Hypothesizing a moderating influence of motivation on the formation of action episodes, we investigated whether appetitive and aversive stimuli are more effectively bound to actions when congruent with chronic approach-avoidance goals. To test this hypothesis, we employed a sequential distractor-to-distractor repetition paradigm. In the prime trial, participants (total N = 313) pressed one of two response keys to zoom positive or negative images either toward or away; in the probe trial, the same keypresses displaced the affective image to the left or right. Results indicated significant stimulus-response binding and retrieval (SRBR) effects in reaction times during the probe trial when the action in the prime trial was motivationally congruent (positive-approach, negative-avoidance). However, no SRBR effects were observed when the action was motivationally incongruent (positive-avoidance, negative-approach). These findings indicate that distractor-action binding is critically influenced by motivational factors, such as the desirability of the action’s outcome.