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106 Conflict Resolution Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

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Conflict resolution is an essential skill that plays a crucial role in various aspects of our lives. Whether it is in personal relationships, the workplace, or even on a global scale, conflicts are inevitable. However, it is how we address and resolve these conflicts that determines the outcome and impact they have on our lives and the world around us.

Writing an essay on conflict resolution can provide a deeper understanding of this skill and its significance. To help you get started, here are 106 conflict resolution essay topic ideas and examples:

The importance of conflict resolution in personal relationships.
Conflict resolution techniques used in international diplomacy.
The role of empathy in conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution strategies for parents and children.
The impact of unresolved conflicts on mental health.
Conflict resolution in the workplace: best practices.
The role of effective communication in resolving conflicts.
Conflict resolution in multicultural societies.
The influence of gender on conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution and negotiation skills in business.
The role of compromise in resolving conflicts.
Conflict resolution in online communities.
The impact of conflict resolution on organizational productivity.
Conflict resolution and its effect on community building.
The role of forgiveness in conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution in educational settings.
Conflict resolution in the criminal justice system.
The impact of cultural differences on conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution in the healthcare industry.
Conflict resolution in sports teams.
Conflict resolution and human rights.
The role of power dynamics in conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution and social media.
The impact of conflict resolution on economic development.
Conflict resolution in environmental disputes.
Conflict resolution and international cooperation.
The role of mediation in conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution in the family business.
The impact of conflict resolution on personal growth.
Conflict resolution and social justice.
Conflict resolution and restorative justice.
The role of negotiation in conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution in political campaigns.
The impact of conflict resolution on romantic relationships.
Conflict resolution in the classroom.
Conflict resolution and conflict prevention.
The role of compromise in international conflicts.
Conflict resolution and the media.
Conflict resolution in the digital age.
The impact of conflict resolution on community engagement.
Conflict resolution and public policy.
Conflict resolution and mental health stigma.
The role of leadership in conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution in the family court system.
Conflict resolution and peacebuilding.
The impact of conflict resolution on employee satisfaction.
Conflict resolution in the nonprofit sector.
Conflict resolution and social inequality.
The role of trust in conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution in the music industry.
Conflict resolution in urban planning.
The impact of conflict resolution on interpersonal relationships.
Conflict resolution in the military.
Conflict resolution and workplace diversity.
The role of emotions in conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution and environmental conservation.
Conflict resolution in international trade disputes.
Conflict resolution and community policing.
The impact of conflict resolution on team dynamics.
Conflict resolution in diplomatic negotiations.
Conflict resolution and conflict transformation.
The role of dialogue in conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution and social change.
Conflict resolution in healthcare teams.
Conflict resolution and human rights violations.
The impact of conflict resolution on organizational culture.
Conflict resolution in online gaming communities.
Conflict resolution and the justice system.
The role of compromise in interpersonal conflicts.
Conflict resolution and urban development.
Conflict resolution in the tech industry.
The impact of conflict resolution on workplace communication.
Conflict resolution and gender equality.
Conflict resolution in community organizations.
Conflict resolution and sustainable development.
The role of active listening in conflict resolution.
Conflict resolution in international peacekeeping missions.
Conflict resolution and social entrepreneurship.
The impact of conflict resolution on employee well-being.
Conflict resolution in the film industry.
Conflict resolution and environmental justice.
The role of negotiation in interpersonal conflicts.
Conflict resolution in public health emergencies.
Conflict resolution and poverty reduction.
Conflict resolution in online dating.
The impact of conflict resolution on family dynamics.
Conflict resolution and international human rights law.
Conflict resolution and workplace ethics.
The role of compromise in political conflicts.
Conflict resolution in the fashion industry.
Conflict resolution and sustainable agriculture.
Conflict resolution in international aid organizations.
The impact of conflict resolution on organizational effectiveness.
Conflict resolution in online marketing campaigns.
Conflict resolution and racial justice.
The role of empathy in interpersonal conflicts.
Conflict resolution in disaster response efforts.
Conflict resolution and social media activism.
The impact of conflict resolution on team performance.
Conflict resolution in international business transactions.
Conflict resolution and sustainable tourism.
Conflict resolution in humanitarian interventions.
The role of compromise in environmental conflicts.
Conflict resolution and sustainable energy.
Conflict resolution in international sports competitions.
The impact of conflict resolution on community empowerment.

These essay topics cover a wide range of areas where conflict resolution plays a significant role. Whether you are interested in personal relationships, international affairs, or social justice, there is a topic that suits your interests. Remember to conduct thorough research and provide examples to support your arguments. Good luck with your essay!

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Article contents

Conflict management.

Patricia Elgoibar , Patricia Elgoibar University of Barcelona
Martin Euwema Martin Euwema Katholieke Universiteit Leuven
and Lourdes Munduate Lourdes Munduate University of Seville
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.5
Published online: 28 June 2017

Conflicts are part of nature and certainly part of human relations, between individuals, as well as within and between groups. Conflicts occur in every domain of life: family, work, and society, local and global. Conflict management, therefore, is an essential competency for each person. People differ largely in their emotional and behavioral responses to conflict and need to learn how to behave effectively in different conflict situations. This requires a contingency approach, first assessing the conflict situation, and then choosing a strategy, matching the goals of the party. In most situations, fostering cooperative relations will be most beneficial; however, this is also most challenging. Therefore, constructive conflict management strategies, including trust building and methods of constructive controversy, are emphasized. Conflict management, however, is broader than the interaction of the conflicting parties. Third-party interventions are an essential element of constructive conflict management, particularly the assessment of which parties are intervening in what ways at what escalation stage.

cooperation
competition
conflict behavior
conglomerate conflict behavior
constructive conflict management
conflict resolution strategies

Definition of Conflict

Conflicts are part of nature, and certainly part of human relations. People experience conflict with other persons, in teams or in groups, as well as between larger entities, departments, organizations, communities, and countries. Conflicts appear at home, at work, and in our spare-time activities with friends, with people we love and with people we hate, as well as with our superiors and with our subordinates and coworkers. Parties need to accept conflicts as part of life dynamics and learn to deal with them effectively and efficiently. Conflict management refers to the way we manage incompatible actions with others, where others can be a person or a group.

Conflict is a component of interpersonal interactions; it is neither inevitable nor intrinsically bad, but it is commonplace (Coleman, Deutsch, & Marcus, 2014 ; Schellenberg, 1996 ). In the 20th century , Lewin ( 1935 ) concluded that an intrinsic state of tension motivates group members to move toward the accomplishment of their desired common goals. Later on, Parker Follett ( 1941 ) explored the constructive side of conflict and defined conflict as the appearance of difference, difference of opinions or difference of interests. Deutsch ( 1949 ) developed this line of thought and analyzed the relation between the way group members believe their goals are related and their interactions and relationships.

A common definition of conflict argues that there is a conflict between two (or more) parties (individuals or groups) if at least one of them is offended, or feels bothered by the other (Van de Vliert, 1997 ; Wall & Callister, 1995 ). Traditionally, conflict has been defined as opposing interests involving scarce resources and goal divergence and frustration (Pondy, 1967 ). However, Deutsch ( 1973 ) defined conflict as incompatible activities: one person's actions interfere, obstruct, or in some way get in the way of another's action. Tjosvold, Wan, and Tang ( 2016 ) proposed that defining conflict as incompatible actions is a much stronger foundation than defining conflict as opposing interests, because conflicts also can occur when people have common goals (i.e., they may disagree about the best means to achieve their common goals). The key contribution of Deutsch’s ( 1973 ) proposal is that incompatible activities occur in both compatible and incompatible goal contexts. Whether the protagonists believe their goals are cooperative or competitive very much affects their expectations, interaction, and outcomes as they approach conflict (Tjosvold et al., 2016 ).

Characteristics of Conflict

Euwema and Giebels ( 2017 ) highlighted some key elements of conflict.

Conflict implies dependence and interdependence. Parties rely to some extent on the other parties to realize their goals (Kaufman, Elgoibar, & Borbely, 2016 ). This interdependence can be positive (a cooperative context), negative (a competitive context), or mixed. Positive interdependence is strongly related to cooperative conflict behaviors, while negative interdependence triggers competitive behaviors (Johnson & Johnson, 2005 ). Interdependence also reflects the power difference between parties. A short-term contractor on a low-paid job usually is much more dependent on the employer than vice versa. Many conflicts, however, can be seen as “mixed motive” situations.

Conflicts are mostly mixed motive situations because parties have simultaneous motives to cooperate and motives to compete. Parties are, on the one hand, dependent on each other to realize their goal, and, on the other hand, they are at the same time competitors. For example, two colleagues on a team are cooperating for the same team result; however, there is competition for the role as project leader. In a soccer team, the players have a team goal of working together to win, but they can be competing to be the top scorer. The mixed motive structure is very important to understand conflict dynamics. When conflicts arise, the competitive aspects become more salient, and the cooperative structure often is perceived less by parties. Interventions to solve conflict, therefore, are often related to these perceptions and the underlying structures.

Conflict is a psychological experience. Conflict is by definition a personal and subjective experience, as each individual can perceive and manage the same conflict in a different manner. Conflict doesn’t necessarily have an objective basis (Van de Vliert, 1997 ). It depends on the perception of the specific situation, and the perception is by definition subjective and personal.

Conflict concerns cognitive and affective tension. When someone perceives blocked goals and disagreements, he or she can also, although not necessarily, feel fear or anger. Many authors consider that conflict is emotionally charged (Nair, 2007 ; Pondy, 1967 ; Sinaceur, Adam, Van Kleef, & Galinky, 2013 ), although the emotion doesn’t need to be labeled necessarily as a negative emotion. Some people actually enjoy conflict. Emotional experiences in conflict are also scripted by cultural, historical, and personal influences (Lindner, 2014 ).

Conflict can be unidirectional. One party can feel frustrated or thwarted by the other while the second party is hardly aware of, and doesn’t perceive the same reality of, the conflict.

Conflict is a process. Conflict is a dynamic process that does not appear suddenly, but takes some time to develop and passes through several stages (Spaho, 2013 ). Conflict is the process resulting from the tension in interpersonal interactions or between team members because of real or perceived differences (De Dreu & Weingart, 2003 ; Thomas, 1992 ; Wall & Callister, 1995 ).

Type of Conflict: Task, Process, and Relationship Conflict

Early conflict and organizational research concluded that conflict interferes with team performance and reduces satisfaction due to an increase in tension and distraction from the objective (Brown, 1983 ; Hackman & Morris, 1975 ; Pondy, 1967 ; Wall & Callister, 1995 ). Jehn ( 1995 ) differentiated between task and relational conflict, and later also included process conflict (De Wit, Greer, & Jehn, 2012 ). Task conflict refers to different opinions on content (Jehn & Mannix, 2001 ). Examples of task conflict are conflict about distribution of resources, about procedures and policies, and judgment and interpretation of facts (De Dreu & Weingart, 2003 ). Process conflict refers to how tasks should be accomplished (Jehn, Greer, Levine, & Szulanski, 2008 ). Examples are disagreements about logistic and delegation issues (Jehn et al., 2008 ). Finally, relationship conflict refers to “interpersonal incompatibility” (Jehn, 1995 , p. 257). Examples of relationship conflict are conflict about personal taste, political preferences, values, and interpersonal style (De Dreu & Weingart, 2003 ). All three types of conflict—task, process, and personal (relational) conflicts—are usually disruptive, especially personal conflict, which is highly disruptive (De Dreu & Weingart, 2003 ; Jehn, 1995 , 1997 ). A review and meta-analysis by De Wit et al. ( 2012 ) showed that, under specific conditions, task conflict can be productive for teams. Moreover, conflict can wreck a team’s efforts to share information and reach a consensus (Amason & Schweiger, 1994 ). Therefore, research supporting the benefit of task and relationship conflict is not conclusive and each situation varies. What seems to be clear is that managing conflict efficiently to avoid escalation is a priority for teams.

Conflict Behavior, Conflict Management, and Conflict Resolution

Conflict behavior, conflict management, and conflict resolution are different layers of a conflict process and therefore should be distinguished. Conflict behavior is any behavioral response to the experience of frustration, while conflict management is the deliberate action to deal with conflictive situations, both to prevent or to escalate them. Also, conflict management is differentiated from conflict resolution, which is specific action aimed to end a conflict.

