Action Interpretation Determines the Effects of Go/No-Go and Approach/Avoidance Actions on Stimulus Evaluation

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Stimulus evaluation can be altered by executing go/no-go or approach/avoidance responses.
• Theoretical accounts differ on whether affective reactions during action execution or interpretation of actions as valenced drives these evaluative effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the distinct roles of action execution versus action interpretation in shaping stimulus evaluation.
• To differentiate the contributions of go/no-go and approach/avoidance actions to evaluative changes.

Main Methods:

• Developed a novel training task orthogonally combining go/no-go and approach/avoidance actions.
• Experiment 1: Focused task instructions on go/no-go actions (N=148).
• Experiment 2: Focused task instructions on approach/avoidance actions (N=158).

Main Results:

• In Experiment 1, go/no-go actions influenced evaluation (no-go items less positive), but approach/avoidance actions did not.
• In Experiment 2, approach/avoidance actions influenced evaluation (approached items more positive, avoided items less positive), but go/no-go actions did not.
• The same motor responses yielded different evaluative outcomes based on task-relevant action interpretation.

Conclusions:

• Action interpretation, rather than mere action execution, is the key determinant of whether go/no-go or approach/avoidance actions influence stimulus evaluation.
• Findings inform theories on action-stimulus evaluation links and applied interventions.
• Understanding action interpretation is crucial for leveraging behavioral interventions to modify evaluations.