Conflicting Messages

Mixed messages: how bacteria resolve conflicting signals.

An elegant new study by Bollenbach and Kishony (2011) in this issue of Molecular Cell shows how bacteria resolve the apparent conflicts created when they face two signals with opposite effects on gene expression.

What should I do?--a study about conflicting and ambiguous warning messages.

Warnings are intended to reduce accidents caused by hazards. Behavioral compliance is the most important measure of warning effectiveness. However, in result of diverse circumstances (e.g., distraction, misuse, negligence), conflicting or ambiguous safety messages can be perceived. Since these are recurrent and can result in wrong behaviors encompassing severe consequences, such cases should be...

Combating Conflicting Messages of Values: A Closer Look at Parental Strategies

This study examined how parents respond when their children encounter values outside the home that conflict with family values. Forty-eight middle-class European American parents completed questionnaires consisting of 11 vignettes asking how they would respond to hypothetical situations where outside sources posed potential conflicts with parental values to their adolescent child (M age of chil...

Conflicting Directionality

The Source of Beliefs in Conflicting and Non Conflicting Situations

What stance does one take towards information received as part of communication? On the one hand, a great deal of knowledge one acquires in one’s life comes from communication. One is therefore likely to be trustful towards information communicated by others. On the other hand, communication can be used to manipulate others. If an audience were to constantly trust information provided by a comm...