Revisiting embodied approach and avoidance effects on behavior: the influence of sitting posture on purchases of rewarding foods

The body is central to theoretical understanding of approach and avoidance, but previous research comprehensively investigated the embodiment of the two motivational orientations only in relation to basic motor reactions such as push and pull, and psychological processes such as attitudes. Our research addresses the neglected impact on more sophisticated behaviors that go beyond psychological processes or basic motor responses. Specifically, in the present research we probed how leaning (approach) versus reclining (avoidance) influence a representative motivated behavior—purchases of rewarding foods—in the context of an online grocery shopping task. We also examined a personality—Behavioral Activation System (BAS)—and a situational—construal level—moderator of this effect. Across Studies 1 and 2, it was established that leaning made people spend more on rewarding foods compared to reclining, but only for individuals high in the drive component of BAS. In Study 3, leaning again enhanced purchases of rewarding foods, but only in a situation that induced low construal level. The moderated effects had strong evidential value across all three studies (as indicated by a p-curve analysis), yet the main effects were significant only in Studies 1 and 3. These findings underline the importance of adding personality and situational factors when examining the impact of bodily positions that activate approach and avoidance on motivated behavior such as food choice.