iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Conflict

Conflict is a state of discord caused by the actual or perceived opposition of needs, values and interests between people. The result is stress or tension and negative feelings between disputants. A conflict can range from a disagreement, or clash, to a fight, which may consist of harsh words, or may involve the use of force, armed conflict, or (in societies), war. In political terms, "conflict" refers to an ongoing state of hostility between two or more groups of people.

Conflict as taught for graduate and professional work in conflict resolution commonly has the definition: "when two or more parties, with perceived incompatible goals, seek to undermine each other's goal-seeking capability".

One should not confuse the distinction between the presence and absence of conflict with the difference between competition and co-operation. In competitive situations, the two or more individuals or parties each have mutually inconsistent goals, either party tries to reach their goal it will undermine the attempts of the other to reach theirs. Therefore, competitive situations will ,by their nature, cause conflict. However, conflict can also occur in cooperative situations, in which two or more individuals or parties have consistent goals, because the manner in which one party tries to reach their goal can still undermine the other individual or party.

A clash of interests, values, actions or directions often sparks a conflict. Conflicts refer to the existence of that clash. Psychologically, a conflict exists when the reduction of one motivating stimulus involves an increase in another, so that a new adjustment is demanded. The word is applicable from the instant that the clash occurs. Even when we say that there is a potential conflict we are implying that there is already a conflict of direction even though a clash may not yet have occurred so to speak

Types and Modes of Conflict

A conceptual conflict can escalate into a verbal exchange and/or result in fighting.

Conflict can exist at a variety of levels of analysis:
  • intrapersonal conflict (though this usually just gets delegated out to psychology)
  • interpersonal conflict
  • emotional conflict
  • group conflict
  • organizational conflict
  • community conflict
  • intra-state conflict (for example: civil wars, election campaigns)
  • international conflict
  • environmental resources conflict
  • intersocietal conflict
  • intra-societal conflict
  • ideological conflict
  • diplomatic conflict
  • economic conflict
  • military conflict
  • religious-based conflict (for example: Center For Reduction of Religious-Based Conflict).
Conflicts in these levels may appear "nested" in conflicts residing at larger levels of analysis. For example, conflict within a work team may play out the dynamics of a broader conflict in the organization as a whole. (See Marie Dugan's article on Nested Conflict. John Paul Lederach has also written on this.)

Theorists have claimed that parties can conceptualize responses to conflict according to a two-dimensional scheme; concern for one's own outcomes and concern for the outcomes of the other party. This scheme leads to the following hypotheses:
  • High concern for both one's own and the other party's outcomes leads to attempts to find mutually beneficial solutions.
  • High concern for one's own outcomes only leads to attempts to "win" the conflict.
  • High concern for the other party's outcomes only leads to allowing the other to "win" the conflict.
  • No concern for either side's outcomes leads to attempts to avoid the conflict.
In Western society, practitioners usually suggest that attempts to find mutually beneficial solutions lead to the most satisfactory outcomes, but this may not hold true for many Asian societies.

Several theorists detect successive phases in the development of conflicts.

Often a group finds itself in conflict over facts, goals, methods or values. It is critical that it properly identify the type of conflict it is experiencing if it hopes to manage the conflict through to resolution. For example, a group will often treat an assumption as a fact.

The more difficult type of conflict is when values are the root cause. It is more likely that a conflict over facts, or assumptions, will be resolved than one over values. It is extremely difficult to "prove" that a value is "right" or "correct".

In some instances, a group will benefit from the use of a facilitator or process consultant to help identify the specific type of conflict.

Practitioners of nonviolence have developed many practices to solve social and political conflicts without resorting to violence or coercion.

Conflict can arise between several characters and there can be more than one in a story or plotline. As a matter of fact, the little plot lines usually enhance the main conflict.

Examples

An example of ideological conflict is the struggle over slavery between the North and South. The dispute would eventually lead to secession.

