Running Head: WEEK 6 LITERATURE REVIEW 1

Week 6 Assignment: Literature Review

Nanci M. McInnes

Lubbock Christian University

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Abstract

This paper examines and reviews eight scholarly articles relating to conflict management,

including perceived goal sharing and its relationship to the perceived relationship quality, the

impacts of perception upon conflict and how those perceptions impact conflict management, the

unique features of silent parental conflict, and the relationship between interparental conflict and

adolescents’ romantic behavior patterns. Other articles deal with conflict style differences across

cultures, how expectations of conflict intensity affect conflict outcomes and the effects of

emotional trigger words in conflict situations. The purpose of reviewing these articles is to

determine how the information in these articles could translate into an effective conflict

management policy for the workplace.

Keywords: conflict, perception, management, expectation, emotion, goals, cooperation,

withdrawal, anxiety, escalation, cultural.

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Wilmot & Hocker propose that we carry our complicated interpersonal relationships into

the workplace and therefore, by learning to effectively manage conflict in our personal life, we

can reduce the incidence of conflict in the workplace. They further stress the importance of

studying conflict to reduce negative conflict cycles that could cause irreparable damage in both

our personal and professional lives. One way to help manage conflict in the workplace is by

having a solid conflict resolution policy in place that is reviewed and updated regularly as

needed.

Many studies have been conducted to determine the impact that perception, culture,

expectations and emotions have upon conflict and conflict management. In this paper, we will

specifically examine eight scholarly articles relating to these various topics to assess how well

these articles would contribute to the design of a conflict management/resolution policy,

specifically in a workplace environment.

The first article we will review is by Avivi, Laurenceau and Carver (2009) regarding the

relationship between perceived goal-sharing and progress towards goals and the perceived

relationship quality in committed romantic couples. The study was conducted using 245

undergraduate students who completed questionnaires addressing their desired and undesired

goals and how they would rate their partners in goal mutuality. This study set out to examine the

connections between perceived goal sharing and relationship quality overall. The researchers’

goal here is to build upon theories that suggest that having mutual goals in a relationship offers

many benefits. The study reveals that marital conflicts often stem from “defensive individual

goals” and that the use of “we” language in relationships reflects interpersonal closeness. The

study also shows that couples are more productive when they pursue shared goals because they

are working together. In short, there are solid benefits to having a shared sense of direction. It’s
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important to note that this study focuses on the perception of mutual goals as well as the

perception of progress towards those goals. When an individual perceives that his partner shares

common goals and further perceives that they are making progress towards those shared goals,

the relationship is stronger overall and couples are happier and more satisfied. While this study

focuses on romantically involved couples specifically, it does show that a sharing of goals and

having the perception of progress towards shared goals helps the relationship. This supports the

notion that teams in a work environment would do better to work together towards shared goals.

The next article we will examine also deals with perception and conflict management. It

is a 2006 study conducted by Longaretti & Wilson. This is an interesting study which looked at

the perceptions and management of conflict within a primary school setting between students

and teachers. One drawback to this study is that it is comprised of a small sample so the findings

cannot be generalized. The study involved 40 observed conflict incidents, including 10 cases of

teacher yelling, 14 imposed decisions, 2 physical actions (such as grabbing students by the arm)

and 4 incidents of blame and punishment. This study revealed that teachers form negative

opinions about students involved in conflict (as in labeling them as “troublemakers”) and that

they often assume an authoritative stance when dealing with conflict. That is, teachers will

intervene and impose solutions, lecture the conflict participants and fail to listen to the students’

point of view.

The Longaretti study shows that when conflict is viewed negatively, as is often the case,

both students and teachers resort to using a limited range of strategies for resolving conflict.

When conflict is viewed more constructively, the parties can focus on problem-solving which

can play an important role in a child’s social development. Studies show that when children are

taught the value of cooperation and non-aggressive ways of interacting, they develop higher self-
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esteem and better communication skills. This study concluded that educators need to teach

children to manage their own disputes more productively and in doing so the classroom

environment becomes more conducive to learning and development. This study translates well

into a work environment because the teacher-student relationship mirrors the employer-employee

relationship well in that there is a subordinate and a superior in the relationship. This study

supports the idea that employers should allow employees an opportunity to manage their own

disputes constructively and work jointly towards solutions. This would create a work

environment that is more conducive to growth and innovation.

