Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance01:14

Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance

Avoidance-avoidance conflict refers to a psychological situation where a person must choose between two or more unpleasant alternatives. These conflicts are particularly stressful because neither option is desirable. This dilemma is often expressed in sayings like "caught between a rock and a hard place" or "between the devil and the deep blue sea." For instance, individuals who fear dental procedures may find themselves torn between enduring a painful toothache or facing the anxiety of...
Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance01:20

Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance

Frustration occurs when people are obstructed or prevented from achieving a desired goal or fulfilling a perceived need. For example, when someone's input is ignored in a discussion, it can lead to feelings of frustration. Conflict, however, arises from opposing interests, goals, or actions. Conflicts can take various forms based on the nature of these opposing desires or goals.
One common type of conflict is the Approach–Approach Conflict. In this case, a person faces two desirable options,...
Cognitive Dissonance01:38

Cognitive Dissonance

Social psychologists have documented that feeling good about ourselves and maintaining positive self-esteem is a powerful motivator of human behavior (Tavris & Aronson, 2008). In the United States, members of the predominant culture typically think very highly of themselves and view themselves as good people who are above average on many desirable traits (Ehrlinger, Gilovich, & Ross, 2005). Often, our behavior, attitudes, and beliefs are affected when we experience a threat to our...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Robust evidence for theta-band rhythmicity in behavior across two dense-sampling datasets.

Communications psychology·2026
Same author

Limited protective effects of multilingualism against age-related cognitive decline.

Memory & cognition·2026
Same author

Neophobia and motivation in birds: A gene expression study informed by reinforcement sensitivity theory.

Behavioural brain research·2026
Same author

Adaptive variability in humans, pigeons, and rats.

Psychological review·2026
Same author

Navigating the unknown: how exploratory traits shape juvenile post-fledging behaviour and survival in gulls.

Proceedings. Biological sciences·2026
Same author

Unpacking response Inhibition in animals - part 2: an empirical test.

Animal cognition·2026

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
13:04

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods

Published on: September 19, 2012

Stimulus ambiguity elicits response conflict.

Arnaud Szmalec1, Frederick Verbruggen, André Vandierendonck

  • 1Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium. arnaud.szmalec@UGent.be

Neuroscience Letters
|March 11, 2008
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Conflict monitoring theory predicts response conflict in simple reaction time tasks. This study found response conflict in choice reaction time tasks, not simple ones, linked to stimulus ambiguity.

More Related Videos

Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm
12:12

Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm

Published on: May 14, 2014

Online Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Dorsomedial and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Cognition Decision Making, and Cognitive Dissonance
13:20

Online Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Dorsomedial and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Cognition Decision Making, and Cognitive Dissonance

Published on: December 5, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods
13:04

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods

Published on: September 19, 2012

Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm
12:12

Irrelevant Stimuli and Action Control: Analyzing the Influence of Ignored Stimuli via the Distractor-Response Binding Paradigm

Published on: May 14, 2014

Online Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Dorsomedial and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Cognition Decision Making, and Cognitive Dissonance
13:20

Online Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation of Dorsomedial and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex in Cognition Decision Making, and Cognitive Dissonance

Published on: December 5, 2025

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Psychology
  • Human Behavior

Background:

  • Conflict monitoring theory posits that perceptual ambiguity in choice stimuli triggers response conflict.
  • This theory predicts response conflict even in elementary choice reaction time (RT) tasks, typically not associated with cognitive control.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether response conflict occurs in simple and choice RT tasks.
  • To determine if stimulus ambiguity influences response conflict in these tasks.

Main Methods:

  • Participants performed a simple RT task and a 2-choice RT task under varying stimulus ambiguity.
  • Event-related brain potentials (ERPs), specifically the N2 component, were measured to assess response conflict.

Main Results:

  • Response conflict, indicated by the N2 component, was observed in the 2-choice RT task.
  • No significant response conflict was found in the simple RT task.
  • The degree of response conflict in the 2-choice RT task correlated with stimulus ambiguity.

Conclusions:

  • Response conflict is present in standard choice RT tasks, challenging traditional views.
  • These findings support the broader applicability of conflict monitoring theory beyond tasks typically linked to cognitive control.