Causes of Conflict

Structural Factors (How the conflict is set up)
  • Specialization (The experts in fields)
  • Interdependance (A company as a whole can't operate w/o other departments)
  • Common Resources (Sharing the same secretary)
  • Goal Differences (One person wants production to rise and others want communication to rise)
  • Authority Relationships (The boss and employees beneath him/her)
  • Status Inconsistencies
  • Jurisdicational Ambiguities (Who can discipline who)
Personal Factors "Conflict is an emotionally defined and driven," and "does not exist in the absence of emotion."

There are many components to the emotions that are intertwined with conflict. There is a behavioral, physiological, cognitive component.
  • Behavioral- The way emotional experience gets expressed which can be verbal or non-verbal and intentional or un-intentional.
  • Physiological- The bodily experience of emotion. The way emotions make us feel in comparison to our identity.
  • Cognitive- The idea that we “assess or appraise” an event to reveal its relevancy to ourselves.
These three components collectively advise that “the meanings of emotional experience and expression are determined by cultural values, beliefs, and practices.?
  • Cultural values- culture tells people who are a part of it, “Which emotions ought to be expressed in particular situations” and “what emotions are to be felt.?
  • Physical- This escalation results from “anger or frustration.”
  • Verbal- This escalation results from “negative perceptions of the annoyer’s character.?
There are several principles of conflict and emotion.
  • 1. Conflict is emotionally Defined-conflict involves emotion because something “triggers” it. The conflict is with the parties involved and how they decide to resolve it “Events that trigger conflict are events that elicit emotion.?
  • 2. Conflict is emotionally Valenced- Emotion levels during conflict can be intense or less intense. The “intensity” levels “may be indicative of the importance and meaning of the conflict issues for each” party.
  • 3. Conflict Invokes a Moral Stance- When an event occurs it can be interpreted as moral or immoral. The judging of this morality “Influences one’s orientation to the conflict, relationship to the parties involved, and the conflict issues”.
  • 4. Conflict is Identity based- Emotions and Identity are a part of conflict. When a person knows their values, beliefs, and morals they are able to determine whether the conflict is personal, relevant, and moral. “Identity related conflicts are potentially more destructive.?
  • 5. Conflict is Relational- “conflict is relational in the sense that emotional communication conveys relational definitions that impact conflict.” “Key relational elements are power and social status.?
Emotions are acceptable in the workplace as long as they can be controlled and utilized for productive organizational outcomes.

See also

External links

need can be defined either psychologically or objectively. These may be connected: the non-satisfaction of an objective need -- the failure to "pay" a cost of being a human -- is likely perceived by the needy as a "felt need.
..... Click the link for more information.
Value is a concept that describes the beliefs of an individual or culture. A set of values may be placed into the notion of a value system. Values are considered subjective and vary across people and cultures.
..... Click the link for more information.
This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject.
Please help recruit one or [ improve this article] yourself. See the talk page for details.
..... Click the link for more information.
controversy or dispute is a matter of opinion over which parties actively disagree, argue, or debate. Controversies can range in size from private disputes between two individuals to large-scale disagreements between societies.
..... Click the link for more information.
Combat, or fighting, is purposeful violent conflict intended to establish dominance over the opposition.

The term "combat" (French for "fight") typically refers to armed conflict between military forces in warfare, whereas the more general term "fighting" can refer to
..... Click the link for more information.
The term use of force refers to the right of an individual or authority to settle conflicts or prevent certain actions by applying measures to either: a) dissuade another party from a particular course of action, or b) physically intervene to stop them.
..... Click the link for more information.
WAR is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:
  • War
  • War (band)
  • War (film), a 2007 movie starring Jet Li and Jason Statham
  • Warrenton Railroad (AAR reporting marks WAR)
  • WAR, a Japanese professional wrestling promotion

..... Click the link for more information.
society is a grouping of individuals which is characterized by common interests and may have distinctive culture and institutions. Members of a society may be from different ethnic groups.
..... Click the link for more information.
WAR is a three-letter abbreviation with multiple meanings, as described below:
  • War
  • War (band)
  • War (film), a 2007 movie starring Jet Li and Jason Statham
  • Warrenton Railroad (AAR reporting marks WAR)
  • WAR, a Japanese professional wrestling promotion

