Approach Versus Avoidance Posture In Nonverbal Body Language
Christopher Philip
Empirical support was collected in this study showing that people approach and lean in when viewing pleasant images and to a degree avoid and lean back when viewing unpleasant images.
Approach and avoidance are general behaviours that bring one closer to pleasant stimulus and moves one away from unpleasant stimulus. Behind such behaviours and actions are emotions. Approaching maximizes people’s fitness by bringing them closer to things that make them happy, and avoidance maximizes fitness by moving them away from things that make them uphappy. This much seems quite intuitive.
A few studies have supported this idea. For example, in one study, subjects were asked to move a lever toward them when they liked what they saw and away when they didn’t like what they say. These participants performed quicker on the task than those instructed to pull and push the lever in the opposite directions.
Negative stimulus therefore, is presumed to activate avoidance movements and positive stimulus is presumed to activate approach movements. One may see this in body language such as leaning in versus leaning out or turning the torso toward versus turning the torso away.
However, most studies have relied on arm movement, such as moving the arms in (flexation) and out (arm extension), during approach and avoidance respectively. However, approach can also be associated with arm extension such as when reaching for an object and flexion such as when withdrawing from aversive stimulus.
Thus, as with all nonverbal communication, context is key to discerning the intent behind the message. As far as approach and avoidance is concerned, it is not the action exactly that defines the movement and it’s associated emotion but rather the effect of the movement. In other words, at stake is whether the arm movement itself decreases (approaches) or increases (avoids) the stimulus itself.
The same line of reasoning should be used when judging people ventral fronting for example which turns the body toward or away from people as well as leaning in and leaning out. These can have various meaning and they are context and stimulus specific.
The Current Study
To examine approach and avoidance behaviours empirically, researchers led by Anita Eerland, Department of Psychology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, observed subjects interaction with pleasant and unpleasant images while standing on a Wii Balance Platform.
Participants viewed 60 pictures on a computer monitor while standing on the platform. Images included 20 pleasant including scenes of erotica, families and animals, 20 neutral including neutral faces and scenes and household objects and 20 were unpleasant including sad and scared people.
After 1 second the participants were permitted to move to the next image by shifting their weight to the left or right as instructed.
As the subjects viewed the images, their direction of lean (in versus out) was recorded against their neutral standing position in accordance with the type of image they were currently viewing.
Results showed that participants leaned forward or approached pleasant images and leaned back while viewing unpleasant images but only during their lateral movements (to switch the photograph). No lean pattern was observed as subjects viewed negative images, however.
When avoidance was found, it only occurred after some time in the shifting phase.
Similar results were found in another study with respect to avoidance in that only female participants and not male participants leaned back in response to negative stimulus and only after 2 seconds had elapsed. Thus, there may be an inherent delay in avoidance behaviours.
This may be explained by the fact that subjects are giving the images the “benefit of the doubt.”
The researchers also note that the stimulus for negative images was rather benign and included sad faces and sad people which may not elicit such a strong reaction.
Drawing Conclusions
Empirical support was collected in this study showing that people approach and lean in when viewing pleasant images and to a degree avoid and lean back when viewing unpleasant images.
This lends support to the notion that people lean in toward people they find pleasant and away from people they find unpleasant.
Resources
Eerland, Anita; Tulio M. Guadalupe; Ingmar H. A. Franken and Rolf A. Zwaan. Posture as Index for Approach-Avoidance Behavior. PLOS one. February 2019. 7(2): e31291.
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