The Handbook of Conflict Resolution (3rd ed)

by Peter T Coleman

  The framework developed here (figure 21.1) is founded in the role that interests play in negotiation and social conflict and how what people say or demand is often an expression of those underlying interests. Follett (1940) originated this important notion; thus, it is fitting to conclude on a point she made about how to approach underlying interests: the game of interest chess. Follett argued that the other’s positions and interests in negotiation and conflict should be anticipated, much like a chess master anticipates moves and countermoves on the chessboard. And like the chess master, this is done prior to taking any action. In other words, a careful playing through of the underlying interests and then managing them can be the key to success. Follett’s example:

  A man liked motoring, his wife walking; he anticipated what her response might be to a suggestion that they motor on Sunday afternoon by tiring her out playing tennis in the morning. . . . You integrate the different interests without making all the moves. . . . like a game of chess. . . . A good chess player sees the possibilities without playing them out. (Follett, 1940, p. 43)

  Is managing interests in such a strategic manner cooperative or contentious?5 Of course, if the husband’s wife discovered that his interest in playing tennis was to get her to go for a drive, that he had an ulterior motive, the game might change; but then again, a game of tennis followed by an afternoon of motoring might be just fine for her. And there’s the rub,6 the creative, silver lining to the dark contentious cloud: the result may be an asymmetric outcome—but this may be just fine with the party who accepts it. Indeed, some laboratory work suggests that strategic misrepresentation does not necessarily interfere with the development of integrative agreements (O’Connor and Carnevale, 1997).7

  Deutsch (chapters 1 and 2 of this volume) details the values and norms that underlie constructive conflict resolution and includes reciprocity, human equality, shared community, fallibility, and nonviolence. I would just add one thing to this impressive list: a norm of creativity, with the suggestion that a norm for a creative product may be the missing piece when peace is missing.

  Notes

  1. See http://al-islam.org/kaaba14/1.htm; see also Rubin’s (1981) introductory chapter that describes interesting mediations of disputes in the Bible.

  2. See Carnevale and de Dreu (2006) for a sense of the wealth of perspectives on methods across many disciplines for addressing these and related questions.

  3. Kahneman and Tversky (1995) indicate that a cognitive orientation to one’s own economic interest, often defined as economic rationality, can inhibit an integrative resolution of conflict, whereas an orientation that also takes in the interests of others may reach agreements that are individually and collectively more desirable than the cognitive orientation of individual economic rationality. As they put it: “It would be inappropriate to conclude, however, that departures from rationality always inhibit the resolution of conflict. There are many situations in which less-than-rational agents may reach agreement while perfectly rational agents do not. The prisoner’s dilemma is a classic example in which rationality may not be conducive for achieving the most desirable social solution” (pp. 45–56).

  4. Presented here with a tribute to Joe McGrath (see McGrath, 1984).

  5. Consider creativity in the pursuit of death and war, which was revealed in comments by Muhammad Dahlan, a leader of the Palestinians in Gaza, while lamenting the assassination of a leader of the Black September terrorist group: “When we lost Abu Iyad, we lost the creativity and ability to shape opinion” (Samuels, 2005).

  6. Shakespeare, Hamlet: “To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come.”

  7. Where, for example, would the outcome in Follett’s motoring example go in the Agreement Circumplex? Do we need a Disagreement Circumplex for asymmetric agreements or for agreements where one party pulled the wool over the eyes of the other? A large issue is how the parties come to know or be aware that they have found a creative, integrative agreement. It may ultimately be a matter of appropriate measurement that takes into consideration objective and subjective factors that are immediate as well as long term.

  References

  Amabile, T. M. “What Does a Theory of Creativity Require?” Psychological Inquiry, 1993, 179–181.

  Beersma, B., and de Dreu, C.K.W. “Conflict’s Consequences: Effects of Social Motives on Post-Negotiation Creative and Convergent Group Functioning and Performance.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2005, 89, 358–374.

  Bendersky, C. “Organizational Dispute Resolution Systems: A Complementarities Model.” Academy of Management Review, 2003, 28, 643–656.

  Burton, J. W. Resolving Deep-Rooted Conflict: A Handbook. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1987.

  Carnevale, P. J. “The Structure of Agreement: Creative Elements.” Unpublished manuscript, 2013.

