Approach-avoidance conflict

Approach-avoidance conflict refers to the tension experienced by people when they aresimultaneously attracted to and repulsed by the same goal.

References

* Short summary from Athabasca University

Approach-avoidance occurs when an individual moves closer (physically or psychologically) to a seemingly desirable object, only to have the potentially negative consequences of contacting that object push back against the closing behavior. For example, a person who suffered a very painful divorce may have difficulty either contemplating remarriage or taking steps toward (re)marrying a new relationship partner.

Appears in the 2006 AP Psychology Test

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