Emotions and Motivation

(i) What is meant by emotion; the basic emotions. Subjective and cognitive experience, physiological
reactions, and overt expression. Primary emotions - fear, anger, joy, sorrow, affection.
(ii) Theories of emotion dealing with physiological, subjective, and cognitive aspects.
James Lange, Physiological reactions →internal biological and neurochemical changes
expressive behaviour →overt behaviour→ behaviour observed
Cannon Bard,
Schachter - Singer theories.
(iii) What is meant by motives, needs and instincts; unconscious motives.
Motivation as an internal force generating certain behaviour - biological needs and homeostasis;
instincts as unlearned and physiological desires;
evidence indicating the existence of unconscious motives. Intrinsic - the desire to perform activities
for their own sake.
(iv) Theories of Motivation.
Pull and push theories,
Optimum Arousal theory,
Expectancy theory
Graphic representation of Maslow's Needs Hierarchy.
(v) Social motives.
Three distinctively human motives:
Achievement - accomplishing difficult tasks;
Power - exerting influence over others;
Aggression - learning and control of human aggression, causes and effects.
(vi) Frustration - blocking of motives; conflict among motives. Frustration as a result of motives not
finding free or adequate expression.
Different types of conflict among motives:
approach-approach,
avoidance-avoidance,
multiple approach avoidance (with examples).

(i) What is meant by emotion; the basic emotions. Subjective and cognitive experience, physiological
reactions, and overt expression. Primary emotions - fear, anger, joy, sorrow, affection.
Emotions: Reactions consisting of subjective cognitive states, physiological reactions, and
expressive behaviors.
Subjective cognitive states: The personal experiences we label as emotions.
Physiological changes within our bodies- Shifts in heart rate, blood pressure, and so
on.
Anger- frightened
Expressive Sad-surprised
behavior- Outward signs of these internal reactions.
fear- Anger
Basic emotions;
attachment( happy)-love
1. Anger: slight irritation to uncontrollable rage, dissatisfaction, disappointment, resentment
This emotion is experienced at varying intensity from mild to intense. It ranges from slight
irritation to uncontrollable rage. It may be defined as a strong negative feeling of
dissatisfaction, disapproval, and resentment due to some perceived mistakes or failures,
frustration or personal damage caused by others. Inability to control anger not only harms a
person but physically but also disrupts his/her social relationships and higher order
intellectual activities. Therefore, it is important to learn and develop proper sills to manage
this emotion and express it in a controlled and socialized manner. If anger is either allowed
to be exacerbated or repressed, it may disturb mental health and may cause different
psychological and psychosomatic disorders.
2. Fear: - perceived danger threat fleeing hiding freezing
Fear is a kind of emotion stimulated by perceived danger or threat. This in turn leads to
changes in metabolic and physiological functions and ultimately result in behaviors such as
fleeing, hiding, or freezing. Fear is a negative emotion which people avoid to experience
because it has harmful and painful side effects. Experience of traumatic incidents, violent
crime scenes, closed one’s death, separation from near and dear ones or domestic violence
incite emotion of fear. In extreme cases, it sometimes may become intolerable to the
individual. Recurring fearful experiences lead to various psychological disorders like
anxiety, panic attack or phobia along with certain physiological ailments like hypertension,
diabetes, or hormonal imbalance. The emotion of fear has survival value because it protects
an individual by either urging him/her to withdraw from the fearful situation or finding way
to handle and overcome the situation.
3. Joy: pleasure/satisfaction,smile/laughter,
It is a positive emotion indicating feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. Literary meaning of
word joy refers to ‘feel glad’ or ‘to feel delightful.’ Joy as an emotion is generally triggered
in response to a pleasant observation or a remembrance. It originates due to the satisfaction
derived as a result of accomplishing certain expectations or need. It is usually expressed as a
smile or laughter and a generalized feeling of life satisfaction.
