This material is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical, psychological, or psychotherapeutic advice. If you are experiencing an acute psychological condition or need professional support, please contact a doctor, psychologist, psychotherapist, or crisis service.
Note that conflict is possible only in cases of relative equality of the conflicting parties.
This provision applies to conflicts of all types. Therefore, the "individual-group" conflict is possible only in those cases when the individual is distinguished by a sufficiently high status (position, authority, etc.). A conflict between the leader and the group is typical. Especially in those cases" when the manager comes to the unit "from the outside" or to an already formed team. Then the conflict may arise for various, even opposite reasons:
- — if the team has reached a high level of development, and the newly appointed manager does not correspond to the level of the team (is below the team);
- — if there is an authoritative informal leader in the team, who, in the opinion of the team, should also be a formal leader, and "from above", not taking into account the opinion of the team, appoints another person;
- — if, in the presence of competence, experience, etc., the management style and methods of the new manager are significantly different from the work methods of the previous manager.
The following stages are mostly distinguished in the dynamics of the conflict:
The first stage is the emergence of an objective conflict situation. The essence of this stage in the organization can have many varieties. For example, if two or more employees strive for the same goal, and only one of them can objectively achieve it (one vacancy, one allocated apartment, etc.). For some time, the parties are not aware of the objective conflict. This stage is also called the stage of potential conflict, because it becomes a real conflict after the participants become aware of the objective situation.
The second stage is the awareness of the situation as a conflict by at least one of its participants. The consequences of this:
- — transition to conflict behavior;
- — attempts to avert the conflict or search for ways to resolve the conflict situation on the part of direct participants or persons from the management of the unit in which the conflict is expected. In the vast majority of cases, the second way is optimal. Its success depends on many reasons, first of all the personality of the leader, the principles of his leadership, experience, psychological and pedagogical training.
The process of conflict awareness includes, firstly, awareness of the situation itself as significant, that is, able to ensure the achievement of a significant goal, and secondly, awareness of the fact that the other party prevents the achievement of this goal.
The degree of significance that each side determines regarding the subject of the controversy has a decisive influence both on the decision to enter into conflict and on the degree of severity of the conflict interaction. In the development of the conflict, it is also important whether the parties recognize the legitimacy of the demands towards each other. In cases where the legitimacy of the demands and demands of the other party is denied from the very beginning, the conflict will be more destructive.
Awareness of the situation as a conflict is always accompanied by emotional tension. Emotional states have a significant impact on the course of the conflict. Demonstration of feelings of hostility, aggression, antipathy by one of the participants signals the perception of the conflict and mobilizes the efforts of both sides.
The third stage of conflict development is the transition to conflict behavior.
Conflict behavior is the real actions of the parties, aimed at directly or indirectly blocking the achievement of their goals by the opposing party, while at the same time actively realizing their own intentions.
Conflict actions sharply aggravate the emotional state of the course of the conflict. At the same time, emotions restrain conflict behavior.
It is essential that mutual conflict actions are capable of changing and complicating the initial conflict situation and new incentives for further actions, that is, conflict behavior in itself determines the tendency of development, deepening of the conflict.
Open struggle is only one of the forms of conflict interaction in the third stage.
According to the researchers, the second variant of behavior in a conflict situation is also possible — refusal of conflict interaction, exit from the situation.
Reasons for this behavior:
- — awareness by one of the parties of the insufficiency of their own resources for fighting;
- — a change in attitude towards the subject of controversy, when it becomes clear that the price of "victory" can be very high;
- — a tactical retreat to regroup or transform a conflict situation from one that cannot be resolved into a potentially "resolvable" one.
The third direction in which interaction in a conflict situation can develop is the way of "agreement", "negotiations", "consensus". In this case, given the circumstances, the parties assume that obtaining the maximum is impossible, so in order not to lose everything, they make mutual concessions, reducing their own demands.
Negotiations can take place through compromise and cooperation. These two options involve mutual concessions, and each of them leads to a solution that will satisfy the interests of both parties to some extent. The main difference is that in order to reach a compromise, it is enough to take into account (realize) only the desires and problems lying on the surface, and in the case of cooperation, it is necessary to find out more deeply the reasons for the conflict.
In the case of finding a compromise, the two sides define their positions (or what they want) from the beginning. Each side then begins to put forward its own and consider the other side's proposals until an agreement is reached. This is a common approach to handling financial issues and disputes about the price of a product or about the appropriateness of wages.
For the style of cooperation, it is necessary to trace the initial position "in depth", that is, to find the hidden interests, desires or needs of the parties. In addition, some time is required. Since all these elements must be satisfied when conducting negotiations with this style, this style makes it possible to satisfy the interests of the parties more fully than the compromise style.
In what cases is the more effective style of compromise, and when is cooperation?