  Carnevale, P. J. “Strategic Choice in Mediation.” Negotiation Journal, 1986, 2, 41–56.

  Carnevale, P. J. “Mediating from Strength.” In J. Bercovitch (ed.), Studies in International Mediation: Essays in Honor of Jeffrey Z. Rubin. London: Palgrave-MacMillan, 2002.

  Carnevale, P. J. “Psychological Barriers to Negotiation.” In Shimon Shamir and Bruce Maddy-Weitzman (eds.), The Camp David Summit: What Went Wrong? Brighton, UK: Sussex Academic Press, 2005.

  Carnevale, P. J., and de Dreu, C.K.W. “Motive: The Negotiator’s Raison d’Être.” In Leigh Thompson (ed.), Frontiers of Social Psychology: Negotiation Theory and Research. New York: Psychology Press, 2005.

  Carnevale, P. J., and de Dreu, C.K.W. (eds.). Methods of Negotiation Research. Leiden, Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff, 2006.

  Carnevale, P. J., and Probst, T. “Social Values and Social Conflict in Creative Problem Solving and Categorization.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1998, 74, 1300–1309.

  Carnevale, P. J., & Wall, J. W., Jr. “The Structure of Mediated Agreements: 10 Countries, 1169 Disputes—A Preliminary Report.” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Association for Conflict Management, Chicago, 2009.

  Cronin, M. A., Argote, L., and Kotovsky, K. “Partitioned Cognition in Group Problem Solving.” Paper presented at the Academy of Management Conference, Denver, 2002.

  de Dreu, C.K.W., and Carnevale, P. J. “Motivational Bases of Information Processing and Strategy in Conflict and Negotiation.” In M. P. Zanna (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (vol. 35). New York: Academic Press, 2003.

  de Dreu, C.K.W., & Nijstad, B. A. “Conflict and Creativity: Threat-Rigidity or Motivated Focus. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2008, 95(3), 648–661.

  Deutsch, M. The Resolution of Conflict: Constructive and Destructive Processes. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1973.

  Dewey, J. Human Nature and Conduct: An Introduction to Social Psychology. New York: Modern Library, 1922.

  Druckman, D. (ed.). Negotiation: Social-Psychological Perspectives. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 1977.

  Fisher, R. “Fractionating Conflict.” In R. Fisher (ed.), International Conflict and Behavioral Science: The Craigville Papers. New York: Basic Books, 1964.

  Fisher, R., Ury, W. L., and Patton, B. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In. (2nd ed.) Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1991.

  Foa, U. G. “Interpersonal and Economic Resources.” Science, 1971, 171, 345–351.

  Follett, M. P. “Constructive Conflict.” In H. C. Metcalf and L. Urwick (eds.), Dynamic Administration: The Collected Papers of Mary Parker Follett. New York: Harper, 1940.

  Gruber, H. E. “The Cooperative Synthesis of Disparate Points of View.” In I. Rock (ed.), The Legacy of Solomon Asch: Essays in Cognition and Social Psychology. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 1990.

  Gunnthorsdottir, A., McCabe, K., and Smith, V. “Using the Machiavellianism Instrument to Predict Trustworthiness in a Bargaining Game.” Journal of Economic Psychology, 2002, 23, 49–66.

  Hilty, J., and P. J. Carnevale. “Black-Hat/Wh
ite-Hat Strategy in Bilateral Negotiation.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1993, 55, 444–469.

  Hopmann, P. T. The Negotiation Process and the Resolution of International Conflicts. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1996.

  Jacobson, D. “Intraparty Dissensus and Interparty Conflict Resolution.” Journal of Conflict Resolution, 1981, 25, 471–494.

  Kahneman, D., and Tversky, A. “Conflict Resolution: A Cognitive Perspective.” In K. Arrow and others (eds.), Barriers to Conflict Resolution. New York: Norton, 1995.

  Kelley, H. H. “A Classroom Study of the Dilemmas in Interpersonal Negotiations.” In K. Archibald (ed.), Strategic Interaction and Conflict: Original Papers and Discussion. Berkeley, CA: Institute of International Studies, 1966.

  Kolb, D. M. When Talk Works: Profiles of Mediators. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.

  Lax, D. A., and Sebenius, J. K. The Manager as Negotiator: Bargaining for Cooperation and Competitive Gain. New York: Free Press, 1986.