4. Sorrow: deep distress,disappointment, misfortune, feeling of helplessness (disappointment ->anger->sorrow)
This emotion is negative emotion triggered due to some painful incidents in life, like death
of near ones, breaking up of relationships or failures. It is a feeling of deep distress caused
due to disappointment or misfortune suffered by oneself or others. The degree or intensity of
the feeling of this emotion greatly varies among people based on the type of loss or
misfortune suffered. This emotion is generally experienced for a prolonged time period.
5. Affection:
This emotion is a positive emotion or feeling of liking, endearment, and warmth. Affection is
usually displayed through tenderness or fondness. It is affective state of mind that is closely
associated with love. Affectionate behaviors are usually observed in parental nurturing as
expressed by caring words, gestures, or touches. Affection is expressed as the feeling of
personal attachment with near ones. Such positive emotions aid in coping up with any
negative emotions of melancholy by restoring one’s energy level and positive life instincts.
(ii) Theories of emotion dealing with physiological, subjective and cognitive aspects.
James Lange, Cannon Bard, Schachter - Singer theories.
James and Lange
A theory of emotion suggesting that emotion-provoking events produce various
physiological reactions and that recognition of these is responsible for subjective emotional
experiences
One of the earliest physiological theories of emotion was given by James (1884) and supported by Lange,
hence, it has been named the James-Lange theory of emotion. The theory suggests that environmental
stimuli elicit physiological responses from viscera (the internal organs like heart and lungs), which in turn,
are associated with muscle movement. For example, startling at an unexpected intense noise triggers
activation in visceral and muscular organs followed by an emotional arousal. Put in other words, James-
Lange theory argues that your perception about your bodily changes, like rapid breathing, a pounding heart,
and running legs, following an event, brings forth emotional arousal. The main implication made by this
theory is that events or stimuli provoke physiological changes and the individual’s perception of these
changes results in the emotion being experienced.
Support for the James-Lange theory is also provided by research on the facial feedback hypothesis. A
hypothesis indicating that facial expressions can produce change in emotional states. In addition, other
research suggests that changing our bodily posture or even the tone of our voices may influence emotional
experience called as peripheral feedback effect.
Canon and Bard:
Another theory was proposed by Cannon (1927) and Bard (1934). A theory of emotion suggesting that
various emotion-provoking events simultaneously produce physiological arousal and subjective reactions
labeled as emotions. The Cannon-Bard theory claims that the entire process of emotion is mediated by
thalamus which after perception of the emotion-provoking stimulus, conveys this information
simultaneously to the cerebral cortex and to the skeletal muscles and sympathetic nervous system. The
cerebral cortex then determines the nature of the perceived stimulus by referring to past experiences. This
determines the subjective experience of the emotion. At the same time the sympathetic nervous system and
the muscles provide physiological arousal and prepare the individual to act. The ANS is divided into two
systems, sympathetic and parasympathetic. These two systems function together in a reciprocal manner. In a
stressful situation the sympathetic system prepares the body to face the situation. It strengthens the internal
environment of the individual by controlling the fall in heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, etc. It induces
a state of physiological arousal that prepares the individual for fight or flight response in order to face the
stressful situation. As the threat is removed the parasympathetic system gets active and restores the balance
by calming the body. It restores and conserves energy and brings the individual back to a normal state.
Though acting in an antagonistic manner, the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are complementary
to each other in completing the process of experience and expression of emotion.
Schacter and Singer
Most psychologists today believe that our cognitions, i.e., our perceptions, memories, interpretations are
essential ingredients of emotions. Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer have proposed a two-factor theory in
which emotions have two ingredients: physical arousal and a cognitive label. They presumed that our
experience of emotion grows from our awareness of our present arousal. They also believed that emotions
are physiologically similar. For example, your heart beats faster when you are excited or scared or angry.
You are physiologically aroused and look to the external world for explanation. Thus, in their view an
emotional experience requires a conscious interpretation of the arousal. If you are aroused after physical
exercise and someone teases you, the arousal already caused by the exercise may lead to provocation. To
test this theory, Schachter and Singer (1962) injected subjects with epinephrine, a drug that produces high
arousal. Then these subjects were made to observe the behaviour of others, either in a euphoric manner (i.e.,
shooting papers at a waste basket) or in an angry manner (i.e., stomping out of the room). As predicted, the
euphoric and angry behaviour of others influenced the cognitive interpretation of the subjects’ own arousal.