Conflict Behavior

Conflict behavior is the behavioral response to the experience of conflict (Van de Vliert et al., 1995 ). Conflict behavior is defined as one party’s reaction to the perception that one’s own and the other party’s current aspiration cannot be achieved simultaneously (Deutsch, 1973 ; Pruitt, 1981 ; Rubin, Pruitt, & Kim, 1994 ). It is both what people experiencing conflict intend to do, as well as what they actually do (De Dreu, Evers, Beersma, Kluwer, & Nauta, 2001 ; Van de Vliert, 1997 ). In conflict situations people often respond primarily, following their emotions, more or less conscientiously.

Many factors affect how people respond to the experience of conflict. Social psychology shows the processes are largely unconscious (Wilson, 2004 ). For example, how people respond to intimidating behavior by their supervisor might be primarily influenced by the context and individual perception, as well as previous relations with persons in authority, including parents and teachers (Gelfand & Brett, 2004 ; Van Kleef & Cote, 2007 ). These natural behavioral responses are also referred to as “conflict styles.” They are rooted in our personality and can differ in context. Some people will naturally respond by being friendly and accommodating, where others will start arguing or fighting (Barbuto, Phipps, & Xu, 2010 ; Kilmann & Thomas, 1977 ; Van Kleef & Cote, 2007 ).

Conflict behavior becomes more effective once we are more aware of our natural tendencies and are also able not to act upon them, and instead to show flexibility in behavioral approaches. This is where conflict behavior becomes conflict management. Therefore, one can be a naturally highly accommodating person who will spontaneously give in to others who make demands, but one will be more effective after learning to assess the situation at hand and to carefully decide on a response, which might be quite different from the natural or spontaneous reaction.

Dual-Concern Model

The dual-concern model holds that the way in which parties handle conflicts can de described and is determined by two concerns: concern for self (own interests) and concern for others (relational interests) (Blake & Mouton, 1964 ; Pruitt & Rubin, 1986 ; Rahim, 1983 ; Thomas, 1992 ; Van de Vliert, 1999 ) (see Figure 1 ). Usually, the two concerns define five different conflict behaviors: forcing, avoiding, accommodating, compromising, and problem solving or integrating. These behaviors are studied at the level of general personal conflict styles, closely connected to personality, as well as at the level of strategies and tactics (Euwema & Giebels, 2017 ).

The different conflict styles have been studied intensively, with three approaches. A normative approach, wherein integrating (also known as problem solving) is seen as the preferred behavior for conflict resolution; a contingency approach, exploring conditions under which each of the behaviors is most appropriate; and a conglomerate approach, focusing on a combination of the behaviors (see “ Conglomerate Conflict Behavior ”).

Figure 1. Dual-concern model.

In forcing, one party aims to achieve his or her goal by imposing a solution onto the other party. Concern for one’s own interests and own vision is what matters. There is little attention and care for the interests and needs of the other party, or the relationship with the other (Euwema & Giebels, 2017 ). This style is appropriate when the outcome is important for one party but trivial to the opponent, or when fast decision making is necessary. It becomes inappropriate when issues are complex, when both parties are equally powerful, when the outcome is not worth the effort for one party, or when there is enough time to make a collective decision. Moreover, forcing decisions can seriously damage a relationship and contribute to bullying in the workplace (Baillien, Bollen, Euwema, & De Witte, 2014 ); however, normative forcing, which is referring to rules and imposing them, can be effective (De Dreu, 2005 ). Note that some alternative terms that have been used for forcing in the literature are competitive , contending , or adversarial behavior .

With avoiding, one party aims to stay out of any confrontation with the other. This behavior prevents efforts to yield, to negotiate constructively, or to compete for one’s own gains. The conflict issue receives little attention, usually because the avoiding party thinks he or she won’t gain from entering into the conflict (Euwema & Giebels, 2017 ; Van de Vliert, 1997 ). Avoiding may be used when the benefits of resolving the conflict are not worth confronting the other party, especially when the problem is trivial or minor; when no good solutions are available for now; or when time is needed (Van Erp et al., 2011 ). An important motive for avoiding also is to prevent loss of face and to maintain the relationship. This is particularly true in collectivistic cultures, particularly in Asian societies (Oetzel et al., 2001 ). Avoiding is inappropriate when the issues are important to a party, when the parties cannot wait, or when immediate action is required (Rahim, 2002 ). Rubin, Pruitt, and Kim ( 1994 ) distinguished between long-term avoidance, which is a permanent move to leave the conflict, and short-term avoidance, defined as temporary inaction.

Accommodating

Accommodating is giving in or going along with the ideas, wishes, and needs of the other party. Accommodating usually is the result of a low concern for one’s own conflictive interests combined with a high concern for the interests and needs of the other party. Giving in often is related to a strong need for harmony and a sensitivity to the needs of the other. Accommodation is useful when a party is not familiar with the issues involved in the conflict, when the opponent is right, when the issue is much more important to the other party, and in order to build or maintain a long-term relationship, in exchange for future consideration when needed. Giving in also can be an educational strategy, giving space to the other to find out what the effect will be. Accommodating is less appropriate when the issue is of great concern, when accommodation creates frustration, or when accommodation reinforces dynamics of exploitation (Spaho, 2013 ). Note that an alternative term for this concept that can be found in the literature is yielding .

Compromising

Compromising involves searching for a middle ground, with an eye on both one’s own interest and the interest of the other. The premise is that both parties must find a middle ground where everyone receives equal consideration, meaning that each party makes some concession (Van de Vliert, 1997 ). Compromising is appropriate when a balance of forces exists and the goals of parties are mutually exclusive (Buddhodev, 2011 ). Compromise leads to a democratic solution; however, it may prevent arriving at a creative solution to the problem and a limited effort to increase resources before distributing them (Spaho, 2013 ).

Problem Solving or Integrating

Problem solving is a win–win strategy aimed at “optimizing rather than satisfying the parties” (Van de Vliert, 1997 , p. 36). Great value is attached to one’s own interests and vision, but also a lot of attention is given to the needs, ideas, and interests of the other. One looks for open and creative solutions that meet both interests. Problem solving or integrating is useful in dealing with complex issues, and it allows both parties to share skills, information, and other resources to redefine the problem and formulate alternative solutions. It is, however, inappropriate when the task is simple or trivial, and when there is no time. Also, it is more difficult to develop when the other party does not have experience in problem solving or when the parties are unconcerned about the outcomes (Pruitt & Rubin, 1986 ). Note that some alternative terms that can be found in the literature for this concept are cooperation and collaboration .

The dual-concern model is used as a contingency model, describing which conflict behaviors are used best under what conditions (Van de Vliert et al., 1997 ), and also as a normative model, promoting integrating behaviors as the most effective style, particularly when it comes to joined outcomes and long-term effectiveness. Forcing, in contrast, is often described as a noncooperative behavior, with risk of escalated and unilateral outcomes (Blake & Mouton, 1964 ; Burke, 1970 ; Deutsch, 1973 ; Fisher & Ury, 1981 ; Pruitt & Rubin, 1986 ; Rahim, 2010 ; Thomas, 1992 ). As a result, authors define forcing and integrating as two opposed behavioral approaches (Tjosvold, Morishima, & Belsheim, 1999 ). Following this model, many scholars during the 1970s and 1980s proposed that individuals use a single behavior in conflict, or that the behaviors should be seen as independent. Therefore, the antecedents and effects of different conflict behaviors are often analyzed separately (Tjosvold, 1997 ; Volkema & Bergmann, 2001 ). However, parties usually try to achieve personal outcomes, and try to reach mutual agreements by combining several behaviors in a conflict episode (Van de Vliert, 1997 ). This is the basic assumption of the conglomerate conflict behavior (CCB) theory (Van de Vliert, Euwema, & Huismans, 1995 ), which established that conflict behaviors are used in a compatible manner, sequentially or simultaneously.

Conglomerate Conflict Behavior (CCB)

In the dual-concern model, a contrast is made between forcing (contending with an adversary in a direct way) and integrating (reconciling the parties’ basic interests) as two opposed behavioral approaches (Tjosvold et al., 1999 ). However, the CCB framework assumes that individual reactions to conflict typically are complex and consist of multiple components of behavior (Van de Vliert, 1997 , Van de Vliert et al., 1995 ). The CCB theory covers the idea that behavioral components may occur simultaneously or sequentially and that the combination drives toward effectiveness (Euwema & Van Emmerik, 2007 ; Medina & Benitez, 2011 ). The theory has been supported in studies analyzing conflict management effectiveness in different contexts, such as in managerial behavior (Munduate, Ganaza, Peiro, & Euwema, 1999 ), in military peacekeeping (Euwema & Van Emmerik, 2007 ) and by worker representatives in organizations (Elgoibar, 2013 ).

The main reason that people combine different behaviors is because conflicts are often mixed-motive situations (Euwema, Van de Vliert, & Bakker, 2003 ; Euwema & Van Emmerik, 2007 ; Walton & McKersie, 1965 ). Mixed-motive situations are described as situations that pose a conflict between securing immediate benefits through competition, and pursuing benefits for oneself and others through cooperation with other people (Komorita & Parks, 1995 ; Sheldon & Fishbach, 2011 ). Therefore, a person's behavior in a conflict episode is viewed as a combination of some of the five forms of conflict behaviors. An example of sequential complex behavior is to first put the demands clearly (forcing), followed by integrating (searching for mutual gains, and expanding the pie), and finally compromising, where distributive issues are dealt with in a fair way. An example of serial complexity can be found in multi-issue conflict, when for some issues conflict can be avoided, while for high priorities, demands are put on the table in a forcing way. Another CCB pattern is the conglomeration of accommodating and forcing. This pattern is sometimes referred to as “logrolling” (Van de Vliert, 1997 , p. 35), and it is a classic part of integrative strategies, to maximize the outcomes for both parties. Logrolling behavior consists of accommodating the high-concern issues of the other party and forcing one’s own high-concern issues. This approach is usually helpful in multi-issue trade negotiations; however, it requires openness of both parties to acknowledging key interests.

How to Explore Your Tendency in Conflict

The most famous and popular conflict behavior questionnaires are:

MODE (Management of Differences Exercise). MODE, developed in 1974 by Thomas and Killman, presents 30 choices between two options representing different conflict styles.

ROCI (Rahim's Organizational Conflict Inventory). The ROCI is a list of 28 items that measures the five styles of conflict behavior described.

Dutch Test of Conflict Handling. This list of 20 items measures the degree of preference for the five styles (Van de Vliert & Euwema, 1994 ; De Dreu et al., 2001 , 2005 ). It has been validated internationally.

Conflict management is deliberate action to deal with conflictive situations, either to prevent or to escalate them. Unlike conflict behavior, conflict management encompasses cognitive responses to conflict situations, which can vary from highly competitive to highly cooperative. Conflict management does not necessarily involve avoidance, reduction, or termination of conflict. It involves designing effective strategies to minimize the dysfunctions of conflict and to enhance the constructive functions of conflict in order to improve team and organizational effectiveness (Rahim, 2002 ).

Conflicts are not necessarily destructive (De Dreu & Gelfand, 2008 ; Euwema, Munduate, Elgoibar, Pender, & Garcia, 2015 ), and research has shown that constructive conflict management is possible (Coleman, Deutsch, & Marcus, 2014 ). The benefits of conflict are much more likely to arise when conflicts are discussed openly, and when discussion skillfully promotes new ideas and generates creative insights and agreements (Coleman et al., 2014 ; De Dreu & Gelfand, 2008 ; Euwema et al., 2015 ; Tjosvold, Won, & Chen, 2014 ). To make a constructive experience from conflict, conflict needs to be managed effectively.

Deutsch’s classic theory of competition and cooperation describes the antecedents and consequences of parties’ cooperative or competitive orientations and allows insights into what can give rise to constructive or destructive conflict processes (Deutsch, 1973 , 2002 ). The core of the theory is the perceived interdependence of the parties, so that the extent that protagonists believe that their goals are cooperative (positively related) or competitive (negatively related) affects their interaction and thus the outcomes. Positive interdependence promotes openness, cooperative relations, and integrative problem solving. Perceived negative interdependence on the other hand, induces more distance and less openness, and promotes competitive behavior, resulting in distributive bargaining or win–lose outcomes (Tjosvold et al., 2014 ).

