The agony of ambivalence and ways to resolve it: Introducing the MAID model

van Harreveld, Frenk; van der Pligt, Joop; de Liver, Yael N.

doi:10.1177/1088868308324518

Cited by 344Social and Intergroup PsychologyBehavioral Health and InterventionsDecision-Making and Behavioral Economics

The agony of ambivalence and ways to resolve it: Introducing the MAID model

van Harreveld, Frenk, van der Pligt, Joop, de Liver, Yael N.·2009·Personality and Social Psychology Review

DOI 10.1177/1088868308324518

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Abstract

People are generally averse toward conflict between beliefs and/or feelings underlying their attitudes—that is, attitudinal ambivalence. This review integrates literature on attitudinal ambivalence with theories on decision making and coping strategies to gain a better understanding of when and how people deal with feelings of ambivalence. First it shows that ambivalence is experienced as being particularly unpleasant when the ambivalent attitude holder is confronted with the necessity to make a choice concerning the ambivalent attitude object; then, incongruent evaluative components of the attitude become accessible, and feelings of uncertainty about the potential outcomes arise, which may involve the anticipation of aversive emotions. Several coping strategies are employed when ambivalence is experienced as unpleasant. Emotion- and problem-focused coping strategies are discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of the MAID (model of ambivalence-induced discomfort), which aims to describe the consequences of ambivalence.

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Emotional ambivalence is associated with discomfort and aversion.
“Emotional ambivalence is also associated with discomfort and aversion (van Harreveld, van der Pligt, & de Liver, 2009).”
From Mobile shopping cart abandonment: The roles of conflicts, ambivalence, and hesitation (2018) · cites this paper as van Harreveld, van der Pligt, & de Liver, 2009

