Conflicts and Resolutions

What Causes conflict?

-conflict arises from basic human insticts

-from the competition for resources and power

-from the structure of the societies and institutions people create

-inevitable struggle between classes

What are the different forces which motivate conflict behaviour?

-Wheel of conflict is one way to understand.

-At the centre of all conflict are human needs, and conflict cannot be transformed or settled unless these needs are addressed in some way.

Communication

-Humans are not good communicators, and because of this lack of communication conflict arises.

-It is important to understand that it is very easy for communication to go wrong, especially if emotions are involved.

-Conflicts arise because people act on the assumption that they have communicated accuratly when they have not.

-There are many factors to consider when looking at why communication goes wrong sometimes, some of these factors include culture, gender, age, class, and environment.

Emotions

-Emotions are the energy that fuel conflict.

-People tend to allow their

emotions to get control of there behaviour.

-Emotions can act as a source of power for individulas engaged in a conflict, people feed off their emotions and extend that onto the other person.

-In a conflict is it important to work specifically on the emotional content of disputants experience. This requires an opportunity for either party to vent and release emotions.

-However, a direct expression of emotion may escalate a conflict, it may be prudent for disputants to

(1) discuss their feelings without demonstarting them

(2) work towards establishing a safe environment for the expression of emotion

(3) to let emotions out in short increments

(4) to express them to a third party rather then to the disputant.

-Emotions are a key component as to why conflicts escalate, however they can also be used to deescalate conflicts.

-How? Everyones emotional makeup consists of a part which seeks connection, affrimation, and acceptance, if a person shows genuine regret, sadness, or empathy for the other side, then conflicts may be resolves much quicker.

Values

-'Values are the belifes we have about what is important, what distinguises right from wrong and good from evil, and what principals should govern how we lead our lives'.

-Many people define themselves by the valuse they hold, when and if these valuse are thought to be threatened, people feel personnelly threatened.

-When people feel that their core values are under attack, they are tempted to define an issue are either right or wrong, this narrows acceptable options.

Structure

-The structure, the external framework, in which an interaction takes place or an issue develops is another source of conflict.

-Some elements of a structure may include:

(1)