Theory Overview

“The primary aim of reversal theory is to show that the various aspects of a wide range of types of experience and behaviour may be explained with reference to certain pairs of states and reversals which occur between them.” (Apter, 1982).

Reversal theory arose in the early 1970s, created and developed by K. C. P. Smith and M. J. Apter, in order to account for observations of psychological, emotional and motivational states reversals, in child and family clinics.

Thereafter, M. J. Apter has developed a dynamic system, based on the concept of “reversal”: the switching between opposed states. Particular psychological and emotional states which form “metamotivations,” ie higher level motivation, which motivate (over-determined) the basic motivations. For example, you can eat (basic motivation) being serious and pursuing a goal in eating, or being in a spirit of seeking pleasure in the moment. Thus, “serious, future-oriented” and “playful, focused on the present” are two possible (and opposite) metamotivations for one basic motivation: “eating.”

The theory is structured around four domains of experience, each corresponding to two opposed metamotivational styles.

The four domains and their opposite states

The theory was presented in public for the first time at a conference devoted to it, in Bristol, England, in 1975. Thereafter, in 1983, an international working group was formed, the Reversal Theory Society, which meets regularly and organizes an international conference every two years (since 1983).

Over the years and many research works carried out at an international level, reversal theory was fuelled by numerous publications. Currently, the general bibliography includes: 236 scientific articles, 24 books, 189 chapters in books, and 69 academic dissertations (doctoral dissertations for the most part).

This website provides both an entry point for those interested in reversal theory, and a discussion forum for those wishing to engage in research using the theory and its tools. The site is designed to be bilingual (English-French), and contains and interactive area with the aid of an online forum, of which the purpose (as indicated by the domain name RT research groups), is the development of research groups and emulation of their activity through Internet.