Loss of control stimulates approach motivation

•Control deprivation stimulates approach motivation.•Low control people become energized and motivated to achieve their goals.•This tendency is argued to be both palliative and functional in restoring control.

The present research introduces a framework for understanding motivational reactions to control deprivation. Two experiments demonstrated that loss of control can stimulate approach motivation. Loss of control led to greater approach motivation in terms of enhanced motivation to achieve goals (Experiment 1) and greater self-reported high approach affect (Experiments 1 & 2). Experiment 2 additionally revealed that the effect of control deprivation on approach motivation was eliminated when participants misattributed their arousal to an external source. Overall, the findings demonstrate that loss of control can stimulate approach motivation as part of an adaptive motivational system aimed at coping with perceived lack of control.