On the automatic link between affect and tendencies to approach and avoid: Chen and Bargh (1999) revisited

Abstract

Within the literature on emotion and behavioral action, studies on approach-avoidance take up a prominent place. Several experimental paradigms feature successful conceptual replications but many original studies have not yet been replicated directly. We present such a direct replication attempt of two seminal experiments originally conducted by Chen and Bargh (1999). In their first experiment, participants affectively evaluated attitude objects by pulling or pushing a lever. Participants who had to pull the lever with positively valenced attitude objects and push the lever with negatively valenced attitude objects (i.e., congruent instruction) did so faster than participants who had to follow the reverse (i.e., incongruent) instruction. In Chen and Bargh's second experiment, the explicit evaluative instructions were absent and participants merely responded to the attitude objects by either always pushing or always pulling the lever. Similar results were obtained as in Experiment 1. Based on these findings, Chen and Bargh concluded that (1) attitude objects are evaluated automatically; and (2) attitude objects automatically trigger a behavioral tendency to approach or avoid. We attempted to replicate both experiments and failed to find the effects reported by Chen and Bargh as indicated by our pre-registered Bayesian data analyses; nevertheless, the evidence in favor of the null hypotheses was only anecdotal, and definitive conclusions await further study.

Intact error monitoring in combat Veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder

“…Therefore, we conducted Bayesian two-sample t-tests to quantify the confidence with which we could accept the null hypothesis (Boekel et al, 2015;Rotteveel et al, 2015). These tests indicated that the present results were more likely to occur if the null hypothesis is true, but the evidence was only "anecdotal" (Wagenmakers et al, 2011).…”

The association between implicit attitudes toward physical activity and physical activity behaviour: a systematic review and correlational meta-analysis

“…For example, it could be interesting to explore whether different measures developed to reflect implicit attitudes share variability that is not shared with measures of other constructs (i.e., attentional bias), accounting for method and random residual error (see Bar-Anan & Vianello, 2018). More specific hypotheses, such as the mediating role of impulsive approach-avoidance tendencies in the relationship between implicit attitudes and physical activity could also be explored (see Chen & Bargh, 1999;Rotteveel et al, 2015). Such studies might help to understand the mechanisms that relates implicit attitudes to physical activity behaviors.…”

Incidental Haptic Sensations May Not Influence Social Judgments: A Purely Confirmatory Replication Attempt of Study 1 by Ackerman, Nocera, & Bargh (2010)

“…An empirical prediction from this is that cognitive states (e.g., feeling confident) can trigger corresponding bodily states (e.g., walking upright) and vice versa (Barsalou, 2008). In support of embodiment theories, previous work has shown that stimulating facial muscles to facilitate smiling can induce positive affect (e.g., Strack, Martin, & Stepper, 1988; but see Wagenmakers et al, 2016), whereas having people make a pushing-away movement with their arms can induce negative affect (e.g., Cacioppo, Priester, & Berntson, 1993; but see Rotteveel et al, 2015). Furthermore, embodiment theories suggest that haptic information can also become linked to more abstract concepts, such as importance and seriousness.…”