(iii) What is meant by motives, needs and instincts; unconscious motives. Motivation as an internal
force generating certain behaviour - biological needs and homeostasis; instincts as unlearned and
physiological desires; evidence indicating the existence of unconscious motives. Intrinsic - the desire to
perform activities for their own sake.
Motivation:
The process by which activities are started, directed and continued so that physical or psychological needs or
wants are met.
Internal processes that activate, guide and maintain behavior over time.
Need: A requirement of some material (such as food or water) that is essential for survival of the organism.
Needs are usually the wants or desires that compel an individual to act in a particular way to satisfy the
desires.
Drive: A psychological tension and physical arousal arising when there is a need that motivates the
organism to act in order to fulfill the need and reduce the tension.
1. Hunger drive:
The common belief and theories about hunger are centered around the two basic physiological mechanisms-
contraction of stomach and fall of blood sugar level to trigger the organism’s drive for food. This drive is
controlled by hypothalamus area of brain. The hypothalamus regulates hunger drive by two opposing
mechanisms. One is initiating the drive by generating the need for food and other is by signaling
satisfaction of the need that directs the individual to stop eating.
Although hunger drive is primarily biological in nature, there are some psychological aspects of this drive.
Sometimes, the drive can be manipulated by using some external cues or stimulations. According to some
studies, it was revealed that sight or smell of a favorite food items initiates the arousal in hypothalamus
which in turn stimulate the drive for that food item.
2. Thirst drive: The thirst drive is also controlled by hypothalamus of the brain. Hypothalamus uses
certain biological signals or cues to ascertain the thirst drive. These are dryness of mouth and throat or
cellular dehydration. These signals are eventually transmitted to the hypothalamus. These signals or cues
instigate the thirst drive. These signals even regulate the amount of drinking by directing the person
regarding when to stop, i.e., when the need is satisfied and the drive is reduced.
Like hunger, thirst drive can be sparked off due to some psychological elements, such as habit of what we
drink (tea, coffee, milk, cola, alcohol etc.) and when we drink (morning, evening, etc.). Thirst drive is
sometimes influenced by stress and emotional states too. The drive for alcohol intake is most of the time
regulated by our mood and emotional states.
3. Fatigue and sleep drive:
Fatigue occurs when the body muscles, cells and tissues get tired while working continuously for a
prolonged period. Rigorous physical activities create physical exhaustion whereas mental activities like
thinking or problem solving creates mental fatigue. There are certain alerting areas of the brain which
becomes active in period of wakefulness. These send arousal signals to the cerebral cortex, while at the
same time inhibit areas of the brain that are responsible for promoting sleep. When the sleep promoting
areas of the brain become active, they inhibit activities in areas of the brain responsible for promoting
wakefulness, resulting in a period of stable sleep. Primarily hypothalamus is the main center for regulating
sleep and wakefulness
4. Sexual drive:
 Sigmund Freud advocated that the sexual drive is the main source of all motives in
life. Although sexual drive is a biological drive, it has certain uniqueness to make it
different from other biological drives or needs.
o Firstly, it is indeed not necessarily to sustain life even if it is required for
survival of the species.
o Secondly, sexual behaviors are not activated by lack of certain physical
elements in our body, like food or water.
 Instincts: The term ‘Instincts’ may be described as an innate tendency of an organism
to react immediately to an environmental stimulus in order to adjust to the
environment. Instincts help to generate set of behaviors which are not learned from
 any previous experiences and are somewhat genetically programmed. For e.g
motherhood with all its physiological and psychological characteristics is instinctual
and it is very common across all the species.
Sometimes, instincts and reflex actions are blended with each other as both are
automatic, unlearned and linked with survival. But instincts are no same as reflex
actions. Reflex actions are acts elicited in response to the environmental stimuli. For
instance, blinking of the eyes in response to a puff of air. \
Instincts are more complex and innate disposition which trigger a set of corresponding
behaviors, which are termed as ‘instinctual behaviors.
 William James proposed that the behaviors of human beings are determined largely
by instincts. He described social instincts and biological instincts.
 Sigmund Freud laid a major emphasis on instincts and considered it as playing a
central role in human life. He posited that two main instincts guide one’s behavior.
o Eros: Life instinct: propels one to engage in self-preservatory actions like
reproduction. This instinct is fueled by the life force called libido.
o Thanatos: Death instinct: instigates one to engage in self-destructive
behaviors like aggression.
 Instincts are often discussed because instinctual dives generate actions to satisfy the
internal needs and are related to survival.
Unconscious Motives:
According Sigmund Freud constructed a model of organization of mind. He viewed thtat
mind is divided int three levels- Conscious, Preconscious and Unconscious. Each of them
plays an important role in shaping human behaviors, thoughts, and overall personality
pattern. According to him, the ideas, thoughts, memories, and desires that are not socially
acceptable or are anxiety provoking are pushed down to the unconscious level. Unconscious
motivation refers to that propelling energy or force arising due to the hidden and unknown
desires that directs an individual to act in a specific way in different situations. Abraham
Maslow also stated that unconscious motives play a central role in determining how people
behave. He incorporated the concept in his famous need theory that individual’s actions
must be understood in group of what basic needs they must satisfy and how they satisfy
them. It is our unconscious rather than conscious motives that direct our behavior.
Theories:
Pull and push theories,
Optimum Arousal theory and
Expectancy theory
Graphic representation of Maslow's Needs Hierarchy.
1. Pull and Push theories:
• Every performance by an individual is motivated in two manners:
• Producing drives that push the individual for certain behaviours aiming to
reduce the drive. This process is described by a theory known as push theory or
drive theory.
 • The individual is motivated to gain certain external rewards, which pulls the individual
towards them. The theory explaining this process is known as pull theory or incentive
theory.
• According to the Push Theory of motivation, individual’s behaviours are pushed by
internal drives towards a goal.
• This in turn reduces the intensity of the drives when the goal is achieved.
• When such internal drives are aroused, individual is pushed to behave in a specific
manner in order to satisfy and reduce the drives.
• The reduction of drives bring pleasure and satisfaction to the person.
• As a person remains motivated to reduce his/her internal drive, it is known as drive
reduction theory.
• Primarily based on an incentive and a desire for a reward.
• The closer we move towards an incentive, the more we want to grab it. This seems as
if it is pulling us towards it.
• The pull factor in motivation induces an individual to perform and behave in a
particular way to obtain certain favorable results or to achieve some desirable goals.
• Thus, the role of incentive in motivation is very useful in a logical sense, where the
incentive alone can become the driving force for motivation.
2. Optimal Arousal Theory:
• Seeking optimum activation.
• A theory of motivation suggesting that human beings seek an optimal level of arousal,
not minimal levels of arousal.
• The term ‘arousal’ refers to the state of alertness and level of activation of mind which
is produced by stimulation.
• There is often close link between arousal and performance. In fact, for many tasks,
performance increases as arousal rises.
(up to some point; beyond that level, further increases in arousal actually reduce
performance.)
• Yerks-Dodson Law: The suggestion that the level of arousal beyond which
performance begins to decline is a function of task difficulty.
3. Expectancy Theory: The expectancy theory was proposed by Victor Vroom.
• A theory of motivation suggesting that behavior is “pulled” by expectations of
desirable outcomes.
• Such outcomes are known as incentives.
• This theory proposes that motivation consist of three key elements – Expectancy,
Instrumentality and Valence.
 • Expectancy: Expectancy is the belief that one has the capabilities to produce the
outcome.
• Instrumentality: Instrumentality refers to whether people feel or not they have a role
to play in the outcome. It is a faith that one holds that if he/she performs well, then
valid outcome will follow.
