Transcript Social Psychology of Conflict Professor Richard C. Reuben

Psychology of Conflict
Professor Richard C. Reuben
Straus Institute for Dispute Resolution
Pepperdine University School of Law
Summer 2015
June 29, 2015
Emotional Intelligence:
A working definition
• The set of competencies that arise from
our understanding of our emotions, our
physiological systems, and the interactions
we have with other people, situations,
events, etc.
Emotional Intelligence Domains
Associated Competencies
• Personal competence: Capabilities that
determine how we manage ourselves
– Self-Awareness
– Self-Management
• Social competence: Capabilities for
determining how we manage relationships
– Social Awareness
– Relationship Management
Emotional Intelligence
Makes a Difference
• Generally
– Greater self-awareness leads to greater emotional control
– Greater emotional control leads to better relationships
(resonance), task performance, outcomes
– Better outcomes lead to a happier, more fulfilling, more
productive life
• In conflict
– Greater EI leads to more skillful management of conflict
– Enhances capacity to respond rather than react
– Task of conflict manager: Manage conflict effectively!
Definition of Conflict
A perceived divergence of interests, or a
belief that the current aspirations of the
parties cannot be achieved
simultaneously.
– Pruitt & Kim
Consequences of Relative Deprivation
1. We see the divergence of interests, and recognize the
conflict.
2. We tend to want to respond by engaging in any one of
many coping strategies
3. If continued, it can lead to the lowering of aspirations,
and the diminishment of the human spirit.
The Conflict Paradox
Conflict can have both harmful and
beneficial consequences
What are some harmful
effects of conflict?
What are some beneficial
effects of conflict?
Distinguishing Constructive vs.
Destructive Conflict
• Constructive when it
–
–
–
–
Promotes substantive dialogue
Fosters mutual understanding
Gives rise to mutual respect
Leads to integrative solutions
• Destructive when it
–
–
–
–
Decreases communication
Obfuscates understanding
Fosters alienation and polarization
Leads to distributive, zero-sum solutions
Dimensions of Constructive and
Destructive Conflict
Dimension
Constructive
Destructive
Open, respectful
Closed, strategic
Tactics
Collaborative
Contentious
Outlook
Helpful, hopeful
Obstructionist, negative
Similarities
Differences
Trust
Willing
Unwilling
Power
Share
Exploit
Integrative
Distributive
Communications
Social Connection
Outcomes
Mary Parker Follett on Constructive
Conflict
“As conflict – difference – is here in the world, as we cannot avoid it,
we should, I think, use it. Instead of condemning it, we should try
to set it to work for us.
“Why not? What does the mechanical engineer
do with friction? Of course his chief job is to
eliminate friction, but it is true that he also
capitalizes on friction. The transmission of
power by belts depends on friction between the
belt and the pulley. The friction between the
driving wheel of the locomotion and the track
is necessary to haul the train. All polishing is
done by friction.
Mary Parker Follett
“So in business, too, we have to know when to try to capitalize on it;
when to see what work we can make it do.”
Common “Categories” of Disputes
1. Values
5. Communication
2. Identity
6. Informational
3. Relationship
7. Structural
4. Distributional
8. Other??
Perspectives on Sources of Conflict
1. Individual-Characteristics Theories
2. Social Process Theories
3. Social Structure Theories
4. Identity Theory
Individual-Characteristic Theories
Essence: Tendency toward conflict is an inherent part of who we
are as individuals
Two Broad Classes: Biological theories and psychological theories
Needs Theory (Maslow)
Biological
Neuro-Psych Theory
Darwin
Aggression
Genetics
Endocrinology
Psychological
Social Learning Theories
Conditioning
Observational Learning
Individual Characteristics Theories:
Biological Theories
Emphasis on what causes
aggression
Nature vs. nurture
Are conflict tendencies
inherited or learned?
