No one in the world can live without communication. Even being inherently uncommunicative and closed, a person sometimes can not do without him. The reason for this is that some pressing problems concerning our daily lives can only be resolved through interaction with other people. But communication between individuals does not always go smoothly, there may be some misunderstanding, divergence of views on the issue under discussion, mutual dissatisfaction of opponents with each other, and even pronounced hatred.
And the result of this is the emergence of a conflict, which from a psychological point of view is a clash of two or more strong motives that cannot be satisfied at the same time. The origin of such a situation is a consequence of the weakening of one motivating stimulus and the strengthening of another, which requires a new assessment of the current situation.
The topic of this article will be conflicts and ways to resolve them. We’ll talk about what kind of confrontations between people can be, what causes them to appear, and, of course, how to resolve already existing quarrels.
What are the conflicts?
An ordinary person hardly thinks that not all disagreements between individuals are the same. It would seem, how do they differ from each other? To some extent, all the confrontations between people are really very similar. However, professional psychologists identify certain types of conflicts. Although, by and large, everything happens according to a single scenario: contradictions arise between the two sides, and this becomes the reason for their mutual hostility and desire to defend their position.
Intrapersonal conflict
It is an intractable internal contradiction, perceived and emotionally experienced by a person as a very significant psychological problem for him. The solution of conflicts of this kind causes the individual internal work of consciousness, which is aimed at overcoming them. The basis for the appearance is a clash between hobbies, needs, and interests that are approximately equal in strength, but directed in opposite directions.
Personal Conflict Indicators
- Decreased self-esteem, awareness of the state of psychological impasse, delays in decision-making, deep doubts about the truth of those principles on which a person once relied.
- Strong psycho-emotional stress, significant, often repeated negative experiences.
- Reduced intensity and quality of any activity, lack of complete satisfaction with it, negative emotional background in communication.
- Intensified stress and worsening of the process of adaptation to any new conditions.
Types of intrapersonal contradictions
- Hysterical - overstated personal claims along with underestimation of other people's requirements or objective environmental conditions.
- Obessive-psychasthenic - conflicting personal needs, the struggle between duty and desire, personal behavior of the individual and its moral principles.
- Neurotic - a contradiction between the capabilities of a person and his exaggerated demands on himself.
When considering a situation of conflict within a person, it should be understood that none of the above types is ever found in its pure form and is the result of the impact of the social environment on a person.Any such internal confrontation is based on the individual experiences of the individual and can be both constructive and destructive. In other words, such an experience can both make a person stronger and completely break him.
Personal conflicts and ways to resolve them lie in restoring harmony in the individual’s inner world, in eliminating a split in consciousness and establishing unity, in reducing the severity of contradictions in life relations and in achieving a new, better quality of life. At human disappear painful conditions associated with his internal confrontation: the manifestations of negative socio-psychological factors are reduced, the quality and effectiveness of professional activities are increased.
Interpersonal conflict
This type of confrontation is the most common and is considered as a collision of two or more people who are well familiar with each other, and for the first time individuals met in the process of their communication, concerning various spheres and areas of life. Clarification of relations between subjects occurs face to face, without any intermediaries. They can represent both their own interests and the interests of the social groups in which they are members.
The essence of the conflict in this case lies in the contradictions that arise between the opponents, which are presented in the form of some goals that are opposite to each other and absolutely incompatible in a particular situation. A very important factor in this case is the opponents ’personal perception of each other, and a negative obstacle becomes the establishment of a negative nature, which has formed the corresponding attitude of one individual to another, which represents the readiness of one side for certain actions of the other: the expected behavior, the perception of future events . The reason for this is rumors, opinions, judgments about the opposite side of the conflict.
Varieties and methods of settlement
Interpersonal conflicts are divided into several types. They can be both fundamental confrontations, in which the goals and interests of one individual are achieved only by infringing upon the interests of another, and affect only relations between them, without prejudice to any interests and needs.
They also build on imaginary contradictions provoked both by false or distorted information, and by the incorrect interpretation of any facts and events. Conflicts can have the status of rivalry - the desire for dominance, a dispute - disagreement regarding finding the best solution to joint problems or discussion - discussion of controversial issues.
Settlement of conflicts between individuals and their prevention are aimed at maintaining the existing system of interaction between participants. But in some cases, the causes leading to its destruction become sources of confrontation. Therefore, such conflicts, like intrapersonal, can be both constructive and destructive. Their results are both strengthening and complete destruction of relations between people.