• Valence: Valence refers to the value which a individual places on the potential
outcome. Things that seem unlikely to produce personal benefit have a low valence,
while those that offer immediate personal rewards have a higher valance.
• Work motivation: People work hard at their jobs only when they believe that doing
so will improve their performance (expectancy), that good performance will be
recognized and rewarded (instrumentality), and the rewards provided will be ones they
want (valence)
4. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs:
There are various views on human motivation, the most popular among these is given by
Abraham H. Maslow (1968; 1970). He attempted to portray a picture of human behavior by
arranging the various needs in a hierarchy. His viewpoint about motivation is very popular
because of its theoretical and applied value which is popularly known as the “Theory of Self-
actualization” (see Fig.9.3).
Maslow’s model can be conceptualized as a pyramid in which the bottom of this hierarchy
represents basic physiological or biological needs which are basic to survival such as hunger,
thirst, etc. Only when these needs are met, the need to be free from threatened danger arises.
This refers to the safety needs of physical and psychological nature. Next comes the need to
seek out other people, to love and to be loved. After these needs are fulfilled, the individual
strives for esteem, i.e., the need to develop a sense of self- worth. The next higher need in the
hierarchy reflects an individual’s motive towards the fullest development of potential, i.e.,
self-actualization. A self-actualized person is self-aware, socially responsive, creative,
spontaneous, open to novelty, and challenge. S/he also has a sense of humor and capacity for
deep interpersonal relationships. Lower-level needs (physiological) in the hierarchy
dominate as long as they are unsatisfied. Once they are adequately satisfied, the higher needs
occupy the individual’s attention and effort.
Social Motives
Social Motives are mostly learned or acquired. Social groups such as family, neighbors,
friends, and relatives do contribute a lot in acquiring social motives. These are complex
forms of motives mainly resulting from the individual’s interaction with his/her social
environment.
(a) Need for affiliation: Most of us need company or friend or want to maintain some form
of relationship with others. Nobody likes to remain alone all the time. As soon as people see
some kinds of similarities among themselves or they like each other, they form a group.
Formation of group or collectivity is an important feature of human life. Often people try
desperately to get close to other people, to seek their help, and to become members of their
group. Seeking other human beings and wanting to be close to them both physically and
psychologically is called affiliation. It involves motivation for social contact. Need for
affiliation is aroused when individuals feel threatened or helpless and when they are happy.
People high on this need are motivated to seek the company of others and to maintain
friendly relationships with other people.
(b) Need for Power: Need for power is an ability of a person to produce intended effects on
the behavior and emotions of another person. The various goals of power motivation are to
influence, control, persuade, lead, and charm others and most importantly to enhance one’s
own reputation in the eyes of other people.
David McClelland (1975) described four general ways of expression of the power motive.
First, people do things to gain feeling of power and strength from sources outside themselves
by reading stories about sports stars or attaching themselves to a popular figure. Second,
power can also be felt from sources within us and may be expressed by building up the body
and mastering urges and impulses. Third, people do things as individuals to have an impact
on others. For example, a person argues, or competes with another individual in order to
have an impact or influence on that person. Fourth, people do things as members of
organizations to have an impact on others as in the case of the leader of a political party; the
individual may use the party apparatus to influence others. However, for any individual, one
of these ways of expressing power motivation may dominate, but with age and life
experiences, it varies.
(c) Need for Achievement
You might have observed some students work very hard and compete with others for good
marks/grades in the examination, as good marks/grades will create opportunities for higher
studies and better job prospects. It is the achievement motivation, which refers to the desire
of a person to meet standards of excellence. Need for achievement, also known as n-Ach,
energizes and directs behavior as well as influences the perception of situations. During the
formative years of social development, children acquire achievement motivation. The
sources from which they learn it, include parents, other role models, and socio-cultural
influences. Persons high in achievement motivation tend to prefer tasks that are moderately
difficult and challenging They have stronger-than-average desire for feedback on their
performance, that is to know how they are doing, so that they can adjust their goals to meet
the challenge.