The compromise style is chosen mostly in the following cases:
- — when the problem is relatively simple and clear;
- — when you don't have much time to resolve the conflict and you want to resolve it as soon as possible;
- — when it is better to quickly reach a temporary agreement, and then "return" to this problem again and analyze the hidden reasons;
- — when problems and their solution are not very important for both parties;
- — when you failed to achieve a solution using cooperation or failed to achieve what you wanted using your own power.
Cooperation is chosen in the following cases:
- — when the subject of the conflict is quite complex and requires a detailed discussion for its solution, which would satisfy both parties;
- — when two parties are ready to spend time to analyze hidden needs and interests;
- — when their interests are very important for both parties, a compromise is not acceptable for them;
- — when the parties treat each other kindly, are ready to respectfully listen to the opposite point of view;
- - when two parties want to reach a long-term solution, and not a temporary one, they have no intention of delaying it.
This norm of conflict interaction has been studied most fully in connection with the practical importance of identifying factors and conditions that contribute to the success of negotiations.
It was found that during negotiations, the participants do not need to try to change their perceptions and attitudes towards each other. The purpose of the negotiations is to develop a contract protocol that would be acceptable to all interested parties. For this, it is necessary to determine the limits beyond which the opponent will not be able or will not want to "go", and achieve the maximum of what he can concede.
When opponents try to defend opposite goals, it is necessary to try to find the so-called areas of harmony, that is, what is common to the participants of the negotiations, solution options, and on this basis reach a compromise.
It is much easier to reach a compromise in those cases when the opponents' goals were not diametrically opposed or when the parties in the process of finding a joint solution are ready for reasonable and appropriate changes to the initial demands.
The nature of the emotional attitudes of the parties towards each other has a great influence on the course of negotiations, which largely depends on the importance of the problems to be solved, the degree of awareness of the opponent's intentions, as well as the personal characteristics of the participants in the negotiations.
It is also necessary to take into account the nature of relations during negotiations, which depend on the following factors:
- — the degree of unity of each of the parties regarding the goals, strategy and tactics of negotiations;
- — the system of expectations that has developed, that is, from what the actual group or organization that "stands" behind it expects from the negotiations, and what the opponent hopes for.
It has been experimentally proven that the dynamics of negotiations are most significantly influenced by:
- — the status of the participants in the negotiations;
- — the type of behavior of the third party, which is a mediator in the resolution of the conflict;
- — method of preparation of negotiations;
- — the nature of the problem that caused the disagreement, contradiction.
In practice, it has been found that when the status of negotiators gives them considerable freedom of action, negotiations take place faster and more successfully than when representatives are strictly regulated and have limited rights.
The fourth stage of conflict development — conflicts can have various solutions depending on the following conditions:
- — subject content;
- — availability of objective possibilities for its solution;
- — participants and conditions of the conflict;
- — from the business and personal traits of persons whose duties include finding ways to resolve the conflict.
The range of conflict resolution or resolution options can be described as follows:
- • Complete cessation of confrontation through mutual reconciliation of the parties (the difficulty of such a solution is in the search for an objective basis for reconciliation).
- • Compromise based on partial satisfaction of the demands of both sides, the need for mutual concessions. This exit leads to a mutual gain, characteristic of a situation like "agreement".
- • Resolving the conflict on a principled, business basis: — constructively — by satisfying the objective requirements, claims of the conflicting parties; — destructively — by identifying the unfoundedness of claims, preventive and educational work, as well as by punishing the participants in the conflict.
- — constructively — by satisfying the objective requirements, claims of the conflicting parties;
- — destructively — by identifying the groundlessness of claims, preventive and educational work, as well as by punishing the participants in the conflict.
- • Organizational (mechanical) termination of the conflict — disbandment of the unit, if it is impossible to resolve the conflict by other means; dismissal of one of the participants in the conflict (one of the parties) from the organization; transfer of one (mostly the leader) or several members of the conflict party to another or other units of a certain organization.
Intrapersonal conflict
One of the most complex psychological conflicts is an intrapersonal conflict that reigns in the inner world of a person, it is an acute negative experience that is caused by the struggle of the structures of the inner world, which is prolonged and reflects the connections with the social environment, which are antagonistic.
Each person experiences an intrapersonal conflict in his own way. Intrapersonal conflict makes individuals prone to experiences experience strong emotions and feelings. People prone to analysis use this type of conflict in order to "immerse" themselves, engage in self-discovery and become a more perfect person.
There are six types of intrapersonal conflicts: adaptation conflict, conflict of unsatisfied desire, role conflict, conflict of biased (inadequate) self-esteem, moral conflict, motivational conflict.
If any of the six types of conflict is not allowed for a long period of time, it transforms into a neurotic intrapersonal conflict.
1. Adaptational conflict is a contradiction between an individual and his surrounding reality. This type of intrapersonal conflict also occurs when there are failures in the process of social or professional adaptation.
Examples: the new employee is unable to perform his job duties properly; a recruit cannot adapt to the army regime, etc.
