Resolving Interpersonal Conflicts: An Analysis of Stylistic Consistency

In three experiments, we examined people's consistency in their styles of resolving interpersonal conflicts. In Experiment 1, 40 Yale undergraduates described recent significant interpersonal conflicts with a same-sex peer, an opposite-sex peer, and a parent, and their methods of resolving thes...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality and social psychology 1987-04, Vol.52 (4), p.794-812
Main Authors: Sternberg, Robert J, Dobson, Diane M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Conflict Resolution
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Human
Interpersonal Interaction
Parent Child Relations
Peer Relations
Personal relationships
Personality
Pilot projects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Social interactions. Communication. Group processes
Social psychology
Social research
Teacher Student Interaction
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Summary:In three experiments, we examined people's consistency in their styles of resolving interpersonal conflicts. In Experiment 1, 40 Yale undergraduates described recent significant interpersonal conflicts with a same-sex peer, an opposite-sex peer, and a parent, and their methods of resolving these conflicts. They then rated the extent to which each of seven styles of conflict resolution characterized their actual and ideal styles of conflict resolution. In Experiment 2, 40 Yale summer school subjects again described and rated their own methods for resolving recent significant interpersonal conflicts with a parent, a teacher, a roommate, and a romantic partner. They also rated styles of conflict resolution for hypothetical conflicts involving these same significant others. In Experiment 3, 40 Yale undergraduates rated actual and ideal styles of conflict resolution as they pertained to both sides of two real conflicts: one regarding a contract dispute between Yale University and Local 34, the union for clerical and technical workers, and the other between the United States and the Soviet Union over arms negotiations. Strong consistencies in styles of conflict resolution were observed within individuals across various interpersonal conflicts, and at the same time widespread differences were observed across individuals in preferred styles of conflict resolution.
ISSN:0022-3514
1939-1315
DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.52.4.794