COM 312 COMMUNICATION CONFLICT FINAL EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔MODULE #2 - ✔✔INFLUENCES ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
✔✔The Why and How of Conflict: Introduction to theories - ✔✔MODULE #2,
INTRODUCTION
✔✔Attribution Theory - ✔✔- attributions are assumptions we make about the causes of
our own or another person's behavior that influence our conflict behaviors
* Internal attributions- wants and beliefs
* External attributions- outside of control
- we use internal attributions for others, external attributions for ourselves
✔✔Social Exchange Theory - ✔✔- we examine our relationships regularly and assign a
value to them based on the number of perceived costs and rewards
- we use comparison levels to determine satisfaction levels
- comparison levels of alternatives juxtapose our relationship to our perceived other
options
✔✔Power - ✔✔- refers to a person's ability to influence the behavior, thoughts or
feelings of another person
* power is ubiquitous
* power is interpersonal
* power is a function of dependencies
A RELATIONAL THEORY OF POWER
your dependence on another is a function of:
*the importance of the goal of the other can influence
* the availability of other avenues for you to accomplish
POWER IN RELATIONSHIPS
- members are equally influential
- majority of married couples report power is balanced equally
- even so, each may not have equal power in every context
ORIENTATIONS TO POWER
- distributive or either/or
* stresses force, control or aggression over other
- integrative or both/and
, * stresses joining forces with others
- designated
*stresses giving power to others
POWER CURRENCIES
R: resource control
I: interpersonal linkages
C: communication skills
E: expertise
INFLUENCES OF POWER ON COMMUNICATION
- high power people
*less concerned with others' responses
* more likely to use direct request, demands, and competitive behavior
- lower power people
* very concerned with others' responses
* more likely to be indirect and less negative
✔✔Emotion - ✔✔EMOTIONS EXPERIENCED DURING CONFLICT
- people categorize their conflicts based on the emotions they experience during them
- high levels of emotionality mark "serious" conflicts
- high negative affect and aggression perceived as destruction
ANGER
- is the emotion most associated with conflict
JEALOUSY
- is a cause and consequence of conflict
- occurs when one feels unable to handle a change in a relationship
- jealous people then to engage in competitive or aggressive communication
HURT
- is accompanied by pain, anger, sadness and suffering
- it is likely to occur during competitive fighting that includes verbal aggressing
- hurt people often counter-attack, withdraw or cry
GUILT
- accompanies conflict
, - occurs when one believe they have hurt another
- it is the flip side of hurt
- guilty people respond by trying to repair the relationship or, sometimes, by justifying
their behavior
FEAR
- can lead to conflict when one is afraid of losing something or someone
- fear can result during conflict
- some scholars believe that fear is the primary emotion associated with conflict
EMOTIONAL FLOODING
- occurs when one overwhelmed with emotion during conflict
- when people experience emotional flooding they can act irrationally and defensively
- they become highly aroused and disorganized
✔✔GENDER - ✔✔SEX AND GENDER
- sex describes the biological differences between males and females
- gender describes the cultural differences between masculinity and femininity
- almost all conflict research actually studies sex differences
SEX SIMILARITIES IN CONFLICT BEHAVIOR
- women and men's conflict behaviors are more similar then different
- where differences do exist, they are often small
- there is as much variance within genders as across genders
SEX DIFFERENCES
- are more pronounced during same-sex interactions
- males often are more aggressive and competitive in social/work relationships
- boys use more physical aggression
- girls use more indirect aggression
- both sexes use verbal aggression equally
✔✔CULTURE - ✔✔- culture values influence how one expects
* conflict to unfold
* types of communication strategies used
- three cultural values that often influence conflict:
1. individualism-collectivism
2. low versus high context
3. power difference
INDIVIDUAL-COLLECTIVISM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔MODULE #2 - ✔✔INFLUENCES ON CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
✔✔The Why and How of Conflict: Introduction to theories - ✔✔MODULE #2,
INTRODUCTION
✔✔Attribution Theory - ✔✔- attributions are assumptions we make about the causes of
our own or another person's behavior that influence our conflict behaviors
* Internal attributions- wants and beliefs
* External attributions- outside of control
- we use internal attributions for others, external attributions for ourselves
✔✔Social Exchange Theory - ✔✔- we examine our relationships regularly and assign a
value to them based on the number of perceived costs and rewards
- we use comparison levels to determine satisfaction levels
- comparison levels of alternatives juxtapose our relationship to our perceived other
options
✔✔Power - ✔✔- refers to a person's ability to influence the behavior, thoughts or
feelings of another person
* power is ubiquitous
* power is interpersonal
* power is a function of dependencies
A RELATIONAL THEORY OF POWER
your dependence on another is a function of:
*the importance of the goal of the other can influence
* the availability of other avenues for you to accomplish
POWER IN RELATIONSHIPS
- members are equally influential
- majority of married couples report power is balanced equally
- even so, each may not have equal power in every context
ORIENTATIONS TO POWER
- distributive or either/or
* stresses force, control or aggression over other
- integrative or both/and
, * stresses joining forces with others
- designated
*stresses giving power to others
POWER CURRENCIES
R: resource control
I: interpersonal linkages
C: communication skills
E: expertise
INFLUENCES OF POWER ON COMMUNICATION
- high power people
*less concerned with others' responses
* more likely to use direct request, demands, and competitive behavior
- lower power people
* very concerned with others' responses
* more likely to be indirect and less negative
✔✔Emotion - ✔✔EMOTIONS EXPERIENCED DURING CONFLICT
- people categorize their conflicts based on the emotions they experience during them
- high levels of emotionality mark "serious" conflicts
- high negative affect and aggression perceived as destruction
ANGER
- is the emotion most associated with conflict
JEALOUSY
- is a cause and consequence of conflict
- occurs when one feels unable to handle a change in a relationship
- jealous people then to engage in competitive or aggressive communication
HURT
- is accompanied by pain, anger, sadness and suffering
- it is likely to occur during competitive fighting that includes verbal aggressing
- hurt people often counter-attack, withdraw or cry
GUILT
- accompanies conflict
, - occurs when one believe they have hurt another
- it is the flip side of hurt
- guilty people respond by trying to repair the relationship or, sometimes, by justifying
their behavior
FEAR
- can lead to conflict when one is afraid of losing something or someone
- fear can result during conflict
- some scholars believe that fear is the primary emotion associated with conflict
EMOTIONAL FLOODING
- occurs when one overwhelmed with emotion during conflict
- when people experience emotional flooding they can act irrationally and defensively
- they become highly aroused and disorganized
✔✔GENDER - ✔✔SEX AND GENDER
- sex describes the biological differences between males and females
- gender describes the cultural differences between masculinity and femininity
- almost all conflict research actually studies sex differences
SEX SIMILARITIES IN CONFLICT BEHAVIOR
- women and men's conflict behaviors are more similar then different
- where differences do exist, they are often small
- there is as much variance within genders as across genders
SEX DIFFERENCES
- are more pronounced during same-sex interactions
- males often are more aggressive and competitive in social/work relationships
- boys use more physical aggression
- girls use more indirect aggression
- both sexes use verbal aggression equally
✔✔CULTURE - ✔✔- culture values influence how one expects
* conflict to unfold
* types of communication strategies used
- three cultural values that often influence conflict:
1. individualism-collectivism
2. low versus high context
3. power difference
INDIVIDUAL-COLLECTIVISM
