Opponent-process Theory - Motivation and Emotion

Motivation and Emotion

Solomon developed a motivational theory based on opponent processes. Basically he states that every process that has an affective valence, i.e. is pleasant or unpleasant, is followed by a secondary, "opponent process". This opponent process sets in after the primary process is quit. With repeated exposure, the primary process becomes weaker while the opponent process is strengthened.

The most important contribution is Solomon's findings on work motivation and addictive behavior, though it does not fit the "economist's standard model" and how there are growing suspicions that addiction is a much broader phenomenon than first believed. According to opponent-process theory, drug addiction is the result of an emotional pairing of pleasure and the emotional symptoms associated with withdrawal. At the beginning of drug or any substance use, there are high levels of pleasure and low levels of withdrawal. Over time, however, as the levels of pleasure from using the drug decrease, the levels of withdrawal symptoms increase, thus providing motivation to keep using the drug despite a lack of pleasure from it.

The theory was supported in a study Solomon conducted along with J.D. Corbit in 1974, in which the researchers analyzed the emotions of skydivers. It was found that beginners have greater levels of fear than more experienced skydivers, but less pleasure upon landing. However, as the skydivers kept on jumping, there was an increase in pleasure and a decrease in fear. A similar experiment was done with dogs. Dogs were put into a so-called Pavlov harness and were shocked with electricity for 10 seconds. This shock was the stimulus of the experiment. In the initial stage (consisting of the first few stimuli) the dogs experienced terror and panic. Then, when they stopped the stimuli the dogs became stealthy and cautious. The experiment continued and after many stimuli the dogs went from unhappy to joyful and happy after the shocks stopped altogether In the opponent process model, this is the result of a shift over time from fear to pleasure in the fear-pleasure emotion pair.

Hurvich & Jameson proposed a neurological model of a general theory of neurological opponent processing in 1974. This led to Ronald C. Blue and Wanda E. Blue’s general model of Correlational Holographic Opponent Processing. This model proposes that habituation is a neurological holographic wavelet interference of opponent processes that explains learning, vision, hearing, taste, balance, smell, motivation, and emotions.

Beyond addictive behavior, opponent-process theory can in principle explain why processes (i.e. situations or subjective states) that are aversive and unpleasant can still be rewarding. For instance, after being exposed to a stressful situation (cold pressor test), human participants showed greater physiological signs of well-being than those in the control condition. Self-report measures and subjective ratings show that relief from physical pain can induce pleasant feelings, and a reduction of negative affect. Accordingly, opponent-process theory can also help to explain psycho-pathological behavior such as non-suicidal self-injury.