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For which side the bell tolls: The laterality of approach-avoidance associative networks

Abstract  

The two hemispheres of the brain appear to play different roles in emotion and/or motivation. A great deal of previous research
has examined the valence hypothesis (left hemisphere = positive; right = negative), but an increasing body of work has supported
the motivational hypothesis (left hemisphere = approach; right = avoidance) as an alternative. The present investigation (N = 117) sought to provide novel support for the latter perspective. Left versus right hemispheres were briefly activated by
neutral lateralized auditory primes. Subsequently, participants categorized approach versus avoidance words as quickly and
accurately as possible. Performance in the task revealed that approach-related thoughts were more accessible following left-hemispheric
activation, whereas avoidance-related thoughts were more accessible following right-hemispheric activation. The present results
are the first to examine such lateralized differences in accessible motivational thoughts, which may underlie more “downstream”
manifestations of approach and avoidance motivation such as judgments, decision making, and behavior.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • Category Original Paper
  • Pages 1-6
  • DOI 10.1007/s11031-012-9306-5
  • Authors
    • Adam K. Fetterman, Department of Psychology, 2765, North Dakota State University, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA
    • Scott Ode, Department of Psychology, 2765, North Dakota State University, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA
    • Michael D. Robinson, Department of Psychology, 2765, North Dakota State University, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND 58108-6050, USA
    • Journal Motivation and Emotion
    • Online ISSN 1573-6644
    • Print ISSN 0146-7239
Posted in: Journal Article Abstracts on 05/28/2012 | Link to this post on IFP |
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