The Influence of Consumers’ Lay Theories on Approach/Avoidance Motivation

This research suggests that consumers’ approach/avoidance tendencies depend on their implicit theories about the world around them. Entity theorists believe in the immutability of the world, and thus they are not influenced by whether a persuasive message is framed in terms of approach or avoidance. In contrast, incremental theorists believe that the world is mutable, and thus they are influenced by the message frame. This proposition is...