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: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance01:20

Frustration and Conflict: Approach-Approach, Approach-Avoidance

595
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...
595
Drive-Reduction Theory: Push Theory of Motivation01:27

Drive-Reduction Theory: Push Theory of Motivation

1.4K
Clark Hull's drive-reduction theory, introduced in the 1940s and 1950s and often termed the "push theory" of motivation, provides a framework for understanding how biological and learned drives influence behavior. Hull suggested that motivation originates from the need to alleviate physiological tension caused by unmet biological necessities. The theory proposes that when a basic need, such as hunger or sleep, goes unfulfilled, it creates an internal imbalance. This imbalance, or...
1.4K
Self-Discrepancy Theory02:45

Self-Discrepancy Theory

19.0K
One influential perspective on what motivates people's behavior is detailed in Tory Higgin's self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987). He proposed that people hold disagreeing internal representations of themselves that lead to different emotional states.  
19.0K
Structuralism01:26

Structuralism

3.8K
Structuralism, an early psychological theory developed by Wilhelm Wundt and his student Edward Bradford Titchener, sought to dissect the human mind into its most fundamental components. Wundt's groundbreaking work in his laboratory set the stage for Titchener to define structuralism's goal as cataloging the "atoms" of the mind—sensations, images, and feelings—akin to how chemists identify elements of matter.
Titchener's approach to structuralism was unique. He...
3.8K
Counterfactual Thinking01:19

Counterfactual Thinking

305
Counterfactual thinking is a cognitive process wherein individuals mentally reconstruct alternative versions of past events, often beginning with “what if” or “if only.” This reflective mechanism plays a significant role in shaping emotional experiences and guiding future behavior. Though typically triggered by unfavorable or unexpected outcomes, counterfactual thinking can also emerge in mundane, everyday decisions and experiences, revealing its deep entrenchment in...
305
Frustration and Conflict: Avoidance-Avoidance, Double-Approach Avoidance01:14

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

736
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...
736

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Child and maternal health outcomes following antenatal exposure to classic psychedelic substances: a systematic review.

Research square·2026
Same author

How watching sports shapes zero-sum thinking: Correlational, experimental, and longitudinal evidence.

Journal of personality and social psychology·2026
Same author

The time of your life: mapping the mechanisms behind life tempo judgments.

Frontiers in psychology·2026
Same author

Exploring the counteractive effects of mandating diversity training: Solution aversion, reactance, and polarized social beliefs.

Journal of personality and social psychology·2025
Same author

Solution spillover: Pairing issues with ideological solutions fuels polarization.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

The competence shield: Fostering competence perceptions weakens the dominance penalty for women in leadership.

The Journal of applied psychology·2025
Same journal

Executive function and social behavior: Causal evidence from loading working memory and inhibitory control.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same journal

Correction to "Your research is public engagement: A case for more intentional science communication in research with human subjects" by Vaughn (2026).

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same journal

Correction to "Costs and benefits of acting extraverted: A randomized controlled trial" by Jacques-Hamilton et al. (2019).

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same journal

Conveying (discrete) emotionality with novel words.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same journal

Physical actions shape moral choices: Environment-directed movements reduce cheating in young children.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
Same journal

From chunks to schemas: Learning in the Hebb repetition paradigm.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal
06:45

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

Published on: April 18, 2017

6.7K

Thought-control difficulty motivates structure seeking.

Anyi Ma1, Mark J Landau2, Jayanth Narayanan3

  • 1Department of Management and Organizations, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University.

Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|June 20, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Difficulty controlling thoughts increases the perception of patterns and causal links. This motivated perception is driven by aversive arousal, highlighting a new way the mind seeks structure when internal control falters.

More Related Videos

Multimodal Protocol for Assessing Metacognition and Self-Regulation in Adults with Learning Difficulties
12:55

Multimodal Protocol for Assessing Metacognition and Self-Regulation in Adults with Learning Difficulties

Published on: September 27, 2020

9.2K
Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies
05:22

Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: May 9, 2019

5.8K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal
06:45

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal

Published on: April 18, 2017

6.7K
Multimodal Protocol for Assessing Metacognition and Self-Regulation in Adults with Learning Difficulties
12:55

Multimodal Protocol for Assessing Metacognition and Self-Regulation in Adults with Learning Difficulties

Published on: September 27, 2020

9.2K
Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies
05:22

Dissociation of the Confounding Influences of Expectancy and Integrative Difficulty Residing in Anomalous Sentences in Event-related Potential Studies

Published on: May 9, 2019

5.8K

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Perception

Background:

  • Compensatory control theory suggests external control loss drives structure seeking.
  • Prior research linked external environmental control to pattern detection.
  • Current studies investigate if internal thought control difficulty also predicts structure seeking.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if difficulty controlling thoughts predicts the seeking of structured knowledge.
  • To explore the psychological mechanisms underlying this phenomenon.
  • To establish thought-control difficulty as a distinct predictor of motivated perception.

Main Methods:

  • Four studies were conducted, involving tasks measuring perception of causal connections and visual patterns.
  • Participants experienced varying levels of thought-control difficulty.
  • Mediational analysis was used to examine the role of aversive arousal.

Main Results:

  • Thought-control difficulty positively predicted the perception of causal connections between remote events.
  • Difficulty controlling thoughts also increased the detection of nonexistent objects in visual noise.
  • The effect was mediated by aversive arousal and specifically linked to thought-control difficulty, not general difficulty.

Conclusions:

  • Difficulty in controlling thoughts is a significant predictor of structure seeking, similar to external control loss.
  • Aversive arousal plays a mediating role in this process.
  • These findings introduce a novel form of motivated perception driven by internal control challenges.