Interpersonal conflict in organizations plays an important role in performance, but the exact nature of that role remains unclear. Among conflict researchers a shift has occurred from believing that all conflict is debilitating for organizational performance to the realization that there are both positive and negative aspects of conflict. Contemporary research adopts a distinction between task conflict and relationship conflict. Conceptually, a positive relationship has been proposed between task conflict and performance, while a negative relationship has been proposed between relationship conflict and performance. Empirically, however, there has been wide variation in the findings linking either type of conflict with performance. A recent meta-analysis by De Wit and Greer (2008) found that across studies linking task conflict and performance, findings reflected positive, negative and no relationships. Similarly, for relationship conflict, though a predominantly negative relationship was found across studies, there was wide variation in relationship magnitudes across studies. These meta-analytic results show that the effects sizes across both types of conflict studies are mainly negative. However, given the large standard deviation estimates in both cases, there were also positive effect sizes in some of the studies. The wide variation across studies leads to the conclusion that in most studies conflict is detrimental, but in some it truly can be useful. Also, it suggests that the relationship between both task and relationship conflict and performance needs to be clarified. Consequently, this research aims to examine the source of the inconsistencies within the conflict literature by introducing a behavioral taxonomy to help explain the relationship between performance and the two types of conflict. Using a quasi-experimental design to study conflict, I will be able to induce conflict and observe the team behavioral dynamics as they unfold. Revised file, GMc 5/28/2014 per Dean DePauw / Ph. D.

The current study examined the hypothesis that in the presence of a stressor, the social context (dyad relationship versus a group relationship) can influence whether children and adolescents display internalizing as opposed to externalizing emotions and behaviors. Specifically, it was hypothesized that more internalizing relative to externalizing behaviors would be reported to occur in a dyad than a group. Three hundred and eighty-six children and adolescents (176 females and 210 males) from three grade levels (1,5, and 10) participated in the study. A measure was developed to simulate, as closely as possible, two realistic stressful events that might typically arise in the daily lives of school age children and adolescents. Participants were asked to rate how other children their age and gender would respond in these situations, with the intention of tapping into children and adolescents' knowledge of the occurrence of internalizing versus externalizing responses. The findings partially supported the hypothesis that the social context regulates expectations for emotional and behavioral responses to the same stressor in children and adolescents. Following a conflict, both female and male participants reported expecting higher rates of internalizing relative to externalizing emotions and behaviors for the target individuals in the dyadic versus group context.

Thesis (Ph.D.). / Written for the Dept. of Educational and Counselling Psychology. Title from title page of PDF (viewed 2008/07/28). Includes bibliographical references.

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Many high school communities across the United States grapple with issues of bullying, harassment and other forms of student conflict that are often the result of intolerance and misunderstandings across and among social identities (Griffin et. al., 2012). In an effort to rebuild tone and community, however, schools have focused predominantly on (1) addressing only antagonistic student behavior and (2) tolerance-based approaches that result in the superficial “choreography of civil speech” (Mayo. 2004). Both methods, in different ways, have struggled to meaningfully address many of the underlying issues responsible for intergroup and interpersonal conflict and the deterioration of community in schools (Dessel, 2010; Poteat & DiGiovanni, 2010). This qualitative case study examines the impact of an innovative arts-based curriculum designed to center the construction and performance of student “creative authoethnographies” in the classroom as a way of proactively working toward dialogue about identity and social analysis. Conducted over the course of a single school year at a high school in New York City, this research looks carefully at the experiences of seven students. Through close analysis of student interviews, archived student writing, curriculum documents, student surveys and other qualitative data, this work strives to articulate what courses such as these offer students, and how their presence in schools holds the potential to directly address issues of bullying and conflict across difference. Responding to the critical multiculturalist call (Banks, 1995, Morrell, 2007; Camangian, 2010) for a pedagogy that combines the successful but historically separate practices of autoethnography and the teaching of dialogue skills, this study introduces “cultural ruptures” and a “pedagogy of disruption” as part of a new approach to engaging young people in an of education that is explicit in it’s efforts to critique society and interrogate one’s own identity (Freire & Macedo, 1987). This research also advocates strongly on behalf of English classrooms (and English teachers specifically) as among the most important “actors” in the work of humanizing education, and offers tangible recommendations and strategies for practitioners toward that end.

This thesis investigates metaphoric structure revealed during discussions about conflict, and poses the general question: What conceptual metaphors do married individuals use to structure their marital conflict? Theoretical issues of metaphor analysis and general issues of conflict management are reviewed, providing a background for the study's approach to data collection and analysis. Eight married individuals were interviewed. Interviews were tape recorded. The interview schedule was structured around issues of topic, setting, process, response, and communication of typical, as well as a most recent, marital conflict. More specific probing followed respondents' comments. Using techniques of interpretive analysis, transcripts from the interviews were analyzed for emergent metaphors. Data from the transcripts coalesced around the topics of structural, ontological, and orientational metaphors. Implications for conflict management and marital counseling are discussed. Finally, in view of the study's limitations and strengths, the thesis concludes with suggested directions for future research.

In this study, comparisons on job stressors and job strains have been made between American and Chinese employees. Data were collected from two jobs differing in social status: university professors and university administrative and support staff. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used. The quantitative part involved traditional Likert scales for measuring job stressors (e.g., lack of job autonomy, interpersonal conflict, and organizational constraints), and job strains (e.g., turnover intention, frustration, negative emotions, job dissatisfaction, depression, and physical symptoms). The qualitative part was an open-ended questionnaire asking about a stressful job incident. Independent t-tests were used to compare the United States to China on the job stressors and job strains for the quantitative data. Content analyses were applied on the open-ended answers. Finally, I conducted chi-square tests to examine if the frequencies of reported stressors/strains between the U.S. sample and the Chinese sample were significantly different. From the quantitative analyses on job stressors, American employees perceived more job autonomy and organizational constraints than Chinese employees. There was no significant difference between the two samples on interpersonal conflict. The analyses on the qualitative data revealed that heavy workload, interpersonal conflicts, and organizational constraints were the common job stressors for both the U.S. and Chinese samples. However, lack of job control was a unique stressor for American employees, while performance evaluations and work mistakes were specifically stressful for Chinese employees. The Chi-square analysis yielded a significant difference in the nature of reported stressors between the U.S. and Chinese sample. The qualitative analyses on job strain data revealed that, under high pressure, American employees tended to be angry and frustrated, while Chinese employees tended to feel worried and helpless. The most important physical symptom for the U.S. sample was tiredness and exhaust, while sleep problems was serious to Chinese sample. The Chisquare analysis yielded a significant difference in both psychological and physical strains between the U.S. and Chinese samples.

The program of research reported here was concerned with what makes difficult face-to-face communication in work settings difficult. A framework for analysing this problem was developed by bringing together the disparate literatures of communications theory and cognitive appraisal theory. The framework identified the outcome of an instance of face-to-face communication at work as a function of features of the situation, the appraisal that the worker makes in the situation, and the response strategies selected for dealing with the situation. The research program was directed to operationalising these constructs and studying their interrelationship. The first two studies reported in the thesis (Studies 1 and 2) revealed the types of communication encounters that are most difficult to manage at work, and offered insight into why these situations are difficult. Qualitative and quantitative data were gathered and the quantitative data analysed using multidimensional scaling techniques. The results provided a taxonomy of difficult communication situations in the workplace. The next two studies (Studies 3 and 4) focused on the development of measures of primary and secondary appraisal, and on a taxonomy of response strategies applicable to work settings. A new measure of primary appraisal was developed from qualitative data pertaining specifically to the domain of difficult communication contexts. Principal components analysis was used in the development of the response strategies instrument. Study 5, the final study, reported the results of the application of cognitive appraisal theory to the context of difficult communication at work. In this study, the theory was applied to four difficult communication situations identified in Study 1, and the relationships among appraisal, response strategy, and outcome were investigated using principal components analysis and, subsequently, hierarchical regression analysis. The results indicated that, as the appraisal of the context varies, so too does the choice of response strategy, lending support to the transactional model. Appraisal contributes significantly to response strategy choice and to the outcome of the situation over and above that offered by response strategies alone. In addition, the findings revealed that appraisal of the situation differ across situations and according to the status of the other person in the encounter. The findings of the series of studies reported here point to the value of viewing difficult communication situations in the workplace in terms of the interrelated constructs of situations, appraisals, strategies rather than, as more commonly, in terms of characteristics of ‘difficult’ persons. Some situations are inherently more difficult than others, appraisals alter the difficulty level of situations, and the availability of response strategies influence outcome. Appraisal is, however, a construct of central importance, in much the same way it is in the research context from which it was appropriated, viz stress research. Appraisal contributes significantly to choice of response strategy and directly to outcome over an above the contribution of response strategy. The research program was not without its shortcomings, among them the reliance on retrospective reports of participants about their behaviour, and these need to be addressed in future research. The findings as they stand do, however, point to more useful ways of conceptualising difficult situations at work and devising methods of intervention that will ensure better outcomes, in a significant area of life in the modern workplace.

Violence within marital dyads is a problem with deep historic roots in American culture. Although the family is idealized as a safe and loving haven from a cruel world, this ideal is often not achieved by many couples. This study develops an integrated theoretical perspective that combines feminist theory and social exchange theory to examine levels of domestic conflict. A regression model was constructed to test the hypothesis that identification with fundamentalist Protestant religious and moral beliefs and the economic dependence of women were factors contributing to high levels of violent conflict within marital dyads. The study analyzed data gathered from a probability sample of 3421 married couples. The dependent variable, marital conflict, was operationalized using a modified version of the Conflict Tactics Scale (Straus, 1979). This variable was regressed on the independent variables: Protestant fundamentalist religiosity, religious affiliation, Protestant moral/family values, wives' economic dependency and the economic, social and demographic variables cited in the literature for their relationship to dyadic violence. The study found that identification with a fundamentalist Protestant religious discourse was not significantly related to increased levels of dyadic violence. Agreement with the basic moral/family values of the fundamentalist Protestant discourse were significantly related to lower levels of conflict. Women's economic dependency was also significantly related to lower levels of conflict. These data support the conclusion that women who identify with conservative values and acquiesce to the male power structure by choosing a more traditional life-course of economic dependency are less likely to be involved in high conflict or violent marriages. / Graduation date: 1992

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