14 TYPES of CONFLICTS and their resolution

What is a conflict? Conflict is an indelible aspect of the human experience: from childhood contrasts with playmates to disagreements between lovers to often accompanied by the swing of reconciliations and breakups, even fights and problems between spouses, parents and children, colleagues, bosses and subordinates; conflict accompanies us throughout all of existence.

However, conflict is not a pleasant experience: being in a state of conflict increases stress, anxiety or, at the very least, creates uncertainty, worry and discomfort; trying to avoid it is understandable behavior. Fortunately, the conflicts to which we are exposed or that we involuntarily provoke do not have serious consequences, they can be resolved or ignored without facing serious dilemmas; But a prolonged or serious conflict is very painful and can cause considerable damage. In this Psychology-Online article we will see 12 types of conflicts and their resolution, with examples. Read on to learn the characteristics of a conflict, the definition of conflict, and conflict classes.

Index

1. Interpersonal conflict
2. Intrapersonal conflict
3. Child conflict
4. Latent conflict
5. Conflict of interests
6. Intergroup conflict
7. Intragroup conflict
8. Family conflict
9. International conflict
10. Couple conflict
11. Power conflict
12. Job issue
13. School conflict
14. Social conflict

In the classification of conflicts, we find interpersonal and intrapersonal conflict. Interpersonal conflict occurs when people have opposing interests, when there are frustrated expectations or there are substantial differences in values ​​and priorities. To reduce interpersonal conflict, there are two main techniques that are used together:

1. The first is the technique of "throw a bridge" that blurs differences, with the aim of reducing contrasts and finding common ground (for example, by identifying common values, memories, and interests).
2. The second is the channeling technique, which directs the negative energy of conflict (expressed with aggressiveness, frustration, discontent, and negative expectations) to change your trajectory and give it a positive arrival - an agreement or a commitment - avoiding derailments due to misunderstandings, reactions and projections negative.

This type of conflict can occur in various areas such as family, school and work, types of conflicts that we will see in later sections.

On the other hand, we have intrapersonal conflict. This type of conflict is the one that occurs in a person with herself, that is, it is an internal crisis that can be related to self-esteem problems, stressful experiences, unpleasant situations... The way to resolve intrapersonal inclictors is by working the self-knowledge through introspection to increase Intrapersonal intelligence.

For boys and girls discussion is a natural experience: normal, physiological, loaded with a certain emotion, but easily reread a posteriori as devoid of meanings other than those experienced at that time. Rather, it is the adult reaction to the children's discussion that disorients: it ends up attributing presumed content and often erroneous to marginal episodes themselves, inevitably modifying the perception and value of the event.

The "Discuss Well" method (Novara, 2004), aimed at parents and teachers, the result of a long work of exploration on the possibility of teaching to discuss, it is composed of "two steps back" and "two steps go ahead":

1. The first step back: do not look for the culprit because there isn't.
2. The second step back: do not impose the solution. There is no right answer, but the ability to handle the situation.
3. The first step forward is talk to each other about the fight.
4. The second step forward: favor the agreement among them.

The next type of conflict is latent conflict (covert). Latent conflicts They hide due to various factors, such as the exclusion of some parties, due to legitimacy, for fear of the consequences that may arise.

Latent conflicts are less "manageable" than those that manifest themselves inasmuch as they do not present possibilities of direct intervention, unless they are transformed (through an external intervention or an internal change of the situation; for example, one of the parties, for whatever reason, decides to make it manifest) in manifest conflicts.

The people involved have different and opposite interests that can only be satisfied to the detriment of the other. Conflicts of interest often occur when:

• One or both parties have intentions that hide the other.
• The parties have not been completely honest in their demands or in the expression of their needs and one of them has felt betrayed by the other.
• The other did not keep a promise, did not take responsibility for it.

When the real issue is an irreconcilable conflict of interest, not a misunderstanding, and one of the parties is very competitive, unfair and unwilling to negotiate, cooperation and dialogue are not possible.

In the classification of conflicts we find intergroup and intragroup conflicts. We often find ourselves in situations of competition between groups, and the intergroup confrontation seems inevitable. It is the one that would occur, for example, between companies.

People who are on the fringes of the group are usually the ones who best handle foreign affairs, so many times being in the center, at the head, turns out to be unfavorable for the management of conflicts intergroups. High levels of intergroup lockdown lead to stress on members within, to the point of increasingly focusing on adhering to internal rules to avoid discomfort.

According to Sherif (1966), intergroup phenomena cannot be explained by exclusively invoking personality problems or frustrations individual, but it is necessary to consider the properties of groups and the consequences of group membership in individuals. Sherif's conclusions: the conflict of interest, also represented by competitive games, is at the origin of the conflict between groups; therefore, competitive goals lead to conflict between groups; higher-order purposes lead to cooperation between groups.

On the other hand, we find intragroup conflict. In that case, the conflict occurs between members of the same group. It is the one that would occur inside a company. The difference between intragroup and intergroup conflict is that one occurs within a group and the other occurs in the relationship between two groups.

What is a family conflict? The family is the place of conflict: in the relationship, between genders and generations, between the family and the world outside. It is in the family that you learn to handle conflict and differences, and to be in relationship with others. What is received in the family is a constitutive part of our heritage, physical and mental, which we bring to the community in which we live.

