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Understanding all inconsistency compensation as a palliative response to violated expectations
Travis Proulx1, Michael Inzlicht, Eddie Harmon-Jones
1Department of Social Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg 3037 AB, The Netherlands. t.proulx@uvt.nl
Trends in Cognitive Sciences
|April 21, 2012
Summary
When expectations conflict with reality, people compensate. This study proposes a unified theory of inconsistency compensation, linking prediction error and arousal to motivate adaptive behaviors across various psychological contexts.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Inconsistency between expectations and experiences triggers compensatory behaviors.
- Existing theories offer diverse explanations for these adaptive responses.
- A unifying perspective on inconsistency compensation is emerging.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a unifying inconsistency compensation perspective.
- To link prediction error/conflict monitoring to aversive arousal.
- To explain diverse compensatory behaviors through a common motivational account.
Main Methods:
- Review of psychological literature on compensatory behaviors.
- Theoretical integration of prediction error and conflict monitoring mechanisms.
- Analysis of high-level (e.g., dissonance) and low-level (e.g., Stroop) inconsistencies.
Main Results:
- A common syndrome of aversive arousal underlies responses to inconsistency.
- This arousal motivates palliative efforts, manifesting as compensatory behaviors.
- High-level and low-level inconsistencies share a common motivational basis for compensation.
Conclusions:
- Inconsistency compensation can be understood through a unified motivational framework.
- Prediction error signals and conflict monitoring are key to this process.
- This perspective integrates findings across different psychological domains.
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