The third article we examine is one by Kielpikowski and Pryor (2008) involving the

effects of unspoken or “silent” conflict and the effects it produces within the family context.

More specifically, the study focuses on parents’ perspective of non-verbal, non-physical conflict.

In general, this study confirms what most parents already know; that parents will often avoid

conflict for the sake of their children. The researchers set out to clarify why parents do this given

evidence that withdrawal and avoidant behaviors have been shown to pose a risk to the stability

of the family unit as a whole. This was a very small study of 13 participants from the New

Zealand area with children ages 5 to 16 years old. The study participants reported that silent

conflict affected them both emotionally and physically, typically causing preoccupation which

resulted in parents being less available to their children. Another reported effect was loss of

concentration which interfered with completing tasks at home. The “silent treatment” causes an

overall feeling of tension and anxiety in the home which in turn causes parents to snap at their

children. The whole family is left feeling emotionally drained and exhausted.

Interestingly, for some, the silence was not as much an avoidant behavior as a

postponement of the conflict, allowing them time to think and process. The study also revealed
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that for many, there are certain conflicts which go unresolved due to certain inherent differences,

yet despite those differences, people can still be happy and have successful relationships. This is

accomplished through a give and take or a compromise of goals. While this study was very small

demographically, it does show that overall, silent conflict generally produces negative effects

within the family unit. It also shows that some avoidant behavior is necessary in order to prevent

conflict escalation within the group. It could be inferred that engaging in some avoidant behavior

at work could be beneficial in preventing escalation of a conflict and could aid in preserving

harmony within the work environment. However, extended silent conflict would likely lead to

dissatisfaction in the workplace. Just as silent conflict causes an atmosphere of stress and

anxiety, loss of concentration and preoccupation in the home, it would likely cause those same

symptoms in the workplace, which could lead to costly mistakes and an unhappy work team.

Employers would be remiss not to have a conflict resolution plan in place.

The next article we examine expands upon parental conflict, by looking at how

interparental conflict affects young people in how they manage conflict within their own

romantic relationships. This study conducted in 2010 by Simon and Furman examined the

responses of 183 high school seniors who completed questionnaires about their parents’ marriage

and their own romantic relationships. The study revealed that interparental conflict causes

children to develop either: (1) patterned aggressive conflict responses (both verbal and physical)

and hypersensitivity to conflict cues or (2) the opposite: a total avoidance of conflict and/or

accommodation-type behaviors. There were also some noted differences in gender with boys

showing a greater tendency to withdraw to avoid angry impulses and girls tending to be more

compliant in conflict situations. It’s important to note that this study focuses on children’s

perceptions of interparental conflict. Along these lines, boys who perceived higher levels of
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interparental conflict were more physically aggressive than boys who perceived less conflict.

However, the study showed no correlation between perceived interparental conflict and physical

aggression in girls. Generally, girls are not likely to be physically aggressive regardless of how

much interparental conflict they perceive in the home. This is an interesting article that does

present solid evidence of gender differences in conflict management based upon perceived

interparental conflict. It does show that children generally learn how to manage conflicts in their

own romantic relationships by watching their parents. However, this article does little to

contribute to the development of a conflict management plan within the workplace.

The next article, College students’ expectations of conflict intensity: A self-fulfilling

prophecy, by DiPaola, Roloff and Peters (2010) examines how expectations of conflict intensity

can predict behaviors and potential outcomes in conflict situations. Basically, when we expect

that a conflict will be intense, the expectation itself will promote negative behaviors which

produce negative outcomes. The study consisted of 208 undergraduate students of a private

Midwestern U.S. university. The students completed questionnaires containing both closed and

open-ended questions. The researchers found their hypothesis to be supported, noting that when

an individual anticipates that a conflict will be intense, he typically reports feeling emotionally

upset and personally attacked and suffers interference of daily activities. This is compounded

when the individual is the one who initiates the confrontation. There are many factors affecting

when individuals choose to engage or avoid conflict.

