Evidence for bivariate systems: An empirical test of appetition and aversion across domains

Research in diverse domains of psychology has independently identified two behavioral systems, one concerned with obtaining positive outcomes, the other concerned with avoiding negative outcomes. This basic distinction, described in different domains of inquiry with varying terminology, may be integrated within a single appetitive–aversive systems model. The present research was designed to examine the viability of the appetitive–aversive distinction as an organizational construct underlying various particular measures and concepts. In four studies, individual difference measures from different domains were examined with exploratory (Study 1) and confirmatory (Studies 2–4) factor analyses. We expected and found that measures tapping sensitivity to rewards or positive outcomes would load on a common appetitive latent factor, whereas, measures tapping individual differences in sensitivity to punishment or negative outcomes would load a common aversive latent factor. Results strongly supported the hypothesized two-factor structure over alternative models and indicated that the latent appetitive and aversive variables accounted for about half the variance in the observed variables.