sports performance enhancement, offers a perspective on human bio-mechanics which may help clarify predisposition to scoliosis. Additionally, PR treatment techniques offer powerful tools to balance asymmetrical function. The case study demonstrates the effectiveness of early intervention. Clinically, PR has also proven successful in rehabilitation for older adolescents and for adults. PR is the first approach to appreciate the significance of fundamental asymmetry of the human body as a positive factor, facilitating movement via a universal right side dominant movement pattern. This pattern represents one half of the gait cycle; its opposite pattern, on the left, is less used and less strong. Right side dominance manifests in a tri-planar system. PR recognizes the essential role respiratory function plays in the bio- mechanical organization of the body. Breathing discord effects changes in diaphragm form and function causing it to lose respiratory effectiveness and to assume a more structural role, which then reinforces lordosis. As a result, shear forces on dorsal vertebral growth plates result in RASO as described by the Heuter-Volkman principle. RASO obstructs normal thoracic flexion. Compensatory strategies to achieve flexion, which follow dominant right side patterning will demonstrate a thoracic dextro-scoliosis, with or without a compensating lumbar levo-scoliosis. PR rehabilitation begins with sagittal plane balancing. Activities follow which balance frontal plane asymmetries by inhibition of dominant muscle chains and facilitation of the non-dominant pattern. Transverse plane activity is integrated once sagittal and frontal plane relative balance has been achieved. Programs usually begin in non-weight bearing positions and progress to upright, then to alternating reciprocal movement. ADL activities are modified. All exercises rely on respiratory coordination. This case study follows a 9 year old, hypermobile girl, diagnosed by x-ray with a right thoracolumbar curvature of 27 degrees, who was able to eliminate her curvature, by x-ray, over a three month period with PR.

Switching from approach to withdrawal is easier than vice versa

A fundamental property of emotional responses is a change in action tendencies that allow the individual to cope with the situation. Most basically, there are two types of behaviour one can switch to when responding emotionally: approach or withdrawal. The present study examined whether the ability to switch to approach or withdrawal depends on the type of behaviour shown before. Using familiar (Experiment 1) and unfamiliar (Experiment 2) neutral stimuli, we first show that switching from approach to withdrawal is generally easier than vice versa. In Experiment 3, we demonstrate that this holds true even when participants respond to emotional stimuli that typically elicit strong approach or withdrawal tendencies. These results indicate that there is a fundamental asymmetry in the ability to switch from approach to withdrawal or vice versa. As shown in Experiment 3, this asymmetry may represent a serious confound in many previous studies examining the link between stimulus valence and associated action tendencies, suggesting that the link between positive stimuli and approach tendencies may be stronger, and the link between negative stimuli and withdrawal tendencies weaker, than previously believed.