This study could support the notion that if we are not careful, we could create patterned

responses towards certain individuals based upon our expectation of how intense a conflict with

that individual might be. In the workplace, an employee might expect a typically ill-tempered

boss to fly off the handle over an honest mistake, causing avoidant behavior that would most
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likely only add to the conflict. It would be wise to incorporate techniques or procedures into a

conflict management plan that take our own expectations into account and help us work through

those expectations to come up with constructive solutions instead of avoidant behaviors. Wilmot

& Hocker (2011) point out that effective management requires knowing when to be assertive and

direct and also knowing when to defer until the time is right. One way to accomplish this in the

work environment is through mediation. It could be beneficial to have an individual assigned to

mediate in-house disputes to help prevent escalation in high-conflict situations.

The next study conducted by Cai and Fink (2002) researched the conflict styles of

individualists and collectivists. This study was prompted by the growing body of research

involving cross-cultural communication. The study involved 188 graduate students from

31different countries, all residing in the United States. The authors define individualists as those

who value the goals and needs of the individual over the group and collectivists as those who

value the goals and needs of the group over the individual. Generally, Asians are thought to be

collectivists and Americans are said to be individualists. The Cai/Fink study examined

individuals’ preferences for using five conflict styles: (1) avoiding, (2) obliging, (3) integrating,

(4) compromising, and (5) dominating. The results of the study are interesting, showing that

certain assumptions about how different cultures handle conflict might not be accurate. For

example, there are differences amongst collectivist, Asian cultures. The authors point to other

research which reveals that people from China and Taiwan are more avoidant than those from

Japan and Korea. One of the most interesting findings of this study is that the five conflict styles

mentioned above could have different meanings across different cultures. For example, in certain

Hispanic cultures, avoiding might reflect a high concern for others rather than a low concern for

others as it would be understood in American culture. This study revealed that different cultures
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see and interpret behavior differently, making different conclusions about the underlying

motivations of the behavior. Research continues to grow in the area of cross-cultural

communication, but one thing is certain: with ever-growing diversity in the workplace, every

company should provide at least basic cross-cultural training to their employees and conflict

management policies should take cultural differences into account.

The two final articles we will review look at the role of emotions in the conflict process.

The first article, Sticks and stones may break bones and words can hurt me: Words and phrases

that trigger emotions in negotiations and their effects, by Schroth, Bain-Chekal and Caldwell

(2005) analyzes how the use of emotional trigger words affect the negotiation process. The

studies conducted by Schroth, et. al. expands upon prior research showing that a party’s

emotional state can influence the other party’s behavior in a dispute, particularly if the emotional

state is negative. The first study utilized 308 undergraduate students from two west-coast

universities. The students were asked to complete a short questionnaire wherein they described a

conflict they had which became emotional. They were then asked to explain what led to the

emotional response. During this first study, the researchers identified specific words used in

negotiation that evoke emotional responses.

In their second study, the researchers obtained data from 221 undergraduate students,

again from two west-coast universities. In this study, the participants reviewed a case study

involving a conflict situation between two fictional people, “Pat” and “Chris.” The conflict

scenario the participants reviewed dealt with a dispute regarding a rent-sharing agreement. One

half of the participants reviewed a case which described the pair as roommates and the other half

of the participants reviewed a case wherein Pat and Chris were described as business partners.

The purpose of this was to see if there was any difference in perception of the use of emotional
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trigger words in a personal conflict versus a business conflict. The researchers also used two

separate transcripts of dialogue between the fictional characters of Pat and Chris, one including

emotional trigger words and the other excluding those same trigger words. The genders of Pat

and Chris were also not identified, in order to keep it neutral for the participants.

The results of the studies showed that the use of trigger words caused two things: (1)

observers were more likely to believe that the negotiation would be successful, and (2) observers

were more likely to perceive the party using the trigger words as unfair. Some gender differences

were also noted. For example, when trigger words were present in the negotiation, women were

more likely to be optimistic about a resolution than if those words were not present.

Interestingly, the studies showed that overall, emotions were most often triggered by the use of

rude words and threats and when parties were told what to do, especially by someone of the same

gender. The emotions most often felt were anger and frustration.

The Schroth, et. al. studies are useful in putting together a conflict management plan in

that if we can determine which words are more likely to trigger emotions in a conflict situation,

we can take steps to avoid the use of such words in our language. It is also important to

understand which words trigger our own emotions so that we may learn how to regulate them

during the conflict process.