Whether the protagonists believe their goals are cooperative or competitive very much affects their expectations, interactions, and outcomes. If parties perceive that they can reach their goals only if the other party also reaches their goals, the goal interdependence is positively perceived and therefore parties will have higher concern for the other’s goals and manage the conflict cooperatively (De Dreu et al., 2001 ; Tjosvold et al., 2014 ). On the contrary, if one party perceives that they can reach their goals only if the other party fails to obtain their goals, the interdependence becomes negatively perceived and the approach to conflict becomes competitive (Tjosvold et al., 2014 ). Goals can also be independent; in that case, conflict can be avoided (the parties don’t need to obstruct each other’s goals to be successful). Therefore, how parties perceive their goals’ interdependence affects how they negotiate conflict and whether the conflict is constructively or destructively managed (Alper et al., 2000 ; Deutsch, 1973 ; Johnson & Johnson, 1989 ; Tjosvold, 2008 ).

Successfully managing conflict cooperatively requires intellectual, emotional, and relational capabilities in order to share information, to contribute to value creation, and to discuss differences constructively (Fisher & Ury, 1981 ; Tjosvold et al., 2014 ). In contrast, a competitive-destructive process leads to material losses and dissatisfaction, worsening relations between parties, and negative psychological effects on at least one party—the loser of a win–lose context (Deutsch, 2014 ).

Deutsch’s theory proposes that emphasizing cooperative goals in conflict by demonstrating a commitment to pursue mutually beneficial solutions creates high-quality resolutions and relationships, while focusing on competitive interests by pursuing one’s own goals at the expense of the other’s escalates conflict, resulting in imposed solutions and suspicious relationships (Tjosvold et al., 2014 ).

In summary, Deutsch’s theory states that the context in which the conflict process is expressed drives parties toward either a cooperative or a competitive orientation in conflicts (Alper et al., 2000 ; Deutsch, 2006 ; Johnson & Johnson, 1989 ). In other words, a cooperative context is related to a cooperative conflict pattern, and a competitive context is related to a competitive conflict pattern. When parties have a cooperative orientation toward conflict, parties discuss their differences with the objective of clarifying them and attempting to find a solution that is satisfactory to both parties—both parties win (Carnevale & Pruitt, 1992 ). On the contrary, in competition, there is usually a winner and a loser (Carnevale & Pruitt, 1992 ) (see Table 1 ). In the CCB model, the patterns can include cooperative (i.e., integrating) and competitive (i.e. forcing) behavior; however, the cooperative pattern will be dominated by integrating while the competitive pattern will be dominated by forcing (Elgoibar, 2013 ).

Table 1. Characteristics of Cooperative and Competitive Climates

Source : Coleman, Deutsch, and Marcus ( 2014 ).

How to Manage Conflicts Constructively

The need for trust.

Trust is commonly defined as a belief or expectation about others’ benevolent motives during a social interaction (Holmes & Rempel, 1989 ; Rousseau et al., 1998 ). Mutual trust is one important antecedent as well as a consequence of cooperation in conflicts (Deutsch, 1983 ; Ferrin, Bligh, & Kohles, 2008 ). As Nahapiet and Ghoshal pointed out, “Trust lubricates cooperation, and cooperation itself breeds trust” ( 1998 , p.255). There is ample evidence that constructive conflict and trust are tightly and positively related (Hempel, Zhang, & Tjosvold, 2009 ; Bijlsma & Koopman, 2003 ; Lewicki, Tonlinson, & Gillespie, 2006 ).

Successful constructive conflict management requires maximal gathering and exchange of information in order to identify problems and areas of mutual concern, to search for alternatives, to assess their implications, and to achieve openness about preferences in selecting optimal solutions (Bacon & Blyton, 2007 ; Johnson & Johnson, 1989 ; Tjosvold, 1999 ). Trust gives parties the confidence to be open with each other, knowing that the shared information won’t be used against them (Zaheer & Zaheer, 2006 ). Various studies revealed that trust leads to constructive conglomerate behaviors and to more integrative outcomes in interpersonal and intergroup conflicts (Lewicki, Elgoibar, & Euwema, 2016 ; Lewicki, McAllister, & Bies, 1998 ; Ross & LaCroix, 1996 ).

How can trust be promoted? Developing trust is challenging (Gunia, Brett, & Nandkeolyar, 2014 ; Hempel et al., 2009 ). Numerous scholars have noted that trust is easier to destroy than to create (Hempel et al., 2009 ; Meyerson et al., 1996 ). There are two main reasons for this assertion. First, trust-breaking events are often more visible and noticeable than positive trust-building actions (Kramer, 1999 ). Second, trust-breaking events are judged to have a higher impact on trust judgments than positive events (Slovic, 1993 ). Furthermore, Slovic ( 1993 ) concluded that trust-breaking events are more credible than sources of good news. Thus, the general belief is that trust is easier to destroy than it is to build, and trust rebuilding may take even longer than it took to create the original level of trust (Lewicki et al., 2016 ).

However, there is room for optimism, and different strategies have been shown to promote trust. As held in social exchange theory (Blau, 1964 ), risk taking by one party in supporting the other party has been found to signal trust to the other party (Serva et al., 2005 ). Yet, fears of exploitation make trust in conflict management and negotiation scarce. Therefore, the use of trust-promoting strategies depends on the specific situation, and parties need practical guidance on how and when to manage conflict constructively by means of promoting mutual trust.

How does the possibility of trust development between parties depend on the conflict context? Based on this practical question, some strategies for trust development have been proposed (Fisher & Ury, 1981 ; Fulmer & Gelfand, 2012 ; Gunia, Brett, & Nandkeolyar, 2012 ; Lewicki et al., 2016 ). In relationships where trust is likely, the following strategies can help: assume trustworthiness, prioritize your interests and give away a little information about them, engage in reciprocity (concessions), highlight similarities and spend time together, get to know your counterpart personally and try to be likable, behave consistently and predictably, and paraphrase your counterpart’s positions. In relationships where trust seems possible: emphasize common goals; focus on the subject, not on the people; look to the future and find a shared vision; mix questions and answers about interests and priorities—the fundamental elements of information sharing—with making and justifying offers; take a break; suggest another approach; call in a mediator; and forgive the other party’s mistakes. In relationships where trust is not possible, more cautious strategies can help: make multi-issue offers; think holistically about your counterpart’s interests; engage in reciprocity (concessions); express sympathy, apologize, or compliment your counterpart; and look for preference patterns in your counterpart’s offers and responses.

Constructive Controversy

C onstructive controversy is defined as the open-minded discussion of conflicting perspectives for mutual benefit, which occurs when protagonists express their opposing ideas that obstruct resolving the issues, at least temporarily (Tjosvold et al., 2014 ). Indicators of constructive controversy include listening carefully to each other’s opinion, trying to understand each other’s concerns, and using opposing views to understand the problem better. These skills are considered vitally important for developing and implementing cooperative problem-solving processes successfully and effectively.

Deutsch ( 2014 ) stated that there haven’t been many systematic discussions of the skills involved in constructive solutions to conflict, and he proposed three main types of skills for constructive conflict management:

Rapport-building skills are involved in establishing effective relationships between parties (such as breaking the ice; reducing fears, tensions, and suspicion; overcoming resistance to negotiation; and fostering realistic hope and optimism).

Cooperative conflict-resolution skills are concerned with developing and maintaining a cooperative conflict resolution process among the parties involved (such as identifying the type of conflict in which the parties are involved; reframing the issues so that conflict is perceived as a mutual problem to be resolved cooperatively; active listening and responsive communication; distinguishing between effective relationships between parties and positions; encouraging, supporting, and enhancing the parties; being alert to cultural differences and the possibilities of misunderstanding arising from them; and controlling anger).

Group process and decision-making skills are involved in developing a creative and productive process (such as monitoring progress toward group goals; eliciting, clarifying, coordinating, summarizing, and integrating the contributions of the various participants; and maintaining group cohesion).

Tjosvold et al. ( 2014 ) and Johnson et al. ( 2014 ) also elaborate on the skills needed for facilitating open-minded discussions and constructive controversy. They developed four mutually reinforcing strategies for managing conflict constructively:

Developing and expressing one’s own view. Parties need to know what each of the others wants and believes, and expressing one’s own needs, feelings, and ideas is essential to gaining that knowledge. By strengthening expression of their own positions, both parties can learn to investigate their position, present the best case they can for it, defend it vigorously, and try at the same time to refute opposing views. However, expressing one’s own position needs to be supplemented with an open-minded approach to the other’s position.

Questioning and understanding others’ views. Listening and understanding opposing views, as well as defending one’s own views, makes discussing conflicts more challenging but also more rewarding; therefore, the parties can point out weaknesses in each other’s arguments to encourage better development and expression of positions by finding more evidence and strengthening their reasoning.

Integrating and creating solutions. The creation of new alternatives lays the foundation for genuine agreements about a solution that both parties can accept and implement. However, protagonists may have to engage in repeated discussion to reach an agreement, or indeed they may be unable to create a solution that is mutually acceptable, and then they can both learn to become less adamant, to exchange views directly, and to show that they are trying to understand and integrate each other’s ideas so that all may benefit.

Agreeing to and implementing solutions. Parties can learn to seek the best reasoned judgment, instead of focusing on “winning”; to criticize ideas, not people; to listen and understand everyone’s position, even if they do not agree with it; to differentiate positions before trying to integrate them; and to change their minds when logically persuaded to do so.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution processes are aimed at ending a conflict. So, while conflict management can also include escalation, conflict resolution searches for a way of ending the conflict. The difference between resolution and management of conflict is more than semantic (Robbins, 1978 ). Conflict resolution means reduction, elimination, or termination of conflict.

To find a resolution, parties have to bring an extra piece of information, relate the information they have differently, or transform the issue, change the rules, change the actors or the structure, or bring in a third party (Vayrynen, 1991 ). The most popular conflict resolution processes are: negotiation, mediation, conflict coaching, and arbitration (Rahim, 2002 ). Conflict resolution can also be accomplished by ruling by authorities. Integration of the different techniques sequentially or simultaneously has been shown to support optimal conflict resolution (Jones, 2016 ).

Negotiation

Negotiation is a process in which the parties attempt to jointly create an agreement that resolves a conflict between them (Lewicki & Tomlinson, 2014 ). Walton and McKersie ( 1965 ) were the first to identify the two polar yet interdependent strategies known as distributive and integrative negotiation. Distributive negotiation means that activities are instrumental to the attainment of one party’s goals when they are in basic conflict with those of the other party. Integrative negotiation means that parties’ activities are oriented to find common or complementary interests and to solve problems confronting both parties. Other scholars also focused on the opposite tactical requirements of the two strategies, using a variety of terms, such as contending versus cooperating (Pruitt, 1981 ), claiming value versus creating value (Lax & Sebenius, 1987 ), and the difference between positions and interests (Fisher & Ury, 1981 ).

If a distributive strategy is pursued too vigorously, a negotiator may gain a greater share of gains, but of a smaller set of joint gains, or, worse, may generate an outcome in which both parties lose. However, if a negotiator pursues an integrative negotiation in a single-minded manner—being totally cooperative and giving freely accurate and credible information about his/her interests—he or she can be taken advantage of by the other party (Walton & McKersie, 1965 ). The different proposals that have been formulated to cope with these central dilemmas in negotiation are mainly based on a back-and-forth communication process between the parties, which is linked to the negotiators’ interpersonal skills (Brett, Shapiro, & Lytle, 1998 ; Fisher & Ury, 1981 ; Rubin et al., 1994 ).

Mediation is process by which a third party facilitates constructive communication among disputants, including decision making, problem solving and negotiation, in order to reach a mutually acceptable agreement (Bollen, Munduate, & Euwema, 2016 ; Goldman, Cropanzano, Stein, & Benson, 2008 ; Moore, 2014 ). Using mediation in conflict resolution has been proven to prevent the negative consequences of conflict in the workplace (Bollen & Euwema, 2010 ; Bollen et al., 2016 ), in collective bargaining (Martinez-Pecino et al., 2008 ), in inter- and intragroup relations (Jones, 2016 ), and in interpersonal relations (Herrman, 2006 ). However, mediation is not a magic bullet and works better in conflicts that are moderate rather than extreme, when parties are motivated to resolve the conflict, and when parties have equal power, among other characteristics (Kressel, 2014 ).