Neuro-evolutionary psychology:
A basic understanding
• Darwin: Man had to evolve biologically to survive as species
• Brain functions developed to allow him to search
environment for opportunities, threats to
survival, reproduction
• Over time, he developed three sophisticated,
highly integrated regions of the brain
– Neomamallian – Cortex -- reasoning
– Paleomamallian – Limbic – emotion
– Reptilian -- Involuntary
Survival, reproduction depends on
proper processing of sensory
information
• Image goes into eye
– Back to occipital lobe
1: Eye
2. Occ
– Over to hippocampus for evaluation
Lobe
Threat or opportunity?
– Up to prefrontal cortex for evaluation
in light of prior experience/learning that 4: Amygdala 3. Hippocampus:
Threat or Oppty?
is stored in LT memory
• If threat, amygdala sounds alarm
5: Brain Stem
• Invol Resp: Activate SNS
– Thalamus routes threat signal to brain stem
• Evaluation of involuntary response -- fight or flight
• Activation of SNS from PNS baseline -- alerts neural, hormonal,
limbic, gastrointestinal, muscular systems that something is up
Post SNS Activation:
p
Why some people “fight”?
Genetic Explanations
– Concept: Aggressive behavior is caused by certain
chromosomes, just as there are chromosomal links
to cystic fibrosis, Alzheimer's, depression
– Research: Scientists have found that the
difference in the sex chromosomes
contributes to aggressive behavior by males.
• Mice genetically altered to isolate Y
chromosome -- both male, female mice
more aggressive when they had it
• Endochrinologic Explanations
– Concept: Glandular secretions give rise to aggressive behavior
– Research: People with high levels of testosterone more likely to respond
aggressively than people with lower levels of testosterone
Individual Characteristics Theories:
Psychological Theories
• Social Learning
– Sigmund Freud (right)
– Conditioning
– Observational learning
Individual Characteristics Theories:
Psychological Theories: Freud
• Concept: In our minds is constant tension between
primal desires and
socially acceptable
behavior.
• Conflict manifests itself
as the ego externalizes the
struggle between the hedonistic Id and the moralistic
Superego, often interfering with the interests of others
Individual Characteristics:
Other psychological theories
• Conditioned Learning
– Aggression is a conditioned
response to repeated
stimulus
• Classical: Pavlov’s dog
• Operant: Reward systems
• Observational learning
– Aggression is a learned
response to conflict that is
developed by observing
others in similar situations
• Basis for criticisms of TV,
movies
– Widely accepted
Individual Characteristics Theories:
An Eastern Psychological Perspective
The Four Noble Truths
– The world is full of suffering
– Suffering is caused by craving and
aversion
– There is an end to suffering
– The way to end suffering is by
following a righteous or “skillful” path
• Conflict is the result of our
deluded efforts to find deep longterm happiness through shallow,
short-term material things
Needs Theory:
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Self Actualization
Esteem
Love
Safety
Physiological
Social Process Theories
• Essence: Conflict derives from
our instinct to maximize personal
gain.
– Essentially a struggle over resources
• Benchmark: Adam Smith (right)
and the rational economic man:
– Individuals intend only their own
gain
Social Structure Theories
•
Essence: Conflict is result of
•
Benchmarks:
power struggle between classes of
“haves” and “have-nots”
1. Karl Marx (right) and
The Communist Manifesto
2. Modern Critical Legal Theory
Chamallas Excerpt:
Are men “worth” more than women?
• Studied 1996 tort judgments and settlements
– Male plaintiffs received 27% higher awards than
women
• Washington State Task Force Study
– Mean damage award, male decedent: 332,166
• For a woman: 214,923
• Might this be a source of conflict?
Identity Theory
Essence: One of our main motivations in life is to achieve a secure and
positive sense of self
– interpersonal and group
relationships are central to
process of self-identification
and acceptance
– Conflict arises when
identity is threatened
• Applies to individual, groups
What is on
Our Identity Cards?
What is on
Our Identity Cards?