Compare methods

	BIS/BAS Scales	Regulatory Focus Questionnaire
Field	Social Psychology	Social Psychology
Family	Latent structure	Latent structure
Year of origin	1994	2001
Originator	Charles Carver & Teri White	E. Tory Higgins and colleagues
Type	Self-report multidimensional scale	Self-report two-dimensional scale
Seminal source	Carver, C. S., & White, T. L. (1994). Behavioral inhibition, behavioral activation, and affective responses to impending reward and punishment: The BIS/BAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(2), 319-333.	Higgins, E. T., Friedman, R. S., Harlow, R. E., Idson, L. C., Ayduk, O. N., & Taylor, A. (2001). Achievement orientations from subjective histories of success: Promotion pride versus prevention pride. European Journal of Social Psychology, 31(1), 3-23.
Aliases	BIS/BAS, Carver-White Scales, Behavioral Activation Behavioral Inhibition Scales	RFQ, Promotion-Prevention Questionnaire, Regulatory Focus Scale
Related	3	3
Summary	The BIS/BAS Scales, developed by Carver and White in 1994, are self-report measures of two fundamental motivational systems proposed by Gray's reinforcement sensitivity theory. The Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) governs sensitivity to punishment, threat, and nonreward, and underlies anxiety and avoidance; the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) governs sensitivity to reward and underlies approach motivation and positive affect, and is measured by three subscales (Drive, Reward Responsiveness, and Fun Seeking). Respondents rate agreement with statements about their reactions to anticipated reward and punishment. Carver and White validated the scales by showing that BIS sensitivity predicted nervousness in the face of impending punishment and BAS sensitivity predicted happiness in anticipation of reward. The instrument is widely used in personality, clinical, and affective research as a trait measure of approach and avoidance temperament.	The Regulatory Focus Questionnaire (RFQ), developed by Higgins and colleagues in 2001, measures two independent motivational orientations derived from regulatory focus theory: a promotion focus concerned with growth, ideals, gains, and eager pursuit of positive outcomes, and a prevention focus concerned with safety, duties, responsibilities, and vigilant avoidance of negative outcomes. Rather than asking directly about current motivation, the RFQ assesses respondents' subjective histories of success in promotion and prevention self-regulation, yielding two scores that can be high or low independently. Because promotion and prevention foci predict different strategic preferences -- eagerness versus vigilance -- emotional reactions, and responses to framing, the RFQ is widely used in research on motivation, persuasion, decision making, and organizational behavior to capture chronic self-regulatory style.