Conflict Coaching

Conflict coaching is a new and rapidly growing process in the public as well as private sector (Brinkert, 2016 ). In this process, a conflict coach works with a party to accomplish three goals (Jones & Brinkert, 2008 ): (a) analysis and coherent understanding of the conflict, (b) identification of a future preferred direction, and (c) skills development to implement the preferred strategy. Therefore, a conflict coach is defined as a conflict expert who respects the other party’s self-determination and aims to promote the well-being of the parties involved. Giebels and Janssen ( 2005 ) found that, when outside help was called in, parties in conflict experienced fewer negative consequences in terms of individual well-being than people who did not ask for third-party help.

Sometimes, the leader of a team can act as conflict coach. A study by Romer and colleagues ( 2012 ) showed that a workplace leader’s problem-solving approach to conflicts increased employees’ perception of justice and their sense that they had a voice in their workplace, as well as reduced employees’ stress (De Reuver & Van Woerkom, 2010 ; Romer et al., 2012 ). In contrast, the direct expression of power in the form of forcing behavior can harm employees’ well-being (Peterson & Harvey, 2009 ). A forcing leader may become an additional party to the conflict (i.e., employees may turn against their leader; Romer et al, 2012 ).

Conflict coaching and mediation are different processes. First, in conflict coaching, only one party is involved in the process, while in mediation, the mediator helps all the parties in conflict to engage in constructive interaction. Second, conflict coaching focuses on direct skills instructions to the party (i.e., negotiation skills). In that, conflict coaching is also a leadership development tool (Romer et al., 2012 ). There is a growing tendency to integrate conflict coaching and workplace mediation, particularly in preparation for conflict resolution, because the coach can help the coached party to investigate options and weigh the advantages of the different options (Jones, 2016 ).

Arbitration

Arbitration is an institutionalized procedure in which a third party provides a final and binding or voluntary decision (Lewicki, Saunders, & Barry, 2014 ; Mohr & Spekman, 1994 ). Arbitration allows the parties to have control over the process, but not over the outcomes. Therefore, arbitration differs from negotiation, mediation, and conflict coaching, in which the parties decide the agreement themselves (Posthuma & Dworkin, 2000 ; Lewicki et al., 2014 ). In arbitration, the third party listens to the parties and decides the outcome. This procedure is used mainly in conflicts between organizations, in commercial disputes, and in collective labor conflicts (Beechey, 2000 ; Elkouri & Elkouri, 1995 ).

Decision Making by Authorities

The strategies of negotiation, mediation, conflict coaching, and arbitration have in common that the parties together decide about the conflict process, even when they agree to accept an arbitration. This is different from how authorities resolve conflict. Decision making by authorities varies from parents’ intervening in children’s fights to rulings by teachers, police officers, managers, complaint officers, ombudsmen, and judges. Here, often one party complains and the authority acts to intervene and end the conflict. This strategy is good for ending physical violence and misuse of power. However, the authorities’ decisive power is limited, and therefore in most situations authorities are strongly urged to first explore the potential for conflict resolution and reconciliation among the parties involved. The authority can act as an escalator for the process, or as a facilitator, and only in cases of immediate threat can intervene or rule as a last resort. Authorities who employ this strategy can improve the learning skills of the parties and can impose upon the parties an acceptance of responsibility, both for the conflict and for the ways to end it.

It is important to emphasize the natural and positive aspects of conflict management. Conflict occurs in all areas of organizations and private lives and its management is vital for their effectiveness. Through conflict, conventional thinking is challenged, threats and opportunities are identified, and new solutions are forged (Tjosvold et al., 2014 ). Therefore, when conflict occurs, it shouldn’t be avoided but should be managed constructively.

Improved conflict resolution in romantic couples in mediation compared to negotiation

François Bogacz ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6956-3018 1 , 2 , 3 ,
Thierry Pun 1 , 2 &
Olga M. Klimecki 1 , 4 , 5 , 6

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications volume 7 , Article number: 131 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

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Despite the frequency and adverse effects of conflict, randomized controlled studies on interventions that could promote conflict resolution (e.g., among romantic couples) are scarce. One understudied intervention technique is mediation, which is a negotiation facilitated by a neutral third party. To test the impact of a mediator on couple conflict, we conducted a randomized controlled study involving 38 romantic couples who discussed a topic of recurrent disagreement either in the presence of a mediator or by means of a direct negotiation. The results show that romantic couples in the mediation condition, compared with those in direct negotiation, had a probability of reaching an agreement 1.39 times higher and reported higher satisfaction regarding the content and process of their discussions. In addition, the synchronicity of the couple’s skin conductance, a measure of arousal, correlated with the couple’s closeness and with the quality of their relationship. Our findings suggest that interventions based on mediation can have a beneficial impact on conflict resolution.

Love and affectionate touch toward romantic partners all over the world

research paper topics in conflict resolution

Comparing the effects of a mindfulness versus relaxation intervention on romantic relationship wellbeing

Getting closer: compassion training increases feelings of closeness toward a disliked person

As couple conflicts have a negative impact on health and divorce rates (Haddad et al., 2016 ), it is important to identify interventions that can help to resolve these conflicts. This randomized controlled study tested how mediation, a form of third-party intervention, impacts on couple conflicts. To this end, self-report data were complemented by psychophysiological measures of the linkage in electrodermal activity between couple members. In addition, the present study explored the relation of personality traits such as mindfulness, emotional competence, and conflict behaviours to conflict outcomes in order to expand previous findings on these relations (Barnes et al., 2007 ; Mueller and Curhan, 2006 ; Davis et al., 2004 , respectively).

When not properly managed, interpersonal conflicts can take a severe toll on the disputants directly or indirectly involved, for instance in the case of couple conflicts (Haddad et al., 2016 ). In fact, divorce rates have risen in both industrialized and non-industrial countries in the last century (Marriage and divorce statistics, 2019 ), affecting the health and well-being of individuals and causing strains on relationships not only within the couple, but within families and social communities (Coontz, 2006 ). Furthermore, research has shown that, even if recurring marital conflicts did not lead to divorce, marital strain accelerated the decline in health in a representative sample of adults (Umberson et al., 2006 ) and that, for men and women with the lowest levels of marital quality, exiting marriage through divorce or separation brought a lower risk of depression than remaining married did (Williams, 2003 ). In spite of the research on conflict dynamics within romantic couples (“couple conflicts”) (Gottman and Levenson, 1992 ; Driver and Gottman, 2004 ; Bloch et al., 2014 ; Shaw, 2014 ), there is so far a lack of randomized controlled studies on third-party interventions that may promote conflict resolution. Negotiation, which can be defined as a ‘formal discussion between people who have different aims or intentions, […] during which they try to reach an agreement’ (Collins English Dictionary, 2020 ) or as ‘the joint decision making between interdependent individuals with divergent interests’ (Pruitt, 1998 ) is the default strategy adopted by parties involved in most conflicts, including couples. However, negative emotions often disturb the process of direct negotiations (Van Kleef et al., 2004 , 2006 ; Van Kleef and Côté, 2007 ; Pietroni et al., 2008 ; Lelieveld et al., 2012 ), in particular in couple conflicts (Retzinger and Scheff, 2000 ).

Possible interventions consist of training people to help them improve their emotional self-management skills (e.g., with conflict coaching, Brinkert, 2011 ; self-distancing, Kross and Ayduk, 2008 ; or reappraisal, Finkel et al., 2013 ). A particularly promising technique that has been studied in the context of couple conflict is emotional reappraisal training. A randomized controlled study on the impact of emotional reappraisal training, for instance, showed that regular 7-min reappraisal exercises about disagreements over several months preserved self-reported marital quality (Finkel et al., 2013 ).

In addition to training people in using certain self-management techniques, the involvement of third parties, such as a marital therapist or couple counsellor in cases of couple conflicts has yielded positive effects on family interactions and behaviours (Lebow et al., 2012 ). Indeed, it has been shown that couple therapy positively impacted 70% of couples receiving treatment (Lebow et al., 2012 ). In particular, cognitive-behavioural marital therapy was shown to induce significant change in spouses’ post-therapy relationship-related cognitions and behaviours (Dunn and Schwebel, 1995 ). However, research has also found that 30% of couples who recovered thanks to therapy had relapsed after 2 years, and that 4 years after treatment, 38% of couples had divorced (Williams, 2003 ). Gottman also estimated that ‘only 11–18% of couples maintained clinically meaningful initial gains when treated with our best marital therapies’ (Gottman, 1999 , p. 5). Furthermore, self-management training, conflict coaching, marital therapy, and counselling approaches have so far not been widely adopted by societies and communities. Research conducted in the state of Oklahoma in the United States, for instance, found that only 37% of divorced couples had sought counselling before getting a divorce and only 19% of married couples had sought counselling for their current marriage (Stanley et al., 2001 ). Conflicts in couples are thus prone to relapse and escalation, and parties often end up using legal proceedings to solve them. An alternative to therapy or counselling that has not been rigorously studied to date is mediation.

Mediation, which is ‘a negotiation facilitated by a neutral third-party’ (International Mediation Institute, 2020b ), has emerged in the last 30 years as an alternative to legal proceedings. The role of the mediator can be ‘… to help those involved sort out their issues and arrive at a consensus. That might involve helping parties to finalize an agreement, resolve a dispute, develop effective communications, build or improve relationships, or all these things. Mediators do not take sides. Mediators are impartial’ (International Mediation Institute, 2020b ). Mediation is thus a fluid and “ad hoc” practice and mediators can adopt and combine many styles during their interventions, such as facilitative, evaluative, or transformative styles (International Mediation Institute, 2020a ). When using a facilitative mediation style, the mediator uses specific processes and techniques to help parties reach an agreement but does not make any formal recommendation to them, in contrast to the evaluative style (International Mediation Institute, 2020a ). Transformative mediation has the objective of going beyond resolving a conflict to transforming the parties by empowering them and facilitating mutual recognition of needs, interests, perspectives, values, and emotions (Bush and Folger, 1984 ).

Previous research has shown that mediation costs generally much less than litigation and is quicker and more effective. For instance, one study of 343 cases in Canada showed that the average savings of mediation compared with litigation was around $3500 per case, with more than $10,000 in savings for 45% of cases (Hann et al., 2001 ). In the same study, only 3% of 3068 cases needed more than one session of a few hours to be resolved (Hann et al., 2001 ). A report of the European Parliament (European Parliament, 2011 ) also found that the average cost to litigate in the European Union was €10,449, whereas the average cost to mediate was €2497.

However, to date, when mediation is not compulsory (for instance when using court-annexed schemes), its adoption is still variable. Taking a country where mediation is rather mature and well-researched such as Australia as an example, use of mediation varies greatly depending on the type of case. On the one hand, the 2006 family law reform led to an increase in family dispute cases referred to as the “Family Dispute Resolution” mediation services of the Family Relationship Services Programme, from 14,500 to 22,500 yearly cases in the 4-year period after the reform (Sourdin, 2020 ). As there are no statistics about the total number of family disputes in the country, this number can be compared with the total number of divorces. With around 50,000 divorces per year, this means that roughly one-third of cases are referred to a sort of mediation. On the other hand, at the state level, for instance in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, only 3% of the 85,191 total cases lodged in 2017–2018 were listed for mediation or ‘compulsory conference’; here the resolution rate was 55% (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Annual Report 2017–2018, 2018 ).

There may be several reasons for the relatively variable use of mediation. The first might be that when the conflict at hand has escalated (Glasl, 2013 ), each party sees the other as the enemy against whom they can fight only with the help of a lawyer, in a tribunal. The second reason might be that empirical data are lacking on how mediation impacts the parties and helps them resolve conflicts. One recent and extensive review of 47 studies on the effectiveness of mediation techniques by a task force of the American Bar Association (Wissler, 2017 ) could not include a single randomized controlled study and highlighted (Wissler, 2017 , p. 12) that ‘the complex, interactive, and iterative nature of the mediation process makes it difficult to systematically control how a mediator action is performed, isolate the effect of a particular action from that of other actions, and control for selection and other potentially confounding processes that operate throughout mediation’. The review also concluded that common terminology, definitions, and measures for mediator actions and outcomes would provide more consistency in research. Studies on the effects of mediation have indeed mostly been carried out by comparison to legal proceedings (Brett and Barsness, 1996 ; Barough et al., 2013 ; Shaw, 2014 ) without a proper control group (Kaiser and Gabler, 2014 ), using role play instead of real conflicts (Jameson et al., 2009 ) or focusing on the impact of the mediator’s techniques on the settlement rate by studying or observing mediation cases (Wissler, 2017 ). A randomized controlled study is thus needed to establish the causal impacts of a mediator on conflicts. Couple conflicts, where high emotions are often experienced, are an ideal domain to conduct this research.

