Dissociating motivational direction and affective valence

ABSTRACT—We aimed to clarify the relation between affec-tive valence and motivational direction by specifying how central and peripheral components of extension move-ments are altered according to specific unpleasant affective states. As predicted, premotor reaction time was quicker for extension movements initiated during exposure to at-tack than for extension movements initiated during ex-posure to all other valence categories (mutilation, erotic couples, opposite-sex nudes, neutral humans, household objects, blank). Exposure to erotic couples and mutilations yielded greater peak force than exposure to images of attack, neutral humans, and household objects. Finally, motor reaction timeandpeakelectromyographic amplitude were not altered by valence. These findings indicate that unpleasant states do not unilaterally prime withdrawa