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Updated: May 11, 2026

Investigating Pain-Related Avoidance Behavior using a Robotic Arm-Reaching Paradigm
Published on: October 3, 2020
The influence of avoidance temperament and avoidance-based achievement goals on flow
Daniela Oertig1, Julia Schüler, Veronika Brandstätter
1University of Zurich.
Abstract:
In the present research, we conducted two studies designed to examine the joint influence of avoidance temperament and avoidance-based achievement goals on the experience of flow on a creativity task. In both a laboratory study (N = 101; M(age) = 22.61, SD(age) = 4.03; 74.3% female) and a naturalistic study (N = 102; M(age) = 16.23, SD(age) = 1.13; 48% female), participants high in avoidance temperament were shown to experience greater flow when performance-avoidance goals were induced; no differences were found in any of the other three achievement goal conditions from the 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. These findings reveal a short-term benefit for a disposition-goal match grounded in avoidance motivation, and point to the need for more research on both avoidance-based matches and the short-term versus long-term implications of such matches.
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