..... Click the link for more information.
Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions. Although the term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, politics is observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic, and religious
..... Click the link for more information.
This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject.
Please help recruit one or [ improve this article] yourself. See the talk page for details.
..... Click the link for more information.
Competition is the rivalry of two or more parties over something. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which coexist in an environment with limited resources. For example, animals compete over water supplies, food, and mates.
..... Click the link for more information.
Cooperation, co-operation or coöperation[1] is the practice of individuals or larger societal entities working in common with mutually agreed-upon goals and possibly methods, instead of working separately in competition, and in which the success of one is
..... Click the link for more information.
Combat, or fighting, is purposeful violent conflict intended to establish dominance over the opposition.

The term "combat" (French for "fight") typically refers to armed conflict between military forces in warfare, whereas the more general term "fighting" can refer to
..... Click the link for more information.
Psychology (from Greek: Literally "talk about the soul" (from logos)) is both an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior.
..... Click the link for more information.
This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details.
This article has been tagged since September 2007.

..... Click the link for more information.
Group conflicts, also called group intrigues, is where social behaviour causes groups of individuals to conflict with each other. This conflict is often caused by differences in social norms, values, and religion.
..... Click the link for more information.
civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power.

Some civil wars are categorized as revolutions when major societal restructuring is a possible outcome of the conflict.
..... Click the link for more information.
An election is a decision making process where people choose people to hold official offices. This is the usual mechanism by which modern democracy fills offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional and local government.
..... Click the link for more information.
Dr. John Paul Lederach is Professor of International Peacebuilding at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, and concurrently Distinguished Scholar at Eastern Mennonite University. He has written widely on conflict resolution and mediation. He holds a Ph.D.
..... Click the link for more information.
Western society may refer to:
  • Western culture, a term used to refer to the cultures of people of European origin and their descendants.
  • Western world, countries whose dominant culture is derived from European culture, such as the countries of the Americas and most of

..... Click the link for more information.
fact is something that is the case, something that actually exists, or something that can be verified according to an established standard of evaluation.[1][2] There is a range of other uses, depending on the context.
..... Click the link for more information.
A goal is a state of affairs or a state of a concrete activity domain which a person or a system is going/tends to achieve or obtain.

A desire or an intention becomes a goal if and only if an action for achieving it, is activated (see goal-oriented).

Morten Lind and J.
..... Click the link for more information.
Scientific method is a body of techniques for investigating phenomena, acquiring new knowledge, or correcting and integrating previous knowledge. It is based on gathering observable, empirical and measurable evidence subject to specific principles of reasoning,[1]
..... Click the link for more information.
Value is a concept that describes the beliefs of an individual or culture. A set of values may be placed into the notion of a value system. Values are considered subjective and vary across people and cultures.
..... Click the link for more information.
A root cause is an initiating cause of a causal chain which leads to an outcome or effect of interest. Commonly, root cause is used to describe the depth in the causal chain where an intervention could reasonably be implemented to change performance and prevent an
..... Click the link for more information.
For other uses of the word see Facilitation


A facilitator is someone who skillfully helps a group of people understand their common objectives and assists them to plan to achieve them without taking a particular position in the discussion.
..... Click the link for more information.
In organization development, a process consultant is a facilitator who helps a group deal with issues involving the process in a meeting, rather than the tasks. He or she is a specialized type of consultant.
..... Click the link for more information.
The of this article or section may be compromised by "weasel words".
You can help Wikipedia by removing weasel words.
Part of a series on
Anti-War topics

Opposition to...
..... Click the link for more information.
Approach-Avoidance conflicts are choices between something positive, say going out to a party, that has a negative valence (avoidance), say getting grounded for being at the party. These decisions and the emotional state of ambivalence cause stress.
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter