User:Kiran Nawaz/sandbox

APPROACH-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT IN PERSONALITY

Approach-Avoidance conflict arises when any situation or scenario has possible both positive and negative outcomes and thus the situation becomes attractive and unattractive at the same time. The conflict when desirable and undesirable outcomes follow a situation at the same time and then the individual has to evaluate it carefully whether the situation should be approached or avoided.

If a person is more willing to approach any antecedent while ignoring any expected negative outcomes that are called Approach personality. Conversely, If a person is more willing to avoid any antecedent and expects only negative outcomes from the event while ignoring the possible positive outcomes that are called Avoidant personality. So basically, approach-avoidance conflict is choosing between appealing and unappealing consequences. An individual feels like being caught between two rocks and it becomes difficult for them to make a decision, this usually follows with the delay in decision making.

The decision maker may start approach toward the objective, yet as the consciousness of the negative elements builds, the craving to maintain a strategic distance from the objective may emerge, delivering uncertainty. If there are contending emotions to an objective, the more grounded of the two will triumph. The expansion in the quality of these negative viewpoints (evasion) would make them maintain a strategic distance from the contention or objective of beginning the new business, which may bring about hesitation.

This approach-avoidance conflict occurs in every situation where a person gets to confront a situation that has contrasting outcomes (both negative and positive). Some people always tend to avoid the possible positive consequences and always focus only on the negative predictions thus, they avoid the situation. However, some people who evaluate the situation in a more positive way and despite the viable threat they remain focused on the positive side and always approach the situation. The difference comes in the personality of a person, some people prefer the good side of an event while outweighing the bad side but some people prefer the bad side of an event while outweighing the good side.

Conflict in personality

Conflicts are regularly unconscious, in the feel that the man or woman can't pick out the supply of his distress. Many robust impulses such as concern and hostility are so lots disapproved by the subculture that an infant quickly learns not to acknowledge them, even to himself. When such impulses are worried about a conflict, the person is anxious however does not comprehend why. He is then less able to carry rational questioning to endure on the problem.

INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

Among the Big Five character traits (i.e., neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and agreeableness), which are assumed to represent the floor of personality, extraversion (i.e., being assertive, sociable, and enthusiastic) has regularly been linked with approach-oriented goals, whereas neuroticism (i.e., being emotionally unstable, anxious, and moody) has been linked with avoidance-oriented desires.

As a result, it can be viewed as advantageous to have one dominant personality trait (either extraversion or neuroticism) to stop awesome journey of approach-avoidance conflicts additionally confirmed relationships between strategy and avoidance tendencies with the different Big Five personality features (i.e., agreeableness and conscientiousness); however, results are less clear and want more empirical support.

MOTIVATION SYSTEM

The Motivation system is a complex process that initiates whenever an individual faces any conflicting situation. The approach and avoidance conflict have two sub-divisions the approach motivation and avoidance motivation; these conflicts emerge if both both of these motivations become active simultaneously. The classical representation of approach and avoidance motivations was also given by Greek philosophers, according to them the pleasure seeking and the pain relief are the core principles of human behavior. The approach-avoidance motivation can be termed as a function of valence, where approach behavior is moving toward a positive or desirable antecedents, and avoidance behavior is moving away from negative or undesirable antecedents.

An approach to the simple dimensions issue has targeted on motivational systems. A range of theorists over the years have posited the existence of two simple motivational systems accountable for conduct and affect, one responsible for facilitating the conduct and/or generating a tremendous effect, and the other responsible for inhibiting behavior and/or producing negative have an affect on. The theorizing of Gray (1970) is noteworthy in this literature in that he has posited the existence of person differences in two conceptual nervous systems: one labeled the behavioral activation system (BAS), which is posited to facilitate behavior and produce positive affect, and the different labeled the behavioral inhibition device (BIS), which is posited to inhibit conduct and produce bad affect.

Behavior Activation System is described as an individual's willingness to react to the stimulus and producing positive outcomes. Conversely, Behavior Inhibition System is avoiding the stimulus to avoid the pain and danger associated with the outcome.

So those individuals who are high in BAS are more likely to approach and confront any conflicting situation. They are more enthusiastic about actually confronting the situation while neglecting any danger or threat associated with the confrontation. They are more impulsive in nature and quick decision-makers, such individuals are those who always try to seek pleasure and happiness in any circumstances. Many pieces of research have shown that such individuals stay happier in their lives.

Dopaminergic pathway controlling the human response ability

However, those individuals who are high in BIS are more likely to avoid any conflicting situation and have neuroticism in their personality. They avoid seeking pleasure just to protect themselves from any harm. They are always sad, discontent and dissatisfied in their lives.

BRAIN ACTIVATION

So approach motivation is strongly driven by neural regions that mediate reward processing, such as the striatum, a small structure in the basal ganglia that contains numerous dopaminergic connections with the neo-cortex In contrast, avoidance motivation is primarily a mechanism for harm reduction, as well as by an adjacent neural structure called the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, which mediates sustained arousal to threat, particularly when threat is not well defined . Approach–avoidance conflict is the result of simultaneous activation of approach and avoidance motivational systems, which typically occurs in contexts with a high degree of novelty, ambiguity, and unpredictability, in that these contexts are perceived as both potentially rewarding and potentially punishing .

PROS AND CONS

Everything functions best up to the optimum level; more or less both causes problems and sometimes lead to dysfunctionality.

Behavior Activation System and Behavior Inhibition system both have the good side and the bad side. Those who are motivated to approach the situation sometimes approach those events as well which should be avoided. If they approach the good event they tend to be happy but, if they approach the bad event they are on the steak of becoming sadder. Those who always tend to avoid the conflicting situation sometimes avoid the good event and miss a chance to getting pleasure and joy but, they tend to avoid the bad events as well and as a result; they remain unhurt and free from pain.

CONCLUSION

Approach-Avoidance conflict arises when a conflicting situation is being encountered. These situations have both possible positive and negative outcomes associated with them. Everyone encounters such kind of situations more or less in their everyday lives. The conflict is quite unconscious and beyond one's awareness. The resolution of conflict is based on the motivation system, which has two aspects Behavior Activation System ( approaching an event) and Behavior Inhibition System ( avoiding an event). These motivations control an individual's ability to respond to an external stimulus. The approach-avoidance conflict is also controlled by the brain mechanism and processing and is heavily linked to the personality trait ( extraversion, neuroticism).