Conceptual Similarities Between Emotion and Conflict

Conflict and emotion share several conceptual similarities. Although the term emotion has been defined in various ways, the following ideas are central in most conceptualizations: (a) emotions occur in reaction to stimuli that threaten to interrupt, impede, or enhance one’s goals; (b) affect is the most fundamen­tal component of emotional experience; (c) emotional reactions are usually accompanied by physiological changes; (d) cognition frames and helps people interpret emotional reactions; and (e) specific action tendencies are associ­ated with various emotions (Planalp, 1999; Scherer, 1994).