Emotional conflict in interpersonal interactions.

Summary

Facial displays of emotions can help to infer the mental states of other individuals. However, the expectations we generate on the basis of people's emotions can mismatch their actual behaviour in certain circumstances, which generates conflict. In the present study, we explored the neural mechanisms of emotional conflict during interpersonal interactions. Participants had to accept or reject economic offers made by several partners who displayed emotional expressions. On every trial, a cue informed participants of whether they could trust the emotion of their partner or not. Trustworthy (low-conflict) partners with happy facial expressions were cooperative and those with angry expressions did not cooperate. Untrustworthy (high-conflict) partners, on the other hand, cooperated when their expression was angry and did not cooperate when they displayed a happy emotion. Behavioural responses were faster for trustworthy than for untrustworty partners. High-conflict partners activated the anterior cingulate and the anterior insula. In turn, trustworthy partners were associated with activations in the left precuneus. Our results suggest that the emotion displayed by another person affects our decision-making in social contexts. When emotional expressions are linked to their natural consequences, they engage ToM processes. In contrast, untrustworthy emotional expressions engage conflict-related brain regions.

Affiliation

Journal Details

Name: NeuroImage
ISSN: 1095-9572
Pages:

MESH Definitions

Intergenerational Relations

The interactions between individuals of different generations. These interactions include communication, caring, accountability, loyalty, and even conflict between related or non-related individuals.

Conflict Of Interest

A situation in which an individual might benefit personally from official or professional actions. It includes a conflict between a person's private interests and official responsibilities in a position of trust. The term is not restricted to government officials. The concept refers both to actual conflict of interest and the appearance or perception of conflict.

Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory

A psychological test consisting of true/false items. It is used as a diagnostic screening or clinical assessment of adults who evidence problematic emotional and interpersonal symptoms or who are undergoing PSYCHOTHERAPY or a psychodiagnostic evaluation.

Emotional Intelligence

The ability to understand and manage emotions and to use emotional knowledge to enhance thought and deal effectively with tasks. Components of emotional intelligence include empathy, self-motivation, self-awareness, self-regulation, and social skill. Emotional intelligence is a measurement of one's ability to socialize or relate to others.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

A personality disorder characterized by overly reactive and intensely expressed or overly dramatic behavior, proneness to exaggeration, emotional excitability, and disturbances in interpersonal relationships.

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