The final article we will examine, Engaging emotion in conflict intervention, by Maiese

(2006) explores the use of art, ritual and joking as a means for facilitating emotional

reassessment during a conflict situation. Maiese points out that much of the negotiation and

mediation training utilized to date has emphasized the importance of conflict analysis and skills

training and has steered students away from emotion. She further notes that there is a growing
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body of research which suggests that mediators should not ignore the emotional process, but

rather work with emotions in an effort to help the parties reason and make decisions.

Maiese indicates that through the use of ritual, art and joking, people are able to

transform how they feel about a conflict situation, because these methods use indirect or

symbolic activities rather than other methods which force an individual to directly express how

he feels, which can be awkward and uncomfortable. Rituals include informal activities such as

eating or dancing. The author suggests that through the use of rituals parties are able to shift their

emotions, allowing them to redefine the conflict. This happens because through the ritual activity

(eating, dancing and other customs), we are able to develop new understandings of our

relationships with others. That in turn allows us to feel and think differently about the conflict

with that person.

The author also believes that art is a powerful means to bring about constructive change.

She provides an example of two countries at war who vowed not to engage in further wars, after

a neighboring country invited the two presidents to attend a meeting where they experienced a

beautiful artistic performance involving poetry, song and dance. The performance was so

powerful that the presidents signed a peace treaty that has not been violated to date.

Finally, Maiese discusses joking as a form which encompasses both art and ritual.

Through joking, she points out that parties can alter their emotional attitudes, “open themselves

up to agreement” and begin to reassess their situation. She does caution that these methods,

while helpful if used correctly, do have the potential to play a destructive role. Ritual, art and

joking can break down barriers that may hinder the negotiation process; they may help people

see things differently, thereby helping them move towards resolution. However, they may also
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heighten emotions to the point that parties are unable to think clearly and could even become

frozen, overwhelmed by emotions.

While this article does not necessarily offer information that could be incorporated into a

conflict management policy in the workplace, it does point to some alternative ways of handling

conflict. Rituals in the workplace, such as staff luncheons, company retreats or firm picnics

could be an effective way of bringing people together in a more relaxed setting where they could

get to know each other at a more personal level. By seeing each other in a different light, workers

may be better able to resolve conflicts among themselves when they arise.

Not all of the articles reviewed here provide information that could be directly translated

into an effective conflict management policy. However, each of the articles provides insight into

effective ways of handling conflict, including the emotions involved and the trigger words that

set those emotions off. The articles also offer insight into the effects of goal-sharing and

perception in relationships, the effects of silent conflict and conflict style differences across

cultures. All of this information is important in some way towards the development of a thorough

conflict management plan.

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References

Avivi, Y., Laurenceau, J., & Carver, C. (2009). Linking relationship quality to perceived
mutuality of relationship goals and perceived goal progress. Journal of Social & Clinical
Psychology, 28(2), 137-164.

Cai, D. A., & Fink, E. L. (2002). Conflict style differences between individualists and
collectivists. Communication Monographs, 69(1), 67.

DiPaola, B., Roloff, M., & Peters, K. (2010). College students' expectations of conflict intensity:
A self- fulfilling prophecy. Communication Quarterly, 58(1), 59-76.

Kielpikowski, M., & Pryor, J. (2008). Silent parental conflict: Parents' perspective. Journal of
Family Studies, 14(2/3), 217-227.

Longaretti, L. & Wilson, J. (2006). The impact of perceptions on conflict management.

Educational Research Quarterly, 29(4), 3-15.

Maiese, M. (2006). Engaging the emotions in conflict intervention. Conflict Resolution

Quarterly, 24(2), 187- 195.

Schroth, H., Bain-Chekal, J., & Caldwell, D. (2005). Sticks and stones may break bones and
words can hurt me: Words and phrases that trigger emotions in negotiations and their
effects. International Journal of Conflict Management, 16(2), 102-127.

Simon, V. (2010). Interparental conflict and adolescents' romantic relationship conflict. Journal
of Research on Adolescence, Blackwell Publishing Limited, 20(1), 188-209.

Wilmot, W. & Hocker, J. (2011) Interpersonal Conflict, 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.