Subject-defined vs. experimenter-defined conflict

Abstract

This study tested whether situations defined as conflictual by the subject evoke more intense conflict, as measured by response time, than do situations defined as conflictual by the experimenter. The subjects were 22 unde):"graduate students, and paired adjectives were used as conflict trials. The results indicated that subject-defined conflicts are experienced as more intense than experimenter-defined conflict, and it is submitted that this can be interpreted most meaningfully within an interactional framework.