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Updated: May 7, 2026

A Conflict Model of Reward-seeking Behavior in Male Rats
Published on: February 20, 2019
Punishment sensitivity predicts the impact of punishment on cognitive control
Senne Braem1, Wout Duthoo, Wim Notebaert
1Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Abstract:
Cognitive control theories predict enhanced conflict adaptation after punishment. However, no such effect was found in previous work. In the present study, we demonstrate in a flanker task how behavioural adjustments following punishment signals are highly dependent on punishment sensitivity (as measured by the Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS) scale): Whereas low punishment-sensitive participants do show increased conflict adaptation after punishment, high punishment-sensitive participants show no such modulation. Interestingly, participants with a high punishment-sensitivity showed an overall reaction time increase after punishments. Our results stress the role of individual differences in explaining motivational modulations of cognitive control.
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