Behavioral Activation/Inhibition Systems and Emotions: A Test of Valence vs. Action Tendency Hypotheses

Abstract

Using 16 television Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and with a 2 (valence)×2 (action tendency)×4 (sequence) mixed design, an experiment (N=245) examined the impact of behavioral inhibition/activation systems (BIS/BAS) on affect. Two hypotheses (valence vs. action tendency) derived from the nature of emotions and properties of BIS/BAS were tested against each other. Due to the censored distributions of emotion variables and the mixed design, two-level tobit models were estimated to test the hypotheses. The results showed that BIS and BAS showed a complex pattern of associations with emotions that was not wholly consistent with either the approach-avoidance or valence aspects of affect; and that surprise might be joint product of novelty and valence assessments. Implications for future research were discussed.