  Lax, D. A., and Sebenius, J. K. “Dealcrafting: The Substance of Three-Dimensional Negotiations.” Negotiation Journal, 2002, 18, 5–28.

  Lewin, K. Field Theory in Social Science. New York: Harper, 1951.

  March, J. G. “Exploration and Exploitation in Organizational Learning.” Organization Science, 1991, 2, 71–88.

  McGrath, J. E. Groups: Interaction and Performance. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1984.

  Morgan, P. M., and Tindale, R. S. “Group vs. Individual Performance in Mixed-Motive Situations: Exploring an Inconsistency.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 2002, 87, 44–65.

  Mumford, M. M. “Where Have We Been, Where Are We Going? Taking Stock in Creativity Research.” Creativity Research Journal, 2003, 15, 107–120.

  Nemeth, C. J., Personnaz, B., Personnaz, M., and Goncalo, J. A. “The Liberating Role of Conflict in Group Creativity: A Study in Two Countries.” European Journal of Social Psychology, 2004, 34, 365–374.

  O’Connor, K. M., and Carnevale, P. J. “A Nasty But Effective Negotiation Strategy: Misrepresentation of a Common-Value Issue.” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 1997, 23, 504–515.

  Osborn, A. F. Applied Imagination. New York: Scribner, 1957.

  Paulus, P. B., and Nijstad, B. A. (eds.). Group Creativity: Innovation through Collaboration. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

  Postmes, T., Spears, R., and Cihangir, S. “Quality of Decision Making and Group Norms.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2001, 80, 918–930.

  Pruitt, D. G. Negotiation Behavior. New York: Academic Press, 1981.

  Pruitt, D. G. “Social Conflict.” In D. T. Gilbert and S. T. Fiske (eds.), The Handbook of Social Psychology (vol. 2, 4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998.

  Pruitt, D. G., and Carnevale, P. J. “The Development of Integrative Agreements.” In V. Derlega and J. Grzelak (eds.), Cooperation and Helping Behavior: Theories and Research. New York: Academic Press, 1982.

  Pruitt, D. G., and Carnevale, P. J. Negotiation in Social Conflict. Buckingham, England: Open University Press, 1993.

  Pruitt, D. G., and Kim, S. H. Social Conflict: Escalation, Stalemate, and Settlement (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.

  Pruitt, D. G., and Lewis, S. A. “Development of Integrative Solutions in Bilateral Negotiation.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1975, 31, 621–633.

  Ross, D. “Camp David: An Exchange.” New York Review of Books, September 20, 2001, 48, #14. http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2001/sep/20/camp-david-an-exchange/

  Ross, L., and Ward, A. “Psychological Barriers to Dispute Resolution.” In M. Zanna (ed.), Advances in Experimental Social Psychology (vol. 27). San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1995.

  Rothman, J. Resolving Identity Based Conflict in Nations, Organizations, and Communities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1997.

  Rubin, J. Z. “Experimental Research on Third-Party Intervention in Conflict: Toward Some Generalizations.” Psychological Bulletin, 1980, 87, 379–391.

  Rubin, J. Z. (ed.). Dynamics of Third-Party Intervention: Kissinger in the Middle East. New York: Praeger, 1981.

  Runco, M. A. “Creativity.” Annual Review of Psychology, 2004, 55, 657–687.

  Samuels, D. “In a Ruined Country: How Yasir Arafat Destroyed Palestine.” Atlantic Monthly, 2005, 296, 60–91.

  Satha-Anand, C. “Three Prophets’ Nonviolent Actions: Case Stories from the Lives of the Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad.” In Chaiwat Satha-Anand and Michael True (eds.), The Frontiers of Nonviolence. Honolulu: International Peace Research Association, 1998.

  Sherif, M., and Sherif, C. W. Social Psychology. New York: HarperCollins, 1969.

  Simon, H. A. Models of Man: Social and Rational. New York: Wiley, 1957.

  Simon, H. A. “Creativity in the Arts and the Sciences.” Canyon Review and Stand, 2001, 23, 203–220.

  Simonton, D. K. “Scientific Creativity as Constrained Stochastic Behavior: The Integration of Product, Person, and Process Perspectives.” Psychological Bulletin, 2003, 129, 475–494.

  Simonton, D. K. Creativity in Science: Chance, Logic, Genius, and Zeitgeist. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

  Smith, V. L. “Constructivist and Ecological Rationality in Economics.” American Economic Review, 2003, 93, 465–508.

