Reversal theory

Reversal theory is a structural, phenomenological theory of personality, motivation, and emotion in the field of psychology. It focuses on the dynamic qualities of normal human experience to describe how a person regularly reverses between psychological states, reflecting their motivational style, the meaning they attach to a situation at a given time, and the emotions they experience. Unlike many theories related to personality, reversal theory does not consist of static traits (trait theory), but rather a set of dynamics motivational states. As people cycle through states, they will see different things as important, experience different emotions, react differently, and look for quite different rewards. Motivation drives orientation, styles, perspective, and desires. The theory emphasizes the changeability of human nature. Hundreds of empirical papers have been published testing, or using, one or another idea from the theory. It has also generated over twenty books, many standardized questionnaires, its own journal, and various training techniques used in a number of countries. Workshops have been developed for self-development, leadership, creativity, and salesmanship among other topics. Other previous and current applications of the theory include risk-taking, violence, creativity, humor, sexual behavior, ritual, terrorism, advertising, fantasy, and so on. The Reversal Theory Society has its own journal, the Journal of Motivation, Emotion, and Personality. A number of instruments have been created to measure reversal theory phenomena. Many of these focus on state dominance – which states are more prevalent for a person over time. While others attempt to capture the phenomena of the reversals themselves – how people's states shift in specific situations. Reversal theory was initially developed primarily by British psychologist Dr. Michael Apter and psychiatrist Dr. Ken Smith in the mid-1970s. The starting point was Smith's recognition of a personality dimension which he believed had been largely overlooked but was of critical importance in understanding certain kinds of pathology.