Intra-group conflict
Confrontation of this type occurs, as a rule, in three main cases:
- the moment of clash of interests of various microgroups that are part of the same team;
- when the interests of a specific person and one group do not coincide;
- in case of differences in the goals of the individual and the whole team.
The conflict of interest taking place in this case is due to several factors. It:
- The exact opposite of the goals pursued by opponents, which is explained by their belonging to multidirectional small social groups within the same team.
- The desire to maintain and strengthen their socio-legal status, which the current conflict situation calls into question.
- Uncertainty in the intragroup rationing of the process of interaction of individuals, which creates the need to involve the opinions of other participants in the process, which should result in the resolution of conflicts within the group.
Intergroup conflict
This type of confrontation occurs between two or more social groups within the same collective. It can be based on both professional production and the social and economic basis. Various kinds of conflicts in the organization between its units are vivid examples of such a confrontation.
The cause of the occurrence is the various goals existing in social groups and the divergence of interests. As a rule, the interests of a particular group are dominant, while personal hostility fades into the background, and sometimes it may not exist at all. As in the case of the above types of conflicts, this kind of conflict can be both constructive and destructive. In other words, the result is an improvement in the quality of activities in the team or its complete collapse.
Why do contradictions arise between people?
The causes of conflicts between people are a key element in the search for ways to prevent and constructively resolve them. Conventionally, they can be divided into two large groups:
- Objective - the real ground for creating an environment preceding the clash of opponents.
- Subjective - individual psychological characteristics of the participants, leading to the resolution of the dispute in a conflict way.
Behavior strategy
Particular attention in the framework of this article should be given to such a concept as conflict management - the ability to maintain them below the level that threatens a peaceful environment in interpersonal relations, social groups and collectives. Competent behavior of at least one side is the key to the successful resolution of the contradiction and the problems that created the conflict, the restoration of relations between the parties to the extent necessary to ensure joint activity.
The conflict develops according to the following strategies:
- Competition: defending one’s position, open struggle for one’s interests, suppression, rivalry.
- Avoidance: the process of avoiding conflict situations without resolving them.
- Compromise: the regulation of all disagreements between opponents through mutual concessions.
- Collaboration: one of the most common scenarios. It is an effective tool used to smooth out conflicts. And the ways to resolve them are in this case, in a joint search for a solution that meets the interests of both parties.
Learning to competently resolve disputes: expert advice
Modern psychologists offer some recommendations that will help direct the difficult relations between opponents in the right direction:
- Constant manifestations of attention to his interlocutors, giving them the opportunity to speak.
- Friendly and respectful relations of opponents.
- A natural behavior that reflects the feelings of both sides towards each other.
- The manifestation of sympathy, participation and tolerance for the weaknesses of the interlocutor.
- The ability to recognize the correctness of the opponent, if it really has a place to be.
- Calm tone, self-control and endurance. These are probably the most important tools that guarantee successful conflict management in any difficult situation.
- Operating with facts.
- Expression by interlocutors of key thoughts, laconicism and laconicism.
- An open statement of the problem and its explanation for a complete understanding of the situation. Questions to the opponent to clarify the reasons for the quarrel.
- Consideration of alternative solutions and interest in their search, willingness to share responsibility for the results, increase in the eyes of the partner of its significance in the discussion.
- Contact support using verbal and non-verbal means during the whole process of communication.
- The ability to disconnect and put emotional barriers in the event that people's conflicts are openly aggressive.
How to resolve the contradictions?
To do this, you must:
- Recognize a problem.
- Describe it through behavior, consequences, feelings.
- Try not to change yourself, and not allow your opponent to change the topic of conversation.
- Offer a reasonable solution based on common values for both sides.
- To think over your speech before meeting with the interlocutor in order to briefly and clearly express your request.
We solve the problem through its solution
This method, despite its effectiveness, is not so often used when conflicts are brewing. And the ways to resolve them in a similar way lie in observing the following points:
- Defining a problem in decision categories, not in goal categories.
- Identification of conflict resolution strategies suitable for both parties.
- Focusing on the subject of conflict, and not on the personal qualities of the opponent.
- Creating an atmosphere of trust, increasing mutual influence and exchange of information, as well as a positive attitude towards each other.
- Showing sympathy and listening to the opinions of the other side, minimizing threats and anger.
As you can see, any, even the most seemingly incapable of resolving contradiction can be dealt with in a civilized way. The only thing needed for this is the desire of all parties to the conflict for reconciliation, because in this case success is practically guaranteed. However, it is best, of course, to avoid quarrels and try to maintain good relations at all costs. Then you won’t have to puzzle over what to do in such situations.
