Destructive and Constructive Conflict

Then too, communication plays an important role initiating constructive conflict in deciding whether to engage or avoid. Being that our personal history has taught us how to deal with conflict and whether to engage or avoid we must weigh all costs and benefits (Wilmot and Hocker 2007, p. 29). Often it’s hard to change conflict strategies from destructive to constructive when reared in aggressive and avoidance families. How one engages in conflict will definitely initiate either an unfavorable or favorable outcome in interpersonal relationships.

Too, the metaphors we use to comprehend conflict explain our personal ways of viewing conflict relations. Using transformative metaphors can help one to move out of the negative perspective of conflict and visualize ways to change conflict into a positive perspective. The lens model of conflict interaction stipulates that every person has a view of oneself, the other person and the relationship. Wilmot and Hocker give the reader an example in our text, in chapter 2 case 2.1. A married couple Bart and Lynn have a different perspective of conflict. Lynn views conflict as distasteful while Bart sees conflict as an explosion. Too, the minimal features of all conflict are the communicative acts or behaviors of each person, the meaning or attributions of those acts of each person (each person’s view of self), (each person’s view of the other. Also, people assign attributions to their relations, past events, current events and future projections (Wilmot and Hocker 2007, pp. 45-49).

Furthermore, communication can play a constructive role in managing and resolving conflict using a collaborative approach. Wilmot and Hocker say, “Conflict is a Bargaining Table” and “A collaborative approach to conflict is exemplified by the common metaphor of “the table” (2007 p 45). Being that the conflict structure depends on the table as innermost feature, when people experience conflict they are advised to sit down together using a collaborative approach to initiate constructive conflict management.

References

Utah State University (2008) Communication Conflict & Commitment

Wilmot and Hocker (2007). Interpersonal Conflict Seventh Ed, New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies