ABSTRACT
Reversal theory (Apter, 1982, 1989) is a general theory of motivation, personality, and psychopathology. It has been presented in ways that focus on each of these three domains by Svebak (1985), Apter (1984), and Murgatroyd and Apter (1984) respectively. And research of a variety of kinds, experimental and psychometric, has provided empirical support for the theory in these areas (e.g., Apter, Fontana, & Murgatroyd, 1985; Apter, Kerr, & Cowles, 1988). However, reversal theory is also, and equally, a theory of affect. The aim of the present chapter is to present it from this perspective, showing how it provides a novel, coherent, and potentially unifying account of emotional experience.
