What you want (and do not want) affects what you see (and do not see): avoidance social goals and social events.
Two studies examined the influence of approach and avoidance social goals on memory for and evaluation of ambiguous social information. Study 1 found that individual differences in avoidance social goals were associated with greater memory of negative information, negatively biased interpretation of ambiguous social cues, and a more pessimistic evaluation of social actors. Study 2 experimentally manipulated social goals and found that individuals high in avoidance social motivation remembered more negative information and expressed more dislike for a stranger in the avoidance condition than in the approach condition. Results suggest that avoidance social goals are associated with emphasizing potential threats when making sense of the social environment.
Strachman
Amy
A
Psychology Department, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. astrach@ucla.edu.
Gable
Shelly L
SL
D000328:Adult; D004924:Escape Reaction; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D012919:Social Behavior; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires