ERIC Number: EJ1205951
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019-Mar
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
Post-Conflict Speeding: Evidence of Sequential Effects in Motivational Conflicts
Heitmann, Christina; Deutsch, Roland
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v45 n3 p452-469 Mar 2019
Sequential effects in conflict processing (postconflict slowing and conflict adaptation) have primarily been studied in stimulus-response compatibility (SRC) tasks. Moreover, results obtained in SRC paradigms are often proposed as a model of higher-level motivational conflicts. The authors present 3 experiments suggesting that motivational conflicts, such as approach-approach (AA) and avoidance-avoidance (VV) conflicts partially engage different processes than SRC conflicts and thus result in different sequential effects. Instead of postconflict slowing, they predicted speeding after AA conflicts because they expect the approach motivation component of AA conflicts to briefly increase action readiness. Second, the authors expected larger conflict adaptation in VV than AA conflicts because conflict adaptation is known to be enhanced by inducing negative affect. They conducted 3 experiments with varying intertrial intervals (intertrial interval [ITI]) in which participants repeatedly solved hypothetical motivational conflicts (AA, VV) and nonconflicts (NC). In all three experiments, the authors observed postconflict speeding after AA conflicts compared to NC when the ITI was short. Conflict adaptation proved to be less reliable. These results extend previous research on sequential effects in conflict resolution by showing that sequential effects emerge also in higher-level motivational AA and VV conflicts but partially follow different rules than in SRC paradigms.
Descriptors: Ethics, Conflict, Psychological Patterns, Cognitive Processes, Prediction, Intervals, Comparative Analysis, College Students, Technical Education, Decision Making, Motivation, Foreign Countries, Reaction Time, Sequential Approach
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A