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Emotions in Cognitive Conflicts

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Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning

Synonyms

Affective responses; Incompatibility effects

Definition

Conflicts in the cognitive system of an individual arise when at least two incompatible response tendencies or motivational states are simultaneously active. Emotions are affective, intentional states, including feelings such as happiness, anger, sadness, or surprise, in response to the evaluation of a relevant external or internal event. It has been suggested that cognitive conflicts elicit (negative) emotions. Conversely, emotional states or moods may influence the processing of cognitive conflicts.

Theoretical Background

In recent years, the intimate relationship between emotions and cognition has become increasingly clear for many areas, for example, memory and creativity. This holds true also for cognitive conflicts, caused by incompatible response tendencies or motivational states. Such situations arise, for example, when the directions given to a driver by GPS and by a road sign differ, or when – in the classic...

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Correspondence to Annekathrin Schacht .

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Schacht, A., Sommer, W. (2012). Emotions in Cognitive Conflicts. In: Seel, N.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_1914

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_1914

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1427-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1428-6

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