Curiosity and Exploration
Often people engage in activities without a clear goal or purpose but they derive pleasure out
of it. It is a motivational tendency to act without any specific identifiable goal. The tendency
to seek for a novel experience, gain pleasure by obtaining information, etc. are signs of
curiosity. Hence, curiosity describes behavior whose primary motive appears to remain in
the activities themselves. What will happen if the sky falls on us? Questions of this kind
(What will happen if...) stimulate intellectuals to find answers. Studies show that this
curiosity behavior is not only limited to human beings, animals too show the same kind of
behavior. We are driven to explore the environment by our curiosity and our need for
sensory stimulation.
The need for varied types of sensory stimulations is closely related to curiosity. It is the basic
motive, and exploration and curiosity are the expressions of it. We get easily bored with
repetitive experiences. So, we look for something new. In the case of infants and small
children, this motive is very dominant. They get satisfaction from being allowed to explore,
which is reflected in their smiling and babbling. Children become easily distressed, when the
motive to explore is discouraged. must be noted that very few people reach the highest level
because most people are concerned more with the lower-level needs.
Aggression:
Aggression: Behavior directed towards the goal of harming another living being that wishes
to avoid treatment.
Aggression is of two types: Hostile Aggression and Instrumental Aggression.
Hostile Aggression is expressed through array of hostile behaviors like scolding, punishing
biting, hitting, crying, or using abusive language having a sole motive of hurting or harming
another person.
Instrumental Aggression is deliberate use of harmful behavior to exert power or control over
other person in order to satisfy some other motives. An example of Instrumental Aggression
is when a worker’s union organizes an agitation to achieve certain demands like wage hike
from the authority or management. In this case aggression is pursued to fulfil some other
motives such as, achieving the demands.
Aggression can be of different types or forms like direct or indirect, passive or active, verbal
or physical. But all the types of aggression have either an intention of harming or hurting
other persons or fulfilling any hidden motive or purpose.
Kaplan and Wheeler have outlined five phases of aggression, which they have termed as
assault cycle.
(a) Triggering phase: Any event which is perceived by the individual as a serious threat to
him/her. The evens can be of two types- (i) Fear inducing events which give the person the
perception that he/she is under threat or about to lose something of value. (ii) Frustrating
circumstances which give the person the idea that his/her efforts or demands have been
useless.
(b) Escalation phase: The person’s body and mind prepare for a fight. He/she may respond
physically to the perceived threat.
(c) Crisis: The aggressor explodes into violent acts against the threat.
(d) Post-Crisis phase: While the aggressor tries to return to stable base level, he/she often
experiences fatigue, depression, and guilt.
Causes of Aggression:
1. According to instinctive theory of aggression, the death instinct gives rise to hostile and
aggressive behavior. This instinct also leads to destructive and aggressive intellect activities,
such as criticism, satire, and taunts.
2. Aggression may arise due to frustration when one’s drive for attaining goal is not
achieved.
3. Aggression is developed especially when the individual’s attitudes and behavioral
patterns have evolved due to upbringing with lack of discipline, education, and values. In
this case the individual acts aggressively as he considers such behavior to be normal
behavior
4. Aggression may be caused due to certain diseases, glandular dysfunctions, or neuro-
chemical disruptions.
5. Social influence: obedience to some higher authorities. Under such circumstances. People
at a position of authority govern or dictate the subordinate to engage in aggressive behaviors
like in case of war or riots. Due to this social influence, the subordinates generally obey and
act aggressively without any personal intention or reason.
Frustration and Conflict
So far, we have looked at the various theoretical perspectives on motivation. They explain
the process of motivation and what leads to motivated action and what are the reasons for
different motives. Now we will try to understand what happens when motivated action is
blocked or it fails due to certain reasons. We will also try to understand what happens when
one is faced with more than one motive or need at the same time. These two concerns can be
explained in the form of two important concepts related to motivation, namely frustration
and conflict.