A consensus is emerging in the mediation community that one of the key mediation techniques is helping parties manage their negative emotions (Jones and Bodtker, 2001 ; Katz, 2007 ; Jameson et al., 2009 ; Swaab and Brett, 2012 ; Wissler, 2017 ) since, as mentioned earlier, negative emotions can be detrimental to the outcomes of a negotiation. It is hard to find a unique definition of the effectiveness of mediation and thus of the outcome variables, but several studies (Jones and Bodtker, 1999 ; Jameson et al., 2009 ; Finkel et al., 2013 ; Kaiser and Gabler, 2014 ; Shaw, 2014 ; Charkoudian, 2016 ) point towards the following potential metrics that could be measured at the end of a mediation session: the existence or not of an agreement between parties about what was discussed, the satisfaction of the parties with the session, their perceived level of conflict, their level of positive affect and negative affect, and their perceived interpersonal closeness.

From preliminary evidence of studies on couple conflicts (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 , 1985 ; Driver and Gottman, 2004 ) and mediation (Jones and Bodtker, 1999 ; Jameson et al., 2009 ; Finkel et al., 2013 ; Kaiser and Gabler, 2014 ; Shaw, 2014 ), we hypothesized that, compared with direct negotiation between couple members, mediation should (i) reduce the level of conflict at the end of the discussion as a sign that the couple has moved towards a possible resolution, (ii) increase the satisfaction of the parties regarding the contents of their discussion and the process used in their discussion (Jones and Bodtker, 1999 ; Shaw, 2014 ), (iii) increase the positive affect and decrease the negative affect of the parties (Jameson et al., 2009 ; Shaw, 2014 ), and (iv) increase interpersonal closeness, which serves as a proxy for couple satisfaction (Finkel et al., 2013 ).

The impact of mediation on positive and negative affects is of high importance. Recent reviews show that the relation between emotions and conflict resolution is receiving increasing attention in the context of intractable conflicts (Retzinger and Scheff, 2000 ; Halperin and Gross, 2011 ; Halperin, 2013 , 2015 ; Halperin et al., 2013 ), interpersonal and intergroup conflicts (Klimecki, 2019 ), and organizational conflicts (Nair, 2008 ). However, few randomized controlled studies have been performed on the impact of interventions on emotions and conflict resolution, which is true in particular for mediation.

As self-report (i.e., questionnaire) measures are prone to social desirability (Crowne and Marlowe, 1960 ), they can be complemented by biological and thus more implicit measures. One way of quantifying biological measures of affective states, which has been used in studies on interpersonal interactions (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 , 1985 ; Levenson and Ruef, 1992 ; Chanel et al., 2013 ) but not in studies on conflict resolution and mediation, is affective computing. Affective computing refers to the study and development of systems and devices that can recognize, interpret, process, and simulate human affects. It is based on the recording and processing of various signals (such as electrodermal activity, cardiovascular activity, facial expressions, speech, or language) that are indicative of affective states (for instance arousal). A question currently debated in affective computing is whether the linkage between the arousal states of two persons, as measured by electrodermal activity synchrony only or by synchrony between various physiological measures, is predictive of positive or negative outcomes in conflictual discussions. On the one hand, some studies suggested that electrodermal activity synchrony between participants who had no relationship prior to the experiment (quantified by Pearson correlations) was predictive of constructive behaviours in a context where participants had to collaboratively design a slogan by brainstorming, debating, and then negotiating ideas (Chanel et al., 2013 ). Furthermore, electrodermal activity synchrony during a discussion on a topic chosen by friends (quantified by Pearson correlations between the change in slopes) was correlated to emotional engagement behaviours as observed from video recordings, for instance active listening or attending to the other person’s emotions (Slovák et al., 2014 ). Such physiological linkage could be an indicator of empathic processes (Levenson and Ruef, 1992 ; Guastello et al., 2006 ). As empathy has been shown to promote prosocial behaviour (Klimecki, 2019 ), physiological linkage could be a sign of a positive and constructive social interaction. Therefore, one could expect physiological linkage to be linked to more successful discussions and one may expect mediation to increase physiological linkage. On the other hand, physiological linkage has also been related to lower marital satisfaction. More specifically, physiological linkage of romantic couples during a 15-min conflictual discussion (as quantified by an index that combined skin conductance level, heart rate, pulse transmission time to the finger, and measurement of general movement) was negatively related to marital satisfaction (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ). Moreover, the relation between the physiological linkage index and marital satisfaction was more pronounced in high-conflict situations as opposed to low-conflict situations (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ). Other research found that higher physiological linkage during a conflictual discussion (as quantified by the physiological linkage index mentioned earlier; Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ) was related to lower self-reports of marital satisfaction in the 3 years following the experiment (Levenson and Gottman, 1985 ). As emotional and therefore physiological linkage may also be related to empathic distress, which is defined as being emotionally overwhelmed by the other’s suffering (Hoffman, 2008 ) and which has been associated with less prosocial behaviour in the past (Klimecki, 2015 ), it might be that there are two different emotional mechanisms of physiological linkage at play. Other potential explanations for the seeming discrepant findings on whether physiological linkage is related to better or worse interpersonal relations may stem from (i) the different uses of physiological linkage indices (Pearson correlations or Pearson correlation between the change in the slopes), (ii) the difference in settings (strangers engaged in a collaborative game vs. friends or couples), and (iii) the differences in acquired variables (skin conductance vs. skin conductance level plus heart rate, pulse transmission time to the finger, and general movement). In summary, since there is so far no consensus on the role of synchrony between electrodermal activity signals in conflicts, more research is needed to shed light on this topic.

In addition to physiological coupling, it has been suggested that certain personality traits may predict the outcomes of conflict discussion in romantic couples. One such trait is mindfulness, which refers to ‘paying attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental way’ (Kabat-Zinn, 2009 ). Research has shown that higher traits of mindfulness predicted lower levels of negative affect after a conflictual discussion between romantic couple members (Barnes et al., 2007 ). Another study has shown that mindfulness significantly helped participants to release negative emotions instead of dwelling on them (Brown et al., 2012 ). Participation in an 8-week mindfulness training programme also increased the support of conciliatory policies in intractable conflicts when compared with that in a waiting-list control group (Alkoby et al., 2017 ). Moreover, it has been found that emotional intelligence (EI), which is defined as a set of skills that contributes to the understanding and regulation of one’s own and others’ emotions (Salovey and Mayer, 1990 ), positively predicted outcome satisfaction in negotiations (Mueller and Curhan, 2006 ) and that people who rated themselves high in EI also self-reported that they used collaborative solutions more often (Jordan and Troth, 2002 ). This result is complemented by the finding from couple studies that perceiving one’s partner as having higher EI and not avoiding discussing a relationship problem is linked to higher relationship satisfaction (Smith et al., 2008 ). In addition, couples in which both partners are low on EI tend to have high conflict and low relationship quality (Brackett et al., 2005 ). Finally, it has not yet been established whether self-reports on preferred conflict behaviours, including constructive behaviours (such as perspective-taking or reaching out) and destructive behaviours (such as expressing anger or retaliating), which are popular in organizational conflict prevention and leadership development (Killman and Thomas, 1977 ; Capobianco et al., 2008 ), can predict the outcomes of couple conflict.

In summary, to test the causal influence of a mediator on couple conflict, we randomly allocated heterosexual romantic couples to a mediated discussion or a non-mediated discussion in the presence of a silent third party. To assess the impact of the mediation on (i) conflict management, (ii) couple’s emotions, and (iii) the relation between couple members, we assessed the following outcome variables: agreements reached, level of disagreement at the end of the discussion, satisfaction with the contents of the discussion, satisfaction with the process of the discussion, interpersonal closeness, positive and negative emotions, and physiological coupling between the couple members. We also assessed the mediator’s satisfaction with the contents and process and explored whether these variables were related to participants’ satisfaction. We hypothesized that (i) mediation would have a positive impact on agreements reached, level of disagreement at the end of the discussion, satisfaction with the contents of the discussion, satisfaction with the process of the discussion, interpersonal closeness, and positive and negative emotions; (ii) mindfulness, EI, and the tendency to use constructive behaviours in conflictual discussions would have a positive influence on the outcome variables listed above; and (iii) the tendency to use destructive behaviours would have a negative influence on the outcome variables listed above. We also hypothesized that the higher the parties’ satisfaction at the end of the discussion, the higher the mediator’s satisfaction would be as a sign of a positive dynamic of the conversation between the mediator and the couple members. Considering that there is no consensus on the role of synchrony between electrodermal activity in conflicts, this study aimed at testing whether physiological linkage as measured by skin conductance synchrony would be positively or negatively related to outcomes of a conflict discussion and how mediation would affect this measure.

Participants

Participants were recruited through the distribution of flyers in the city (train station, markets, etc.) and on the various university campuses, as well as through posters displayed on campuses, advertising on Facebook and Instagram, and word of mouth from friends. Participants were told that they were participating in a study about communication within couples ‘to examine the factors that influence discussions on topics of disagreement among couples’. Among the participants who contacted us, 74% did so in response to posters; 12% in response to flyers; 9% in response to word of mouth from friends, family, or colleagues; and 5% in response to advertising on social networks. Nineteen heterosexual romantic couples (mean age = 28.18 years) participated in the control condition and 19 heterosexual romantic couples (mean age = 30.61 years) participated in the mediation condition. This sample size was above the minimum size of 25 dyads recommended by Kenny and colleagues for dyadic studies (Kenny et al., 2006 ). Volunteers were included if they had been in a romantic relationship for more than 1 year, if they spoke French or English fluently, and if they were at least 18 years old. The average level of disagreement across the 15 possible topics from the Dyadic Adjustment Scale was 3.75 for our participants (from 0, meaning always disagree, to 5, meaning always agree), with 3 meaning occasionally disagree and 4 meaning frequently agree. The sum scores of the 32 items of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale for our participants had a mean of 113.6 versus a mean of 114.8 for 218 married couples and 70.7 for 94 divorced couples in the original paper that presented the Dyadic Adjustment Scale instrument (Spanier, 1976 ), suggesting that our sample was representative of married couples. An independent t -test revealed no difference between Dyadic Adjustment Scale scores of participants in the mediation condition (mean = 114.53) and those of participants in the control group (mean = 112.74) ( t = −0.43, p = 0.67). Couples were randomly assigned to one of the two conditions (mediation or control condition in the presence of a silent third party), and the two groups were matched for age and length of relationship. As shown in Supplementary Table 1 , independent sample t -tests revealed that the participants in both groups, in addition to age and the length of relationship, did not differ on any of the pre-conflict intervention independent variables (all t ≤ 0.98 and all p ≥ 0.33). These variables included Dyadic Adjustment Scale, mindfulness, emotional competence, and Conflict Dynamics Profile (CDP) scores (see “Measures” section for details on the questionnaires). The mediators (seven in total, four females and three males) were members of the same professional mediation association (the Swiss Chamber of Commercial Mediation, Section Romande) and were selected on the basis of their common approach to mediation as a facilitative (as opposed to evaluative) practice of conflict resolution (Riskin, 2005 ). Because of scheduling complexities, the mediators could not be randomly assigned to their sessions but were allocated according to temporal availability.

For ease of reading, the measures used in this study are presented below in the order in which they were collected. All phases are indicated in italic.

