Table 2.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the BIS/BAS scales conducted on the exploration sample (N = 2936)

		Standardized loadings
Item	Expected factora	Factor 1	Factor 2	Factor 3	Factor 4
Even if something bad is about to happen to me, I rarely experience fear or nervousness	BIS	−0.443	0.307	−0.056	0.018
I go out of my way to get things I want	Drive	−0.040	0.025	0.711	0.018
When I'm doing well at something I love to keep at it	RR	0.771	0.088	−0.025	−0.185
I'm always willing to try something new if I think it will be fun	FS	0.408	−0.053	0.109	0.328
When I get something I want, I feel excited and energized	RR	0.548	0.155	0.175	0.074
Criticism or scolding hurts me quite a bit	BIS	−0.071	0.628	0.085	−0.025
When I want something I usually go all‐out to get it	Drive	0.615	0.007	−0.057	0.032
I will often do things for no other reason than that they might be fun	FS	0.104	0.005	0.003	0.649
If I see a chance to get something I want I move on it right away	Drive	0.584	−0.065	−0.024	0.263
I feel pretty worried or upset when I think or know somebody is angry at me	BIS	0.008	0.673	0.020	−0.015
When I see an opportunity for something I like I get excited right away	RR	0.362	0.355	−0.062	0.260
I often act on the spur of the moment	FS	−0.084	0.071	0.278	0.532
If I think something unpleasant is going to happen I usually get pretty “worked up”	BIS	−0.001	0.639	0.016	0.064
When good things happen to me, it affects me strongly	RR	0.083	0.376	0.317	0.083
I feel worried when I think I have done poorly at something important	BIS	0.278	0.622	0.024	−0.094
I crave excitement and new sensations	FS	0.169	0.011	0.270	0.419
When I go after something I use a “no holds barred” approach	Drive	0.021	−0.045	0.786	−0.006
I have very few fears compared to my friends	BIS	−0.384	0.230	−0.286	0.009
It would excite me to win a contest	RR	0.433	0.241	0.034	0.048
I worry about making mistakes	BIS	−0.004	0.686	−0.152	−0.001

Note: BIS, Behavioural Inhibition System; BAS, Behavioural Activation System; RR, Reward Responsiveness; FS, Fun Seeking.

^aExpected factor following Carver and White (1994). In italic typeface, loadings ≥ 0.45.