Conflict is productive and proactive if managed effectively by family members. Next we will see how to solve a family conflict:

• Above all, it is essential to create a serene weather and favorable, in which everyone can feel free to express their opinions.
• Always favor one free expression of reciprocal ideas.
• Focus on the problem to be addressed, avoiding any form of attack on the person with whom you disagree.
• It is necessary clarify the subject of the discussion, avoiding accusing the other in a generalized way.
• Hear always to the other and his motivations to understand and make sense of the situation.
• Formulate constructive criticism.
• Compromise, confrontation and negotiation play a fundamental role: in other words, the mediation.

The next type of conflict is the international one: relationship in which the interests lie from two or more states, when they are incompatible, that is, when the interests of one cannot be satisfied without harming those of the other. The function of international order is to regulate the reciprocal conduct of States, in order to reconcile these conflicts.

In international law, States have the obligation to resolve peacefully the international disputes, but they are free to choose the means of solution they consider most appropriate. Solution procedures are characterized by:

• Diplomatic procedures (direct negotiations), which may include the intervention of a third party (mediation, conciliation, investigation, etc.), all of them intended to facilitate the achievement of an agreement between the parties (settlement agreement differences).
• Judicial proceedings, that is, the referral of the dispute to an arbitrator (International Arbitration) or to the International Court of Justice. These means, unlike diplomats, guarantee the solution of the discussion, through an arbitration award or a sentence, which are binding on the parties to the dispute.

In the classification of conflicts we find daily conflicts such as that of a couple. If a person believes that love means not having problems, not having conflicts, he is very wrong: arguments, contradictions, fights are inevitable if you want to live as a couple; furthermore, within certain limits, they are even desirable. Couple conflicts allow us to clarify our own positions, confront each other and grow, take successive steps in the further development of the couple, find new balances. In this article you will find more information about couple conflicts.

The solution of the couple conflict presupposes:

• A open recognition of conflict, that is, the approach to their own problems: a necessary step towards their solution.
• A clear identification of objectives and reasons for which it is in conflict or is being negotiated.
• The assumption of a cooperative attitude that allows to go from "relationship conflict" to "contrast conflict" or "confrontation of ideas".

According to Touraine (1986), social conflict appears when the theme of power is inserted: whoever can "dominate social relations within a social system, in particular the distribution of social goods such as authority, income and education". The parties to the conflict may act within a logic of "I win and you lose", a logic of power. Indeed, in these reports, an interlocutor tends to place himself in a position of superiority (one-up), a position that allows him to exercise the power and, therefore, direct, while the other tends to be in a position of submission (one-down), that is, of obedience to the can.

If the interlocutors remain rigid about their positions, the vicious circle and the power struggle can be considered as initiated, and what Waztslavick defines as symmetrical climbing, that is to say, that the continuous and strong conflicts could lead to the reciprocal exclusion, to the mutual non-recognition, to the final breakdown of the relationship.

Conflicts in the work environment and group dynamics between colleagues or companies are some of the possible causes of stress at work; they are generally related to the presence of a kind of incompatibility, substantive disagreement or dissonance within or between business organizations. The labor dispute can arise between two different companies or within the same company; This second type of conflict is quite frequent and arises as a consequence of the disagreement or differences between members or subgroups of the same organization; differences in the objectives, functions and distribution and management of work activities. Some key elements for the management of labor disputes:

• Conflict analysis
• Effective communication and assertiveness
• Mediation and negotiation skills
• Conflict analysis

In this article we talk about conflict in organizations, the types of labor disputes and the resolution of labor disputes with examples.

In the related to school, social and organized reality, conflict can enter at various levels, between different people and different groups (either intragroup or intergroup) Let's look at different types and examples of conflicts and solutions.

• Conflict between children
• Conflict between teachers and children
• Conflict between teachers and families
• Conflict between teachers and teachers
• Conflict between teachers and management or the teaching staff

The conflict can cut through the social actors:

• On vertical: when the conflict affects different degrees of "power").
• On horizontal: when the conflict is expressed between "equals").

How can the school handle conflict? 6 tips for resolving school conflicts:

1. Build a positive school climate.
2. Take care of the day to day through attention and listening.
3. Overcome a deal approach.
4. Preventive type interventions.
5. Pathways of socio-affective development (for example, the circle time activity).
6. Create "system actions" (itineraries that lead, or at least approximate, an assumption of shared responsibilities between school and family).

A social conflict is defined as a conflict that affects two or more social groups fighting each other to obtain exclusive resources or for a strictly defensive conservation purpose, or even, in general, when a competitive situation is established between groups.

The way out of a group conflict situation is, inevitably, the ability to argue without reluctance, accepting the "expensive" aspect of this operation and the risk of finding that some positions are difficult to reconcile. Moscovici and Doise argue that consensual participation processes, in which individuals freely argue with desire to confront and express their options without fear of censorship and exclusion, are situations that revive any social dynamic, introducing participation, investment, the feeling of belonging to a community.

This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to Types of conflicts and their resolution, we recommend that you enter our category of Social psychology.

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