Trait measures collected prior to the conflict discussion : Prior to the experiment (on average, 25 days beforehand), all volunteers had to individually complete four online profiling questionnaires in French or English administered with SurveyMonkey (San Mateo, CA, USA). The objective was to (i) focus their visit to the laboratory on the conflict discussion, (ii) uncouple trait measures as much as possible from state measures, (iii) collect in advance the topics of disagreement, and (iv) print a side-by-side comparison of the scoring by both couple members on the possible topics of discussion in order to help them choose the topic for their discussion for which their level of recurring disagreement was the highest. The four trait measures were as follows:

The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976 ), which measures the quality of the relationship and which was used to identify the topic of the discussion during the experiment. This scale uses 32 items grouped into four subscales (Dyadic Consensus, Dyadic Satisfaction, Dyadic Cohesion, and Affectional Expression) and the level of disagreement on 15 recurring topics of discussion (from 1, “always agree”, to 6, “always disagree”).

The profile of emotional competence (Brasseur et al., 2013 ), which measures intrapersonal and interpersonal emotional competence (with the five subscales Identification, Expression, Comprehension, Regulation, and Utilization) as a proxy for EI. This measure uses 50 statements for which the answer is indicated on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 meaning that the statement does not describe the person at all or that they never respond like this, and 5 meaning that the statement describes the person very well or that they experience this particular response very often.

The five-facet mindfulness questionnaire (Baer et al., 2006 ), which measures the level of dispositional mindfulness. This questionnaire uses 36 statements for which the answer is indicated on a scale from 1 to, 5 with 1 meaning that the statement is never or very rarely true for the person, and 5 meaning that the statement is very often or always true. The scales are grouped into five types of behaviour: (i) observing/noticing/attending to sensations/perceptions/thoughts/feelings, (ii) describing/labelling with words, (iii) acting with awareness/non-distraction, (iv) non-judging of experience, and (v) non-reactivity to inner experience.

The CDP (Capobianco et al., 2008 ), which measures preferences for using four types of responses to conflicts: active-constructive (e.g., perspective-taking), passive-constructive (e.g., delayed responding), active-destructive (e.g., expressing anger), and passive-destructive (e.g., avoiding conflicts). The CDP uses 63 statements about the way the person usually responds before, during, and after the occurrence of interpersonal conflicts in their life and for which the answer can range from 1 to 5, with 1 meaning that the person never responds in that way and 5 meaning that the person almost always responds in that way.

State measures collected in the lab prior to the discussion included two questionnaires:

The positive and negative affect schedule (PANAS), a 20-item questionnaire that measures the current levels of positive and negative affect of the participant, listing feelings and emotions that the person may feel in the moment on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 meaning that the person feels the emotion very slightly or not at all, and 5 meaning that the person feels the emotion extremely (Crawford and Henry, 2004 ).

The inclusion of other in the self (IOS) scale, which measures the degree of closeness to the other couple member. It asks participants to circle a picture that best describes their relationship among seven pictures made of two circles named “Self” and “Other”, with the first picture (no overlapping between the two circles) giving a score of 1 and the last picture (with the two circles almost completely overlapping) giving a score of 7 (Aron et al., 1992 ).

During the intervention , to obtain an objective measure of emotional arousal, we continuously recorded electrodermal activity by means of two electrodes attached to the palm of participants’ non-dominant hand. Participants’ heart rate was continuously recorded by means of an optical sensor attached to the index finger of each participant’s non-dominant hand. Electrodermal activity and heart rate data were collected with the MP36 Biopac System (Santa Barbara, CA, USA). Because of a high degree of movement artefacts (from 30 to more than 100 per session for some participants), heart rate variability could not be analysed accurately. All discussions were videotaped with Sony HDR-CX455 Digital HD Video Camera Recorders (Tokyo, Japan), with one camera per participant for the discussion (including the mediator, when present).

After the intervention , participants again filled out the PANAS and the IOS Scale, as well as a satisfaction questionnaire to indicate (i) whether they had achieved an agreement on the topic of their discussion (yes or no); (ii) the level of disagreement at the end of their discussion on the topic that was discussed, using an 11-point scale (ranging from 0 to 10); (iii) their level of satisfaction with the contents of their discussion; and (iv) their level of satisfaction with the process used to conduct their discussion. Both satisfaction with the contents and the process were rated by using a continuous scale from 0, meaning “not at all”, to 10, meaning “extremely”, which was converted to values with one decimal point for analysis. More specifically, participants were asked: “ To what extent are you satisfied with the content of the discussion in which you participated ?” and “ To what extent are you satisfied with the process that you used to resolve your disagreement with your partner ?”

When participants arrived at the laboratory, they filled out the PANAS and the IOS questionnaires. The participants were then invited to select a controversial topic for their discussion based on the highest scores of the 15 topics of recurring disagreement identified with the Dyadic Adjustment Scale questionnaire. The experimenter in the control condition or the mediator in the mediation condition was available to assist participants in choosing their controversial topic if the results of the questionnaire were indecisive. In the control condition, minimal instructions were given by the experimenter prior to the start of the discussion and some general written guidelines were provided to the disputants (see Supplementary Note S 1 ). This information guided the participants in conducting their controversial discussions in a structured way without the couple asking for any support from the experimenter. These participants were left free to decide when they wanted to finish the session. Participants in both conditions could take notes during their controversial discussions. After having distributed the instructions, the experimenter sat in a corner of the room and monitored the data collection while remaining silent and minimizing eye contact with the participants, who were instructed to sit facing each other at a round table. In the mediation condition, the mediator was instructed to sit equidistant from both participants around the same round table and to facilitate a discussion of ~60 min, using a process inspired from a facilitative mediation model known to the mediators (see Supplementary Note S 2 ). As indicated in Supplementary Table 1 , the duration of the interactions was balanced across both conditions (with a mean duration of 50 min in the mediation condition and 55 min in the control condition). At the end of the discussion, participants were invited to fill out the PANAS and IOS questionnaires again, as well as to answer the satisfaction questionnaire. One couple in the control group who got into a very emotional discussion did not fill out the PANAS and satisfaction questionnaires at the end of the discussion, as we interrupted their increasingly heated discussion in order to help them calm down (they were referred to a mediation centre). Furthermore, the IOS values of these couple members from before the discussion were missing. The couple’s results were retained in the analysis, except for the results for the IOS Scale, the PANAS, and satisfaction with the discussion, where their data were missing.

The study was carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of the Faculty of Psychology and Science Education at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. All participants provided written informed consent and received monetary compensation of 20 CHF per hour for their participation, as well as a debriefing, in which their individual profiles about their tendency to use active-constructive, passive-constructive, active-destructive, and passive-destructive conflict behaviours were shared with them. The experimenter, a certified mediator himself, helped to reduce any remaining levels of tension between the participants in the control condition at the end of the experiment and was ready to provide the contact information of a mediation centre for further follow-up on the topic of disagreement, should this be needed (which happened only once).

Statistical analysis

Questionnaire data were analysed with IBM SPSS 25 software (Armonk, NY, USA). Pearson and Spearman correlations were used to assess the relation between different baseline questionnaires, as well as relations between baseline questionnaires and outcome variables. Differences in the number of self-reported agreements (binary variable) between the mediation and control group were analysed by using a chi-square test. Regarding interval variables, the dependent variables measured after each conflict discussion were (i) satisfaction with the contents of the discussion, (ii) satisfaction with the process of the discussion, (iii) level of disagreement, (iv) satisfaction of the mediator with the contents of the discussion, and (v) satisfaction of the mediator with the process of the discussion. In addition, the following variables that were dependent on the interval level were measured before and after the conflict discussion: (vi) positive affect, (vii) negative affect, and (viii) interpersonal closeness measured by the IOS. In line with current practices about dyadic data analysis (Kenny et al., 2006 ; Ditzen et al., 2012 ), we first analysed the intra-class correlation of outcome variables by using the Pearson correlation between couple members. When there was an independence of data between the couple members (as indicated by a p value of ≥ 0.20 for the Pearson correlation between the couple members), we analysed the data by using each participant as a unit of analysis in an analysis of variance or a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). When there was non-independence of data (as indicated by a p value of <0.20 for the Pearson correlation), an actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) was used to measure the possible impact of mutual influence of couple members on outcome variables, while using the condition as a co-variate. The analysis was done with APIM_SEM (Stas et al., 2018 ).

To analyse the synchronicity of electrodermal activity data between the members of each couple, we used two previously developed methods, the first index based on the Pearson correlation coefficient between the electrodermal activity time series of dyadic participants (an index referred to as the Pearson correlation ) (Chanel et al., 2013 ) and the second index based on the correlation between the change in the slope of the electrodermal activity signals (referred to as correlation between the change in slopes ) (Slovák et al., 2014 ). Electrodermal activity data were first analysed with Acqknowledge 4.1 (Goleta, CA, USA) and then in MATLAB R2015b (Natick, MA, USA) and IBM SPSS 25 (Armonk, NY, USA).

Correlations between questionnaires

To test whether mindfulness, emotional competence, active-constructive conflict behaviours, passive-constructive conflict behaviours, passive-destructive conflict behaviours, and active-destructive conflict behaviours were independent between couple members, we conducted Pearson correlations (Alferes and Kenny, 2009 ) that showed that only active-destructive conflict behaviours were not independent ( p = 0.12, all other p ≥ 0.2).

To test the extent to which mindfulness, emotional competence, active-constructive conflict behaviours, passive-constructive conflict behaviours, and active-destructive conflict behaviours were interrelated, we conducted Pearson correlations, since those variables were normally distributed. As shown in Supplementary Table 2 , mindfulness was positively correlated with active-constructive conflict behaviours ( r = 0.23, p = 0.005) and with passive-constructive conflict behaviours ( r = 0.3, p = 0.001), indicating that more mindful participants had more constructive conflict behaviours. All other correlations were not significant (all other r ≤ 0.19, all other p ≥ 0.11). To test the extent to which passive-destructive conflict behaviours and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale score were interrelated and related to mindfulness and emotional competence, we used Spearman correlations because those variables were not normally distributed. As depicted in Supplementary Table 3 , mindfulness was negatively correlated with passive-destructive conflict behaviours ( r s = −0.32, p = 0.005) and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale score was positively correlated with the total emotional competence score ( r s = 0.30, p = 0.008). In other words, more mindful participants had less passive-destructive conflict behaviours and more emotionally competent participants were more satisfied with their relationship. All other correlations were not significant (all other r s ≤ 0.015, all other p ≥ 0.39).

To test whether gender had an impact on mindfulness, emotional competence, dyadic adjustment, and active-constructive, passive-constructive, active-destructive, and passive-destructive conflict behaviours, we conducted independent t -tests with gender as a factor and mindfulness, emotional competence, dyadic adjustment, and active-constructive, passive-constructive, active-destructive, and passive-destructive conflict behaviours as dependent variables. These tests revealed that there were no significant differences between gender on all these variables (all p ≥ 0.11).

To test the extent to which age and personality traits (Dyadic Adjustment Scale score, mindfulness, emotional competence, and active-constructive, passive-constructive, active-destructive, and passive-destructive conflict behaviours) were correlated with the outcome variables related to the conflict discussion (change in positive affect, change in negative affect, satisfaction with the contents of the discussion, satisfaction with the process of the discussion, level of disagreement at the end of the discussion, and IOS after the discussion), we conducted Spearman correlations because all outcome variables were not normally distributed. Regarding age, all Spearman correlations were not significant (all r s ≤ 0.09, all p ≥ 0.45). Regarding personality traits, Spearman correlations revealed that the preference to use active-constructive conflict behaviours was positively related to satisfaction with the contents of the discussion ( r s = 0.26, p = 0.005), satisfaction with the process of the discussion ( r s = 0.27, p = 0.018), and the IOS after the discussion ( r s = 0.25, p = 0.033). This result indicated that participants who reported using more active-constructive conflict behaviours in general were more satisfied with the content and process of the conflict discussion and reported more closeness with their partner. There was no relation between the preference to use passive-destructive conflict behaviours and the change in negative affect. The observed tendency ( r = −0.25, p = 0.03) was due to five outliers that were more than 2 standard deviations above or below the mean of the change in negative affect. Removing these outliers revealed no significant correlation between passive–destructive conflict behaviours and the change in negative affect ( r s = −0.10, p = 0.38). The total Dyadic Adjustment Scale score, which measured the quality of the relationship, was negatively correlated with the level of disagreement at the end of the discussion ( r s = −0.26, p = 0.026) and with the IOS after the discussion ( r s = 0.34, p = 0.003).

