Lead with Confidence 2026: Ace the ATI Leadership Mastery Challenge!

The concept being tested is the emotional response people have when they sense a clash or disagreement. Felt conflict refers to that internal emotional tension—feelings like frustration, anger, anxiety, or unease—that arise because you perceive your goals, needs, or values are in opposition. It’s the subjective, psychological side of conflict, before any outward actions occur.

Latent phase of conflict describes the potential for conflict to exist because differences are present but not yet perceived or felt. Manifest conflict is the outward, observable conflict in behavior, such as arguing or withdrawing. Interpersonal communication is the process of exchanging messages between people and can influence or arise from conflict, but it isn’t the emotional reaction itself.

So, the emotional response to conflict is felt conflict.