approach–avoidance conflict

a situation involving a single goal or option that has both desirable and undesirable aspects or consequences. The closer an individual comes to the goal, the greater the anxiety, but withdrawal from the goal then increases the desire. See also approach–approach conflict; avoidance–avoidance conflict; double approach–avoidance conflict.

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Psychology term of the day

February 22nd 2025

Gesellschaft

Gesellschaft

n. a type of society (the literal meaning of this German word) or social group in which people feel relatively isolated from each other. Their relationships are primarily contractual in nature, being guided chiefly by rational self-interest and the logic of the marketplace. Compare Gemeinschaft. [first described in 1887 by German sociologist Ferdinand Julius Tönnies (1855–1936)]