Frustration
We come across many occasions when things go in an unexpected direction and we fail to
realize our goal. The blocking of a desired goal is painful, but all of us experience it in life in
different degrees. Frustration occurs when an anticipated desirable goal is not attained and
the motive is blocked. It is an aversive state and no one likes it. Frustration results in a
variety of behavioral and emotional reactions. They include aggressive behavior, fixation,
escape, avoidance, and crying. In fact frustration-aggression is a very famous hypothesis
proposed by Dollard and Miller. It states that frustration produces aggression. Aggressive
acts are often directed towards the self or blocking agent, or a substitute. Direct aggressive
acts may be inhibited by the threat of punishment. The main sources or causes of frustration
are found in: (i) environmental forces, which could be physical objects, constraining
situations or even other people who prevent a person from reaching goal,
(ii) personal factors like inadequacies or lack of resources that make it difficult or impossible
to reach goals, and
(iii) conflicts between different motives
Conflict
Conflict occurs whenever a person must choose between contradictory needs, desires,
motives, or demands. There are three basic forms of conflicts, for example, approach-
approach conflict, avoidance-avoidance conflict, and approach-avoidance conflict.
Approach-approach conflict comes from having to choose between two positives and
desirable alternatives. When an individual has to choose between the two goals of equal
potentials or values, it obviously leads to conflict within oneself. When these two options
equally attract the individual, compromising and choosing only one between the two options
leads to this type of conflict. Suppose a renowned sportsman gets two offer from two
famous clubs that are equally attractive to him. Since he has to choose and select any one of
them at a given time by giving up the scope to join the other club, this may create a serious
approach-approach conflict within him.
Avoidance-avoidance conflict comes from choosing between two negatives, or mutually
undesirable alternatives. In real life, these double avoidance conflicts involve dilemmas such
as choosing between the dentist and tooth decay, roadside food, and starvation, etc. This is
also a very common type of conflict found in several situations in our life. Such conflicts are
quite difficult and challenging to deal with. This conflict arises in situations when an
individual must choose between two equally unpleasant, unwanted and negative things,
which the individual would otherwise love to avoid or resist. For e.g., a person faces this
conflict when he/she must select between two detestable goals of either getting transferred to
a remote place or being placed to work under an irritable superior.
Approach- avoidance conflict comes from being attracted to and repelled by the same goal or
activity. These types of conflicts are also difficult to resolve, as they are more troublesome
than avoidance conflicts. A central characteristic of approach-avoidance conflict is
ambivalence — a mix of positive and negative conflicts. Some examples of approach-
avoidance conflicts are: a person wanting to buy a new motorbike but not wanting to make
monthly payments, wanting to eat when one is overweight, and planning to marry someone
her/his parents strongly disapprove of. Many of life’s important decisions have approach-
avoidance dimensions. A major source of frustration lies in motivational conflict. In life, we
are often influenced by several competing forces that propel us in different directions. Such
situations demonstrate the condition of conflict. Hence, the simultaneous existence of
multiple wishes and needs characterize conflict. In all the cases of conflicts, the selection of
one option against the other depends on the relative strength/importance of one over the
other, and environmental factors. Conflicting situations should be resolved after due
consideration of the pros and cons of each of the choices. A point to note here is that
conflicts cause frustration, which in turn, can lead to aggression. For instance, a young man
who wants to be a musician but is pursuing course in management due to parental pressure
and is not able to perform as per the expectations of his parents may turn aggressive upon
being questioned on his poor performance in the course.
Multiple Approach- Avoidance Conflict:
It is quite difficult to deal with multiple approach-avoidance conflict. In this situation, an
individual must select between goals, where each goal has multiple or a number of positive
and negative features of different nature. In such situations, the individual becomes totally
confused and takes time to agree with any one of the goals. Accordingly, he/she approaches
towards the goal after proper analysis of the situation regarding all the favorable and
unfavorable aspect aspects or options about the tentative outcome. For example, a woman is
going to get married to a person whom she loves. The marriage has positive outcomes like
providing security and staying with her beloved person.