To test how age, length of relationship, and personality traits were correlated with the IOS before the discussion (a discrete variable), we conducted Spearman correlations. There was no relation between age and the IOS before the discussion. The observed tendency ( r s = −0.25, p = 0.027) was due to four outliers that were more than 2 standard deviations below the mean of the IOS after the discussion. Removing these outliers revealed no significant correlation between age and the IOS before the discussion ( r s = −0.12, p = 0.92). There was a significant positive relation between the Dyadic Adjustment Scale score and the IOS before the discussion ( r s = 0.34, p = 0.004), indicating that participants with higher adjustment scores reported being closer. There was also a significant negative relation between the active-constructive conflict behaviours and the IOS before the discussion ( r s = 0.25, p = 0.039), as well as a significant negative relation between the active-constructive conflict behaviours and the passive-destructive conflict behaviours ( r s = −0.33, p = 0.005). All other correlations were not significant (all other r s ≤ 0.09, all other p ≥ 0.45). To test whether gender had an impact on the outcome variables related to the conflict discussion (change in positive affect, change in negative affect, satisfaction with the contents of the discussion, satisfaction with the process of the discussion, IOS after the discussion, and level of disagreement at the end of the discussion), we conducted independent t -tests that revealed no significant difference between genders (all p ≥ 0.13).

The impact of mediation on couple conflict

The main aim of this experiment was to test the degree to which mediation can have an impact on couple conflict as indexed by (i) agreements obtained on the topic of discussion, (ii) satisfaction with the contents of the discussion and satisfaction with the process of the discussion, (iii) the level of disagreement at the end of the discussion, (iv) the change in positive affect and the change in negative affect, and (v) the IOS after the discussion.

To assess whether couples in the mediation condition reported more agreement on the topic of their discussion after the discussion (binary outcome variable), we computed a chi-square test. This analysis revealed that couples in the mediation condition reported more agreements than did couples in the control condition ( χ 2 (1) = 8.76 , p = 0.006). More specifically, 36 of 38 participants declared that they had reached an agreement in the mediation condition, whereas 26 of 38 participants did so in the control condition. Based on the odds ratio, the probability of reaching an agreement was 1.39 times higher in the mediation condition than in the control condition.

Regarding the outcome variables that were measured on an interval level, the calculation of Pearson correlation coefficients (Alferes and Kenny, 2009 ) revealed that the change in positive affect and the change in negative affect (all p ≥ 0.20) were independent between couple members. However, the IOS before and the IOS after the discussion were not independent between couple members ( p = 0.010 and p = 0.016, respectively).

We thus conducted a MANOVA with the dependent variables change in positive affect and change in negative affect and the between-group variable condition (mediation and control) to test whether mediation had an impact on the affective state of the participants. This analysis revealed a significant effect of mediation on change in positive affect and change in negative affect ( F (2, 71) = 3.47, p = 0.036). As illustrated in Fig. 1 , independent t -tests revealed that, compared with the control condition, mediation tended to increase positive affect ( t (71) = 1.87, p = 0.069) and to decrease negative affect ( t (71) = 1.67, p = 0.099).

Bars depict means and 1 standard error of the mean. x p < 0.1.

To test whether interpersonal closeness was affected by mediation versus the control condition, as well as by dyadic adjustment scores and active-constructive conflict behaviours, we used an APIM. With the APIM, we examined the effect of one couple member’s IOS before the discussion on their own reports of IOS after the discussion (i.e., the actor effect), as well as on the partner’s reports on the IOS after the discussion (i.e., the partner effect) (see Table 1 for mean values of the IOS before and after the discussion). The condition was included in the model as a between-dyad covariate and treated as a binary variable. The Dyadic Adjustment Scale and active-constructive conflict behaviours were included in the model as well as between-dyad covariates. There was a significant actor effect both for women (=0.81, p < 0.001, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.65, 0.98]) and for men (=0.81, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.61, 0.01]). However, the model did not show any partner effect, condition effect, active-constructive conflict behaviour effect, or Dyadic Adjustment Scale effect (all p ≥ 0.110). Removing four outliers that were more than 2 standard deviations above or below the mean of the IOS before the discussion and the IOS after the discussion did not change the results. As we had hypothesized that mediation would result in more interpersonal closeness, we tested whether there was a significant effect of condition on the IOS. We thus conducted pairwise t -tests that compared the IOS before and after the discussion in the mediation and control conditions separately. As shown in Table 1 , this analysis revealed that the IOS increased from before to after the conflict discussion for the mediation condition ( t (37) = −2.92, p = 0.006) but did not change in the control condition ( t (35) = −0.94, p = 0.35). Removing the outliers did not change these results.

Regarding satisfaction with the contents of the discussion, satisfaction with the process of the discussion, and level of disagreement at the end of the discussion, the calculation of Pearson correlation coefficients (Alferes and Kenny, 2009 ) revealed that these variables were not independent across couple members (all p ≤ 0.05). To test the impact of mediation on these three outcome variables, we thus conducted APIM analyses by using APIM_SEM (Stas et al., 2018 ). In these models, baseline variables that correlated with the outcome variables after the conflict discussion were used as predictor variables. Active-constructive conflict behaviour was included as a predictor for satisfaction with the contents of the discussion and satisfaction with the process of the discussion, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale was included as a predictor for the level of disagreement at the end of the discussion.

First, we tested the impact of mediation and active-constructive conflict behaviours on satisfaction with the contents of the discussion by using APIM (see Fig. 2 ). More specifically, this model tested the effect of one couple member’s active-constructive conflict behaviours on their own reports of satisfaction with the contents of the discussion (i.e., the actor effect), and on the partner’s satisfaction with the contents of the discussion (i.e., the partner effect). Condition (mediation or control) was included in the model as a between-dyad covariate and treated as a binary variable. There was a significant actor effect both for women (equal to 0.063, p = 0.045, 95% CI [0, 0.13]) and for men (equal to 0.065, p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.03, 0.1]). The overall actor effect was estimated to be 0.064 ( p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.03, 0.1]). There was a trend in a men-to-women partner effect (equal to 0.05, p = 0.078, 95% CI [−0.01, 0.11]) and in a women-to-men partner effect (equal to −0.041, p = 0.051, 95% CI [−0.08, 0]). Regarding the effect of condition, women in the mediation condition had on average a value on satisfaction with the contents of the discussion that was 1.06 points higher than that of women in the control condition and this difference was statistically significant ( p = 0.02). Men in the mediation condition had on average a value on satisfaction with the contents of the discussion that was 1.08 points higher than that of men in the control condition. This difference was also statistically significant ( p < 0.001).

Higher reports of participants on active-constructive conflict behaviours were related to higher reports of their own reports of satisfaction with the contents of the discussion. Positive estimates are indicated with green arrows, negative estimates with red arrows. The stronger the effect, the thicker the arrow. The double-headed arrows between “Active-Constructive Man” and “Active-Constructive Woman”, “Condition” and “Active-Constructive Man”, and “Condition” and “Active-Constructive Woman” represent the covariance of these pairs of variables. The double-headed arrow between “Satisfaction-Contents Woman” and “Satisfaction-Contents Man” is the residual non-independence in these outcome scores, which is represented by the covariance between their corresponding two error terms. *** p < 0.001 and * p < 0.05.

To test the impact of mediation and active-constructive conflict behaviours on satisfaction with the process of the discussion, we used the APIM to examine the effect of one couple member’s active-constructive conflict behaviour score on their own reports of satisfaction with the process of the discussion (i.e., the actor effect) and on the partner’s satisfaction with the process of the discussion (i.e., the partner effect) (see Fig. 3 ). Condition (mediation or control) was included in the model as a between-dyad covariate and treated as a binary variable. There was no actor effect for women ( p = 0.5), but there was a significant positive effect for men’s active-constructive conflict behaviours on men’s satisfaction with the process of the discussion, with a value of 0.106 ( p < 0.001, 95% CI [0.06, 0.15]). The overall actor effect was equal to 0.068 and was statistically significant ( p = 0.007, 95% CI [0.02, 0.12]). No partner effect was found (all p ≥ 0.26).

Higher reports of men on active-constructive conflict behaviours were related to higher reports in their own reports of satisfaction with the process of the discussion. Positive estimates are indicated with green arrows, negative estimates with red arrows. The stronger the effect, the thicker the arrow. The double-headed arrows between “Active-Constructive Man” and “Active-Constructive Woman”, “Condition” and “Active-Constructive Man”, and “Condition” and “Active-Constructive Woman” represent the covariance of these pairs of variables. The double-headed arrow between “Satisfaction-Process Woman” and “Satisfaction-Process Man” is the residual non-independence in these outcome scores, which is represented by the covariance between their corresponding two error terms. *** p < 0.001 and * p < 0.05.

Regarding the effect of condition on satisfaction with the contents of the discussion, women in the mediation condition had on average a value on satisfaction with the contents of the discussion that was 1.38 points higher than that of women in the control condition and this difference was statistically significant ( p = 0.031). Men in the mediation condition had on average a value on satisfaction with the contents of the discussion that was 1.11 points higher than that of men in the control condition. This difference was also statistically significant ( p = 0.004).

To test whether in the mediation condition the different satisfaction outcome variables (satisfaction of the couple members about the contents of the discussion, satisfaction of the couple members about the process of the discussion, satisfaction of the mediator about the contents of the discussion, satisfaction of the mediator about the process of the discussion) were interrelated, we conducted Spearman correlations because all of these variables were not normally distributed. We found a strong positive correlation between satisfaction of the couple members with the contents of the discussion and satisfaction of the couple members with the process of the discussion, ( r s = 0.74, p < 0.001), as well as between satisfaction of the mediator with the contents of the discussion and satisfaction of the mediator with the process of the discussion ( r s = 0.65, p < 0.001). However, there were no significant correlations between satisfaction of the couple members with the contents or process of the discussion, on the one hand, and satisfaction of the mediator with the contents or process of the discussion on the other hand (all r s ≤ 0.19 and p ≥ 0.26). We also conducted Spearman correlations to test whether the mediators’ satisfaction with the contents or process of the discussion were related to any other outcome variable, i.e., change in positive affect, change in negative affect, and the IOS after the discussion. We found a positive relation between satisfaction of the mediator with the contents or process of the discussion on the one hand, and change in negative affect, on the other ( r s = 0.4, p = 0.013 and r s = 0.35, p = 0.033, respectively). This means that mediators reported more satisfaction with the contents and process in couples who reported a greater increase in negative emotions. Removing the five outliers from the change in negative affect did not change the results. This exploratory result should be informed by future research, as it raises the question of the role that negative emotions play in conflicts (i.e., is it good to openly address and thus increase negative emotions, or should they be reduced?).

To test the impact of mediation and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale score on the level of disagreement at the end of the discussion, we used the APIM to examine the effect of one couple member’s Dyadic Adjustment Scale score on their own reports of level of disagreement at the end of the discussion (i.e., the actor effect) and on the partner’s level of disagreement at the end of the discussion (i.e., the partner effect) (see Supplementary Fig. 2 ). Condition (mediation or control) was included in the model as a between-dyad covariate and treated as a binary variable. No actor effect was found (all p ≥ 0.258). We found a negative effect for women’s Dyadic Adjustment Scale scores on men’s level of disagreement at the end of the discussion, with a value of −0.057 ( p = 0.022, 95% CI [−0.11, −0.01]), which means that the better the quality of the relationship reported by the women, the lower the level of disagreement reported by the men at the end of the discussion. We did not find any men-to-women partner effect. The overall partner effect was equal to −0.040 and was statistically significant ( p = 0.014, 95% CI [−0.07, −0.01]). No effect of condition on the level of disagreement at the end of the discussion was detected for women or men (all p ≥ 0.22).