  Smith, G.J.W. “How Should Creativity Be Defined?” Creativity Research Journal, 2005, 17, 293–295.

  Sternberg, R. J. Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

  Sternberg, R. J., and Lubart, T. I. “The Concept of Creativity: Prospects and Paradigms.” In Robert J. Sternberg (ed.), Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.

  Thomas, K. “Conflict and Conflict Management.” In M. D. Dunnette (ed.), Handbook of Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1976.

  Walton, R. E., and McKersie, R. A Behavioral Theory of Labor Negotiations: An Analysis of a Social Interaction System. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1965.

  Welton, G. L., Pruitt, D. G., and McGillicuddy, N. B. “The Role of Caucusing in Community Mediation.” Journal of Conflict Resolution, 1988, 32, 181–201.

  Yamagishi, T. “The Provision of a Sanctioning System as a Public Good.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1986, 51, 110–116.

  Zartman, I. W. “The Timing of Peace Initiatives: Hurting Stalemates and Ripe Moments.” Global Review of Ethnopolitics, 2001, 1, 8–18.

  aWriting this chapter was supported by National Science Foundation Grant SES-0453301, Group Effects in Bilateral Negotiation. Special thanks to Morton Deutsch, Peter Coleman, Eric Marcus, and Andrea Hollingshead for many helpful comments on an earlier draft.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHANGE AND CONFLICT Motivation, Resistance, and Commitment

  Eric C. Marcus

  Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict.

  —Saul Alinsky (1971)

  In this chapter, I consider the relationship between change processes and conflict. If we define conflict as incompatibility—of ideas, beliefs, behaviors, roles, needs, desires, values, and so on—then resolving such incompatibility leads in some way to change: in attitude, perception, belief, norms, behavior, roles, relationship, and so forth. I examine how conflict influences change and how change influences the conflict process. Finally, I discuss some of the implications these influences have on the practice of training people in skills for productive conflict resolution.

  I make the assumption that the process of change is, at its core, one of conflict resolution. Therefore, one can think of change as an outcome of a constructive or destructive conflict resolution process and the process of change as a series of conflict resolution activities that lead to some new (changed) end state. Thus, engaging in planned and spontaneous change gives rise to conflict; conversely, conflicts and how they ar
e resolved exert a strong influence on the success of change efforts. A second assumption I make is that there is a conceptual similarity in the process of change for individuals, groups, and organizations.

  In this chapter, I look at common theoretical notions regarding the process of change and focus on three critical psychological components involved in any planned effort of change: motivation, resistance, and commitment to change. I start by clarifying a few ideas about change that guide the remainder of the chapter: definition, context, and scope. I rely on a dictionary definition: “To cause to be different; to give a completely different form or appearance to; transform.” My discussion centers on change affecting individuals and groups within a social context, that is, changes in the social systems of which we are part: a dyad (a marital relationship), small groups we belong to (the fundraising committee of the PTA), and larger groups (the organization in which we work). My interest is in looking at change as it occurs in such social systems as distinct from changes in weather patterns and other types occurring outside our individual or social realm.

  THEORETICAL CONCEPTIONS OF THE CHANGE PROCESS

  Although there are many psychological theories of individual change (notably the psychodynamic and learning theories), few have been applied to understand change as it occurs in social systems. Nevertheless, Lewin, Beckhard, Bridges, Burke, Prochaska, and others offer theoretical conceptions to help us understand the process of change occurring in organizations and groups as well as individuals. Lewin provides an overall theoretical framework for understanding the process of change in these types of social systems. Beckhard and Harris, Bridges, Burke, and others apply the concepts to understanding planned change. Prochaska, DiClemente, and Norcross (1992) apply a similar linear notion of behavior change as it applies to individuals. I briefly review some of these conceptualizations and then explore key aspects of each and their related dynamics of motivation, resistance, and commitment during the process of change. Furthermore, observations about how planned change occurs have changed in the last decade. Approaches trying to capture the process of change by using a linear view have embraced views that are less linear, seemingly more chaotic yet patterned (See Coleman, chapter 30) and even looked at as successfully coming about through dramatic, sudden episodes driven by subtle, small shifts (Gladwell, 2002). I begin with the more traditional and more time-tested understandings of the process of planned change.