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Ambivalence in Organizations: A Multilevel Approach
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Back to the Future of Dissonance Theory: Cognitive Consistency as a Core Motive
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Toward a Cognitive View of Signalling Theory: Individual Attention and Signal Set Interpretation
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The ABC of Ambivalence
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Feeling Mixed, Ambivalent, and in Flux: The Social Functions of Emotional Complexity for Leaders
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Ambivalence toward imposed change: The conflict between dispositional resistance to change and the orientation toward the change agent.
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Mobile shopping cart abandonment: The roles of conflicts, ambivalence, and hesitation
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Levels of Valence
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The Mismeasure of the Self
Tanesini, A. (2021) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198858836.001.0001 · Cited by 142 · see citing works
Mixed feelings: the case of ambivalence
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In doubt and disorderly: Ambivalence promotes compensatory perceptions of order.
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Trying Before Buying: The Moderating Role of Online Reviews in Trial Attitude Formation Toward Mobile Applications
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The Attitudinal Entropy (AE) Framework as a General Theory of Individual Attitudes
Dalege, J., Borsboom, D., van Harreveld, F., & van der Maas, H. L. J. (2018) · Psychological Inquiry · doi:10.1080/1047840x.2018.1537246 · Cited by 99 · see citing works
Conceptualizing and Measuring Intergenerational Ambivalence in Later Life
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A Network Perspective on Attitude Strength: Testing the Connectivity Hypothesis
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Integrating social and cognitive aspects of belief dynamics: towards a unifying framework
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The path of ambivalence: tracing the pull of opposing evaluations using mouse trajectories
Schneider, I. K., van Harreveld, F., Rotteveel, M., Topolinski, S., van der Pligt, J., Schwarz, N., & Koole, S. L. (2015) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00996 · Cited by 94 · see citing works
Of Mice and Men
Gawronski, B., & Cesario, J. (2013) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868313480096 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
Insecure attachment predicts ambivalent social threat and reward perceptions in romantic relationships
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It’s complicated: explaining the relationship between trust, distrust, and ambivalence in online transaction relationships using polynomial regression analysis and response surface analysis
Moody, G. D., Lowry, P. B., & Galletta, D. F. (2017) · European Journal of Information Systems · doi:10.1057/s41303-016-0027-9 · Cited by 90 · see citing works
Feeling Conflicted and Seeking Information
Sawicki, V., Wegener, D., Clark, J. K., Fabrigar, L., Smith, S. M., & Durso, G. R. O. (2013) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167213481388 · Cited by 64 · see citing works
Uncertainty in ethical consumer choice: a conceptual model
Hassan, L. M., Shaw, D., Shiu, E. M. K., Walsh, G., & Parry, S. (2013) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.1409 · Cited by 82 · see citing works
Conflicting Pressures on Romantic Relationship Commitment for Anxiously Attached Individuals
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Consumer uncertainty: The influence of anticipatory emotions on ambivalence, attitudes, and intentions
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Cognitive-Affective Inconsistency and Ambivalence: Impact on the Overall Attitude–Behavior Relationship
Conner, M. T., Wilding, S., van Harreveld, F., & Dalege, J. (2020) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167220945900 · Cited by 75 · see citing works
Helping the organization but hurting yourself: How employees’ unethical pro-organizational behavior predicts work-to-life conflict
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Let’s not be indifferent about neutrality: Neutral ratings in the International Affective Picture System (IAPS) mask mixed affective responses.
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Protecting Against Threats to Information Security: An Attitudinal Ambivalence Perspective
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Licensing Indulgence in the Present by Distorting Memories of Past Behavior
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Persuasion amidst a pandemic: Insights from the Elaboration Likelihood Model
Susmann, M. W., Xu, M.-R., Clark, J. K., Wallace, L. E., Blankenship, K. L., Philipp-Muller, A., Luttrell, A., Wegener, D., & Petty, R. (2021) · European Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/10463283.2021.1964744 · Cited by 63 · see citing works
Stigma and Legitimacy: Two Ends of a Single Continuum or Different Continua Altogether?
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How Normal Meat Becomes Stranger as Cultured Meat Becomes More Normal; Ambivalence and Ambiguity Below the Surface of Behavior
van der Weele, C., & Driessen, C. (2019) · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · doi:10.3389/fsufs.2019.00069 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Formation, representation, and activation of contextualized attitudes
Gawronski, B., Ye, Y., Rydell, R. J., & Houwer, J. D. (2014) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2014.05.010 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Effects of Message Framing on Influenza Vaccination: Understanding the Role of Risk Disclosure, Perceived Vaccine Efficacy, and Felt Ambivalence
Kim, S.-S., Pjesivac, I., & Jin, Y. (2017) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2017.1384353 · Cited by 55 · see citing works
Work Engagement and Job Crafting as Conditions of Ambivalent Employees’ Adaptation to Organizational Change
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When in Doubt, Follow the Crowd? Responsiveness to Social Proof Nudges in the Absence of Clear Preferences
Venema, T. A. G., Kroese, F. M., Benjamins, J. S., & de Ridder, D. T. D. (2020) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01385 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Identified ambivalence: When cognitive conflicts can help individuals overcome cognitive traps.
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Evaluating ambivalence: social-cognitive and affective brain regions associated with ambivalent decision-making
Nohlen, H. U., van Harreveld, F., Rotteveel, M., Lelieveld, G., & Crone, E. A. (2013) · Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience · doi:10.1093/scan/nst074 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Life in Transition
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Power and Persuasion: Processes by Which Perceived Power Can Influence Evaluative Judgments
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Understanding intentions to purchase bio-based products: The role of subjective ambivalence
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Explicitly and implicitly measured valence and risk attitudes towards plastic packaging, plastic waste, and microplastic in a German sample
Menzel, C., Brom, J., & Heidbreder, L. M. (2021) · Sustainable Production and Consumption · doi:10.1016/j.spc.2021.08.016 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Ambivalence: Employee responses to depersonalized bullying at work
D’Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2013) · Economic and Industrial Democracy · doi:10.1177/0143831x13501001 · Cited by 46 · see citing works
Embracing consumer ambivalence in the luxury shopping experience
Prestini, S., & Sebastiani, R. (2021) · Journal of Consumer Behaviour · doi:10.1002/cb.1933 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
Ambivalent Attitudes, Contradictory Institutions
