Life is a process of resolving an endless number of conflicts. We are not able to avoid them, and therefore we must decide - directly or indirectly. But how to determine the formula of conflict? Is there a way to tell a true disagreement from a false one? The answer to these questions is given by psychology. Our material will talk about conflictology - the most important direction in the field of psychology.
Conflict concept
Latin word conflictus means "collision". There is a struggle of opposing interests, goals, opinions or views, some elements of life come into conflict with others. Everything that exists today is based on this: conflict is a prerequisite for progress, development cannot be imagined without it.
Society, no matter how developed and modern it is, cannot do without conflicts. This is quite natural, and therefore justified. Disagreements change their appearance along with social evolution. They become less visible and amenable to humanization processes. However, the conflict formula remains unchanged:several subjects do not agree.
Conflict formula
At the heart of any clash is a contradiction. It can lead to constructive or destructive consequences. Positive changes caused by the contradiction are extremely unlikely. In any case, they will have to wait a long time. More likely is a destructive outcome of events - when, as a result of a conflict, agreement is never reached, and all subjects suffer certain losses.
The conflict formula is simple. The accumulated contradictions add up to a controversial situation. For an "explosion" to occur, an incident must be added to such a situation - a certain set of circumstances that will serve as a pretext for the emergence of a conflict.
The diagram shows that the incident and the disputed situation do not depend on each other. One element is not a manifestation or consequence of another. What does the conflict formula allow us to understand? You can resolve the contradiction by exhausting the incident and eliminating the controversial situation. It is therefore necessary to solve two problems at once.
Causes of controversy
The above conflict formula is not the only one. Psychology has several such schemes, where the incident and the controversial situation change places or are supplemented with new elements. So, the second famous formula looks like this:
conflict=contentious situation + contentious situation.
Again, both elements are independent of each other. Situations arisenot necessarily at the same time, but necessarily before the conflict itself. To exhaust the contradiction, you need to get to the bottom of its essence. You have to ask yourself the question "Why?". You will have to do this until the exact answer is found.
Finally, the third classification shows us the three components of any conflict formula: A, B and C.
A. Contradiction, clash of positions. The subjects of the conflict must feel that a win for one side will be a loss for the other.
B. Mismatched views and interests.
B. Opposition that arises when trying to resolve a controversial situation.
This is the basic structure of any conflict. The contradiction can also be supplemented by the so-called conflictogens - various words, actions or lack of actions that contribute to the formation or development of a conflict. Depending on how the chain of conflictogens is built, the type of contradiction changes. So, it can take on a random, constructive, biased, true or false form.
A true contradiction
Having analyzed the three formulas of conflicts, we should pay attention to the main types of contradictions. In psychology, their division into true and false is common. Such a systematization is especially relevant in connection with the fact that it points to the primary source of the contradiction: does it exist at all or is it just an illusion? If a person understands that the conflict is false, then its solution becomes meaningless.
True conflict has a number of special characteristics. First, the incidentthe controversial situation in it have a real character. The clash of interests is objective, it is recognized by both parties.
Types of true conflict
Objective contradiction has a clear structure. However, the actors involved in the conflict may not be fully aware of what is happening. Because of this, true contradiction takes several forms:
- Random contradiction - occurs due to misunderstanding or coincidence.
- Constructive contradiction - arises on the basis of real and conscious disputes between subjects.
- Wrong conflict - there is a culprit in it, who remains "behind the scenes" of the confrontation. The subjects involved in the dispute are actually not related to the resulting contradiction.
- Displaced contradiction - arises on a false basis. The true cause of the conflict is there, but it is hidden.
Despite the many examples of the conflict formula, the structure of the true conflict is the same: there is an incident or a controversial situation. Neither one nor the other is in a false contradiction. It will be discussed in detail later.
False contradiction
False contradictions are generally considered to be destructive. Both sides intend to commit aggressive, unwanted or illegal acts.
Such conflicts are divided into four main types:
- each side believes that the enemy is acting illegally and wrongly. Opinion on the illegality of actionseither side can be either true or false.
- The side believes that the adversary is acting legally and correctly.
- The party believes that it is in a legal relationship with the other party. Actually it is not.
- Party believes that it is not in a legal relationship with another person.
It is much more difficult to extinguish a false contradiction than a true one. And all because of the complex formula for the development of the conflict. The obligatory elements of the conflict either do not exist at all, or they overlap each other. Eliminating the ground for contradiction is possible only with the involvement of a professional, for example, a lawyer.
Other kinds of contradictions
The division of the conflict formula into true and false is the most popular in psychology. However, this is not the only classification in the system.
It should also be mentioned:
- intrapersonal conflict. We are talking about the state of dissatisfaction of a person with some circumstances of his life. For example, a person is not satisfied with his own interests, needs, aspirations, etc. All this can be due to both true and false signals. Intrapersonal contradictions often lead to apathy, stress, or even depression.
- Interpersonal conflict. The most common type of contradiction. Most often caused by the struggle for limited resources - material or spiritual. This conflict can only be resolved by finding compromises.
- Conflict between group and individual. One person acting as a nonconformistforced to fight with a whole group of people. The reasons for such a struggle are, again, in the struggle for material or spiritual resources.
- Intragroup or intergroup conflict. Similar to interpersonal conflict, but with more participants.
Consequences of conflicts
The results of the created contradictions can be functional and dysfunctional. In the first case, the resulting competitiveness benefited all participants. In the second case, the conflict only aggravated an already difficult relationship.
Psychologists talk about several methods of resolving interpersonal conflicts that are especially effective in the workplace. Here are some of them:
- application of integration and coordination mechanisms. The essence of the method is to create certain requirements of superiors for subordinates.
- Explanation of job requirements. This is a way to prevent dysfunctional contradiction proactively.
- Setting up a reward system for compliance.
In addition to the professional methods outlined above, you can also name: smoothing, avoiding, compromising, forcing, and finally discussing the problem.
