Though different colors can evoke different achievement motivations, how do
these motivations influence cognitive task performance? Achievement motivation theory
suggests that people try to obtain their goals through two different methods (Zhu & EFFECT OF COLOR 5"
Meyers-Levy, 2007). People either view their goals as a desire and wish or they view
their goals as a responsibility and requirement. When people view their goal as a desire,
they are more aware of the presence of a positive outcome (reaching the desired goal). In
contrast, when people view their goal as a responsibility, they are more aware of the
presence of a negative outcome (failing to reach the desired goal). The approach
motivation is where the person views their goal as desire and is more aware of the
positive outcomes. The avoidance motivation is where the person views their goal as a
responsibility and is more aware of the negative outcomes. In both motivations, the
person is trying to reach a goal but in one they want to reach the best outcome while in
the other they just want to avoid failing