2. The conflict of unsatisfied desire is a contradiction between an individual's desire and prevents them from being satisfied with reality. This type of conflict most often occurs in people with an inferiority complex.
Examples: an individual dreams of being like a celebrity they adore, but has a completely different appearance; a person dreams of living in abundance, but the real state of affairs does not allow him to realize this desire, etc.
3. Role conflict are problems that arise in the process of understanding the requirements for the performance of one or another role presented by the individual himself or the inability of an individual to implement several roles at the same time.
Examples: A police officer has difficulty arresting his good friend; the teacher may not know how to behave in this or that case with a student who is her son, etc.
4. The conflict of biased (inadequate) self-esteem is a contradiction between the demands of a person and his real inner potential.
Examples: a person has overestimated or underestimated self-esteem; a person wants to engage in self-improvement, but does not want to leave the usual comfort zone, etc.
5. Moral conflict is a contradiction between an individual's desire and his duties, between personal affections and moral and social principles and norms.
Examples: A married man has the opportunity to have a relationship with a girl he feels attracted to and interested in; a pacifist needs to take up arms and protect his loved ones, otherwise they will be killed, etc.
6. A motivational conflict is a contradiction of motives of different nature, a struggle between an individual's subconscious aspirations and existing security considerations.
Examples: a man experiences certain difficulties, as he cannot make a choice between meeting his school friends and going for a walk with his wife; a guy wants to start martial arts, but is afraid of bruises and injuries, etc.
Each of the above types of intrapersonal conflicts is expressed in one of the six existing forms.
Forms of expression of intrapersonal conflicts are such forms as:
- neurasthenia (insomnia, depressed state, reduced level of work capacity),
- rationalism (justification of lifestyle, actions and deeds),
- euphoria(laughter through tears, raising mood in public),
- nomadism (desire to comprehensively change the environment),
- regression (primitivism and denial of responsibility),
- projection (negative and negative attitude towards the surrounding world, use of excessive criticism).
Manifestation of internal conflicts
Intrapersonal conflict manifests itself in cognitive, behavioral and emotional domains. Some specialists also distinguish a fourth type of manifestation of intrapersonal conflicts - integral indicators.
» Cognitive area – these are problems with self-esteem and self-identification, obstacles that negatively affect the adoption of an optimal decision and its implementation.
Examples: a person's self-esteem decreases; the individual experiences certain difficulties in making decisions; the individual feels doubts about his own principles, motives and aspirations; a person has a contradiction in the perception of his own image, etc.
» Interpersonal conflict in thebehavioral sphere is manifested in the form of lack of satisfaction with the activities carried out, rude communication with surrounding people and other negative changes in the individual's behavior.
Examples: a person's level of productivity decreases, and the quality of work drops significantly; the individual feels dissatisfaction with his own activity; with colleagues and relatives, a person begins to communicate rudely and in raised tones, etc.
» In emotional sphere conflicts of this type arise in the form of negative thinking, cynicism, nihilism, increasing the level of emotional tension. A person experiences psycho-emotional stress and serious negative experiences.
Examples: a person loses interest in life; the individual becomes apathetic; a person falls into a depressive state; the individual lives in constant stress, etc.
»Manifestation of intrapersonal conflicts in the form ofintegral indicators are complex disorders of the psyche of the individual.
Examples: psychological or emotional stress increases in a person; the individual has violations in the adaptation mechanism; the personality has long-term disorders that prevent him from adapting to new circumstances, etc.
There are many ways to resolve intrapersonal conflicts. We bring to your attention the most popular and effective of them.
1. Analyze the situation. Calm down and make an objective assessment of the situation. Try to take it under your control: first determine what negative emotions you feel, and then try to find the contradictions that cause you these negative feelings.
Assess the importance of the conflict for yourself. What exactly is your role in this conflict? How does intrapersonal conflict affect your daily life? What consequences can occur in your life?
As soon as you assess the conflict and can find the reasons for its occurrence, you need to identify the essence of this problem. In the process of searching for the truth, be honest with yourself and do not entertain yourself with illusions. Never put off solving a problem until tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
Why does this problem bother you so much? What actions do you need to take? How will you react if the same or a similar problem arises again in your life? Answer these questions honestly and try to understand what exactly you need to change in yourself in order to successfully resolve the conflict.
2. Act! Sublimation of negative emotions into active activity is one of the best ways to resolve intrapersonal conflicts. Do sports, immerse yourself in creativity, read an interesting book or watch a recently released movie, offer your help to those people who need it, feed homeless animals, etc. You should not have a minute of free time!
3. Use relaxation techniques. Meditation, affirmations, austerities, yoga, psychological training and other relaxation techniques will help you clear your mind of unnecessary thoughts, get rid of negative life attitudes, find a way out of an unpleasant situation and change your life for the better!
4. Learn to forgive. You need to be able to forgive not only the people around you, but also yourself. Do not engage in self-flagellation, self-loathing and self-blame.
There are no perfect people! We all make mistakes, and that's okay.