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Organizational Governance: A Promising Solution for Varieties of Workplace Bullying
D’Cruz, P., & Noronha, E. (2016) · Emerald Group Publishing Limited eBooks · doi:10.1108/s1746-979120160000012013 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
A bittersweet experience! The effect of mixed emotions on business tourists’ revisit intentions
Bi, N., Yin, C., & Chen, Y. (2020) · Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing · doi:10.1080/10548408.2020.1795047 · Cited by 44 · see citing works
The moderating role of dialecticism in consumer responses to product information
Wang, H., Batra, R., & Chen, Z. (2015) · Journal of Consumer Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jcps.2015.10.003 · Cited by 43 · see citing works
Feeling torn and fearing rue: Attitude ambivalence and anticipated regret as antecedents of biased information seeking
Itzchakov, G., & van Harreveld, F. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2017.11.003 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
The bittersweet taste of sacrifice: Consequences for ambivalence and mixed reactions.
Righetti, F., Schneider, I. K., Ferrier, D., Spiridonova, T., Xiang, R., & Impett, E. A. (2020) · Journal of Experimental Psychology General · doi:10.1037/xge0000750 · Cited by 41 · see citing works
Understanding the relationship between self-esteem and self-clarity: The role of desired self-esteem
DeMarree, K. G., & Morrison, K. R. (2013) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2013.10.003 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
The Social Value of Being Ambivalent
Pillaud, V., Cavazza, N., & Butera, F. (2013) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167213490806 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
The Intergenerational Relationships of Gay Men and Lesbian Women
Reczek, C. (2014) · The Journals of Gerontology Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/gbu042 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
On the pursuit of desired attitudes: Wanting a different attitude affects information processing and behavior
DeMarree, K. G., Clark, C. J., Wheeler, S. C., Briñol, P., & Petty, R. E. (2017) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2017.01.003 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Specificity in the Study of Mixed Emotions: A Theoretical Framework
Oh, V. Y. S., & Tong, E. M. W. (2022) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/10888683221083398 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Self-Ambivalence and Resistance to Subtle Self-Change Attempts
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Rethinking individual relationships with entities of nature
Lehnen, L., Arbieu, U., Böhning‐Gaese, K., Díaz, S. M., Glikman, J. A., & Mueller, T. (2022) · People and Nature · doi:10.1002/pan3.10296 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
From Power to Inaction
Durso, G. R. O., Briñol, P., & Petty, R. E. (2016) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797616669947 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Benefits of being ambivalent: The relationship between trait ambivalence and attribution biases
Schneider, I. K., Novin, S., van Harreveld, F., & Genschow, O. (2020) · British Journal of Social Psychology · doi:10.1111/bjso.12417 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Compersion: When Jealousy-Inducing Situations Don’t (Just) Induce Jealousy
Balzarini, R. N., McDonald, J. N., Kohut, T., Lehmiller, J. J., Holmes, B., & Harman, J. J. (2021) · Archives of Sexual Behavior · doi:10.1007/s10508-020-01853-1 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
Informed decision making in the context of childhood immunization
Lehmann, B. A., de Melker, H. E., Timmermans, D. R. M., & Mollema, L. (2017) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2017.06.015 · Cited by 36 · see citing works
How Do Indifferent Voters Decide? The Political Importance of Implicit Attitudes
Ryan, T. J. (2017) · American Journal of Political Science · doi:10.1111/ajps.12307 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
The influence of word-of-mouth on attitudinal ambivalence during the higher education decision-making process
Sipilä, J., Herold, K., Tarkiainen, A., & Sundqvist, S. (2017) · Journal of Business Research · doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.07.014 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Affective responses to ambivalence are context-dependent: A facial EMG study on the role of inconsistency and evaluative context in shaping affective responses to ambivalence
Nohlen, H. U., van Harreveld, F., Rotteveel, M., Barends, A. J., & Larsen, J. T. (2016) · Journal of Experimental Social Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2016.02.001 · Cited by 35 · see citing works
Voluntary Use of Information Technology: An Analysis and Synthesis of the Literature
Tsai, H. P., Compeau, D., & Meister, D. B. (2016) · Journal of Information Technology · doi:10.1057/jit.2016.6 · Cited by 34 · see citing works
Reasons for accepting or declining Down syndrome screening in Dutch prospective mothers within the context of national policy and healthcare system characteristics: a qualitative study
Crombag, N. M. T. H., Boeije, H., Iedema-Kuiper, R., Schielen, P. C. J. I., Visser, G. H. A., & Bensing, J. M. (2016) · BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth · doi:10.1186/s12884-016-0910-3 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Escaping from the meat paradox: How morality and disgust affect meat-related ambivalence
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Message Position, Information Processing, and Persuasion
Clark, J. K., & Wegener, D. (2013) · Advances in experimental social psychology · doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-407236-7.00004-8 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
The model of ambivalent choice and dissonant commitment: An integration of dissonance and ambivalence frameworks
Buttlar, B., Pauer, S., & van Harreveld, F. (2024) · European Review of Social Psychology · doi:10.1080/10463283.2024.2373547 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Perceived Responsiveness Increases Tolerance of Attitude Ambivalence and Enhances Intentions to Behave in an Open-Minded Manner
Itzchakov, G., & Reis, H. T. (2020) · Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin · doi:10.1177/0146167220929218 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Robocalypse? Yes, Please! The Role of Robot Autonomy in the Development of Ambivalent Attitudes Towards Robots
Stapels, J. G., & Eyssel, F. (2021) · International Journal of Social Robotics · doi:10.1007/s12369-021-00817-2 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Reducing Subjective Ambivalence by Creating Doubt
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Authors: van Harreveld, F., van der Pligt, J., & de Liver, Y. N.
Affiliations: University of Amsterdam, Netherlands,
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Utrecht University, Netherlands
Venue: Personality and Social Psychology Review
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2009-02
Volume: 13
Issue: 1
Pages: 45-61
ISSN: 1088-8683 (ISSN-L)
1532-7957
DOI: 10.1177/1088868308324518
OpenAlex: W1924470037
Cited by: 343
References: 134
Citations by year: 2026: 29 · 2025: 19 · 2024: 21 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 24 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 13
FWCI: 4.86
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Personality and Social Psychology Review (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (publishedVersion)
Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
Keywords: attitudinal ambivalence, decision-making, coping strategies, emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping, uncertainty, aversive emotions
MeSH terms: Adaptation, Psychological, Attitude, Choice Behavior, Cognitive Dissonance, Conflict, Psychological, Decision Making, Emotions, Humans, Models, Psychological, Problem Solving

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The agony of ambivalence and ways to resolve it: Introducing the MAID model

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