On angry approach and fearful avoidance: The goal-dependent nature of emotional approach and avoidance tendencies

Previous research has revealed that anger typically accompanies the goal to approach the emotion-evoking stimulus whereas fear typically accompanies the goal to avoid the emotion-evoking stimulus. Five experiments were set up to investigate why and under which conditions this set of relations emerges. In four stimulusresponse compatibility experiments, participants moved a manikin toward or away from an opponent after an anger or a fear word appeared on their manikin (Experiments 1 and 3) or on the opponent (Experiments 2 and 4). We manipulated the implication of approach and avoidance for the goal to aggress and/or dominate the opponent and for the goal to be safe and/or submissive. In Experiments 1 and 2, approach involved attacking the opponent (serving the aggression/dominance goal) whereas avoidance involved fleeing from the opponent (serving the safety/submission goal). In Experiments 3 and 4, approach led to a begging response (serving the safety/submission goal) whereas avoidance involved stubbornly turning one’s back to the opponent (serving the aggression/dominance goal). The relation between anger/fear and approach/avoidance seemed to depend both on the location of the emotion word (participant vs. opponent) and the goal reached by approach and avoidance. In a fifth experiment, approach and avoidance resulted in mere distance reduction and increase. Participants rated approach and avoidance behaviors afterwards on the dimensions of power/dominance, aggression/hostility, and valence. Our data suggest that a reason why anger often is associated with approach and fear with avoidance is that approach is seen as more dominant than avoidance.status: publishe