Several literatures converge on the idea that approach and positive
affect related to goal pursuit are managed by one self-regulatory
system,
and that avoidance (or withdrawal) and negative affect related to
threats
are managed by a second self-regulatory system. After briefly
reviewing
these literatures, we consider the relation of these themes to the
broader
domain of personality. In particular, we map individual
differences
in the responsivity of the approach system onto the personality
dimension
of extraversion, and we map individual differences in the responsivity
of the withdrawal system onto the dimension of neuroticism. This
mapping requires a slight refocusing of current conceptions of
extraversion
and neuroticism. However, such a refocusing brings a gain as well
as a cost: in particular, it would embed these dimensions more
explicitly
in a process-oriented conceptualization of action control.
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