Brian P. Meier, Assistant Professor of Psychology, and co-authors Michael D. Robinson, Maya Tamir, Benjamin M. Wilkowski, and Scott Ode published "Behavioral Facilitation: A Cognitive Model of Individual Differences" in Emotion, Vol. 9 (2009): 70-82. The article discusses approach motivation, which consists of the active, engaged pursuit of one's goals. In three studies, the authors find that approach motivation can be cognitively modeled, thereby providing processbased insights into personality functioning. The results indicate a systematic relationship between behavioral facilitation in cognitive tasks and approach motivation in daily life in terms of individual differences in motivation, affect, and depression.