Synchronicity of skin conductance response

Previous studies (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 , 1985 ) have shown a negative correlation between the average score of two questionnaire-based measures of the general level of marital satisfaction (Locke and Wallace, 1959 ; Burgess et al., 1971 ) (i.e., unrelated to a conflict discussion) and a physiological linkage index that combines skin conductance level, heart rate, pulse transmission time to the finger, and general somatic activity (an electromechanical transducer attached to the platform under each subject’s chair detected its movements) measured during a 15-min discussion between the couple members on a topic of recurring conflict (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ). In our study, we thus assessed whether synchronicity of the electrodermal response (EDR, the index of physiological linkage available in the current experiment) was related to the Dyadic Adjustment Scale score, which measures the quality of the relationship by using four subscales (Dyadic Consensus, Dyadic Satisfaction, Dyadic Cohesion, and Affectional Expression). Since the Pearson correlation of EDR and correlation between the change in slopes of EDR were not normally distributed, we conducted Spearman correlations. In contrast to previous work, a Spearman correlation of the data in the present study revealed a positive relation between the correlation between the change in slopes of EDR and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale ( r s = 0.26, p = 0.022). Similarly, a Spearman correlation revealed a positive relation between the Pearson correlation of EDR and the Dyadic Satisfaction subscale only ( r s = 0.27, p < 0.001, all other p ≥ 0.3). Moreover, we found a positive relation between the Pearson correlation of EDR and the closeness of the couple members, as measured by the IOS before the discussion ( r s = 0.28, p = 0.015) and a trend for a positive relation with the IOS after the discussion ( r s = 0.22, p = 0.053). Removing the outliers from the IOS before and after the discussion did not change the results. We did not find any correlation between the correlation between the change in slopes of EDR and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale or the IOS after the discussion (all r s ≤ 0.15, p ≥ 0.18).

As mentioned earlier, other studies (Chanel et al., 2013 ; Slovák et al., 2014 ) showed that electrodermal activity synchrony (quantified by Pearson correlations) between participants who had no relationship prior to the experiment was predictive of good collaborative behaviours and that electrodermal activity synchrony (quantified by Pearson correlations between the change in slopes) during a discussion of choice between friends was positively correlated to emotional engagement behaviours, as observed from video recordings. However, another study showed that a physiological linkage index was not correlated with the self-rating of affect of participants during a video-recall session (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ). In our study, we found a tendency for a negative relation between the Pearson correlation of EDR and the change in positive affect ( r s = −0.22, p = 0.059), suggesting that the higher the physiological linkage, the lower the increase in positive affect, but no relation between the correlation between the change in slopes of EDR of the electrodermal responses and the change in positive affect ( r s = 0.05, p = 0.66). Regarding the collaborative behaviours, no correlation was found between the correlation between the change in slopes of EDR or between the Pearson correlation of EDR and the active-constructive, passive-constructive, active-destructive, or passive-destructive conflict behaviours scores (all r s ≤ 0.10, all p ≥ 0.25). We also found no correlation between the correlation between the change in slopes of the electrodermal responses or between the Pearson correlation of EDR and the outcome variables change in negative affect, satisfaction with the contents of the discussion, satisfaction with the process of the discussion, and level of disagreement at the end of the discussion (all r s ≤ 0.19, all p ≥ 0.1).

As the present data suggest that electrodermal synchronicity is related to more satisfaction and closeness in romantic relationships, we also tested whether mediation as opposed to the control condition had an impact on electrodermal activity synchrony between participants. We conducted a MANOVA with condition (mediation or control) as a between-subject variable and the Pearson correlation and correlation between the change in slopes as dependent variables. There was no significant effect of condition on physiological synchrony ( V = 0.05, F (2, 73) = 1.98, p = 0.15).

Mediation helps to reduce couple conflict

To test the causal impact of mediation on conflicts in romantic couples, we conducted a study in which 38 couples were randomly assigned to discuss a topic of recurrent disagreement, either with or without the assistance of a mediator and always in the presence of a silent third party. The present results show that in a conflict discussion in romantic couples, mediation, but not simple negotiation, increased satisfaction with the contents and process of the discussion. Moreover, there were more agreements in mediated couple conflicts than in non-mediated couple conflicts (36 participants declared that they had reached an agreement in the mediation condition, whereas 26 of 36 participants did so in the control condition). Furthermore, compared with negotiation, mediation tended to decrease negative affect and increase positive affect. By showing for the first time the causal effects of mediation on couple conflict, the present results extend previous research and validate mediation as an important tool for resolving disputes. More specifically, we tested the impact of mediation in a real conflict rather than as a staged conflict (Jameson et al., 2009 ), with a longer duration of the interactions than in previously existing research (Levenson and Gottman, 1985 ; Driver and Gottman, 2004 ; Slovák et al., 2014 ). We also randomly assigned romantic couples to mediation, whereas previous studies used non-random assignments (Jameson et al., 2009 ), and compared mediation to direct negotiation, as opposed to comparing it to litigation (Shaw, 2014 ) or arbitration (Brett and Barsness, 1996 ; Barough et al., 2013 ).

Firstly, the most interesting result of our study concerns the significant and positive impact of mediation on satisfaction with the contents and process of the discussion. Combined with the tendency of mediation to increase positive affect and decrease negative affect, this result shows that the use of mediation improves the quality of the discussion between couple members, which makes mediation an appealing and emotionally rewarding conflict resolution process for potential parties, regardless of the outcome. It may be interesting to further study whether this impact on satisfaction can create a virtuous circle: if a person is more satisfied about what they discussed and how they discussed it during a mediation session, will they be more eager to have additional sessions or to use mediation again in another situation? Secondly, the positive actor effect of active-constructive conflict behaviours on satisfaction with the contents and process of the discussion and the tendency of a positive partner effect of active-constructive conflict behaviours on satisfaction with the contents show that couple members who are able to display these behaviours will have a discussion of better quality and may influence each other positively. This effect is reinforced by the fact that the tendency to use active-destructive conflict behaviours such as expressing anger and retaliating is not independent between couple members, which suggests that couple members who adopt such behaviours influence each other negatively. Given the beneficial impact of active-constructive conflict behaviours and the negative impact of active-destructive conflict behaviours, it may be worthwhile to test whether these active-constructive conflict behaviours can be taught in intervention studies.

Regarding the impact of mediation on the perception of closeness between couple members as measured by the IOS, the results of our study are not conclusive but may suggest that mediation could improve interpersonal closeness. Further research is needed to validate this hypothesis.

Regarding the last outcome variable, the level of disagreement at the end of the discussion, we also found no effect of mediation. Further studies are needed to better understand this absence of effect in comparison with the other outcome variables.

Emotional competence is related to higher relationship quality and mindfulness is related to more active-constructive and passive-constructive conflict behaviours

In addition, the present study revealed that the self-reported EI, measured by the total Profile of Emotional Competence score (Brasseur et al., 2013 ), was positively related to relationship quality as measured by the total Dyadic Adjustment Scale score. This confirms previous research, which showed that participants with higher EI scores had higher scores of close and affectionate relationships (Schutte et al., 2001 ). However, we found that, contrary to previous results (Barnes et al., 2007 ; Wachs and Cordova, 2007 ; Forster, 2017 ) the total Dyadic Adjustment Scale score was not correlated with the total mindfulness score. This discrepancy might be related to the use of a different measure of mindfulness, namely the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Brown and Ryan, 2003 ), in previous studies (Barnes et al., 2007 ; Wachs and Cordova, 2007 ; Forster, 2017 ). Further studies are needed to better understand the relation between mindfulness and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale score.

We also found that the higher the dispositional mindfulness, the higher the preference to use active-constructive conflict behaviours (perspective-taking, creating options, expressing emotions) and passive-constructive conflict behaviours (reflective thinking, delay responding, and adapting). This is consistent with a previous study that showed that higher levels of self-compassion are correlated with an attitude of compromise in conflict situations (Yarnell and Neff, 2013 ). It will be interesting in future studies to further investigate the relationships identified between EI and the quality of the couple relationship on one the hand, and mindfulness and conflict behaviours on the other.

Synchrony in electrodermal activity is related to closeness and change in positive affect

For the two electrodermal activity synchrony indices, we could not identify any impact of mediation. However, we could identify a positive relation between one of our two physiological indices, the Pearson correlation of EDR , and the IOS before the discussion. We also found a tendency for a positive relation between the same Pearson correlation of EDR and the IOS after the discussion. We did not find any relation between our second index, the correlation between the change in slopes of EDR and the IOS before or after the discussion. In further research, it would be interesting to explore what might influence this relation positively or negatively. We could also identify a tendency for a negative relation between the Pearson correlation of EDR and change in positive affect. A previous study about the relation between the physiological linkage of couple members and its affect in the context of a conflictual discussion (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ) showed that the physiological linkage of couple members was not correlated to the continuous self-rating of affect by participants during video recall. The self-rating was done during the recall by moving a dial between 0, meaning “very negative”, to 9, meaning “very positive”. However, such self-rating of affect is not similar to the change between the pre-test and post-test self-rating of affect that we used. Further research should be conducted to better understand the relationship between physiological linkage and the closeness of the couple members on the one hand, and positive affect on the other. In particular, it could be interesting to extend our methods and, as done previously (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ), study the relationship between continuous self-rating of video recall and physiological indices.

We found that the correlation between the change in slopes of EDR was positively related to the total score on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale and that the Pearson correlation was also positively related to the Dyadic Satisfaction subscale. These results are inconsistent with data obtained in previous research (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ), which showed that the physiological linkage of couple members was negatively related to marital satisfaction. Our data support the view that physiological linkage is a sign of a positive and constructive social interaction in general (Chanel et al., 2013 ; Slovák et al., 2014 ), as physiological linkage was related to more interpersonal closeness before the conflict and had a tendency to also be related to more interpersonal closeness after the conflict. There were no differences in electrodermal activity synchrony between the mediated and non-mediated condition. Furthermore, there were no overall effects of conflict on electrodermal activity synchrony. The present data thus suggest that electrodermal activity synchrony may not be the best biological marker of arousal states in couple conflicts. Notably, our study used electrodermal activity only to identify the level of physiological linkage, whereas previous studies also included the synchrony of the heartbeat or of facial expressions (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ; Slovák et al., 2014 ). In future studies, a worthwhile endeavour may be to include not only heartbeat or facial expressions in the calculation of physiological linkage indices, but also brain responses to seeing one’s romantic partner (Rafi et al., 2020 ). It may also be useful to apply other methods presented in recent studies, such as non-linear models or temporal interpersonal emotion systems (Guastello et al., 2006 and Butler, 2011 , respectively). Examining the effect of empathy could be of value, since several studies (Levenson and Ruef, 1992 ; Guastello et al., 2006 ; Marci et al., 2007 ; Soto and Levenson, 2009 ) have shown that physiological linkage is related to higher empathy. Moreover, it may be interesting to study the influence of stress levels of couple members by measuring cortisol levels (Ditzen et al., 2009 , 2011 , 2012 ; Saxbe and Repetti, 2010 ; Laurent et al., 2013 ). Notably, in our study, the average duration of the discussions in both conditions was significantly longer than that in previous research (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ) (around 50 min compared with 15 min), which could explain the difference in physiological linkage results between our results and those from previous research (Levenson and Gottman, 1983 ). Furthermore, our findings may be limited by artefacts because of the movements of the participants and the fact that we calculated indices of physiological linkage on a complete discussion, whereas it is possible that some linkage may exist during highly empathic phases of the discussion and not during others.

Mediation is an efficient tool for dispute resolution

By showing the benefits of mediation on couple conflicts in a randomized controlled trial, the present results suggest that the use of mediation should be reinforced as a form of cost-efficient dispute management. In other words, the present findings can increase the incentive for policy makers, judges, legal systems, and parties in conflict to support or engage in mediation. Future work is needed to establish which forms of dispute resolution (e.g., couple therapy, counselling (Gottman, 1999 ), conflict coaching (Brinkert, 2016 ), self-distancing training (Kross and Ayduk, 2008 ), third-party perspective training (Finkel et al., 2013 ), or compassion training (Klimecki, 2019 )) are most efficient in particular conflict settings (e.g., interpersonal or intergroup conflicts, phases of low or high conflict; Klimecki, 2019 ).

Helping users make better informed decisions when choosing a form of dispute resolution

Beyond showing the beneficial impact of mediation on couple conflict, our results further suggest that a protocol can be used to compare the effectiveness of various forms of dispute resolution by measuring the following five variables: (i) agreements obtained on the topic of discussion, (ii) satisfaction with the contents of the discussion and satisfaction with the process of the discussion, (iii) level of disagreement at the end of the discussion, (iv) change in positive affect and change in negative affect, and (v) IOS after the discussion. Extending the use of such a protocol could contribute to the emergence of scientifically valid standards of practice that would help users make more informed decisions when choosing the form of dispute prevention or resolution intervention that is best suited to their situation, e.g., the nature and degree of their conflict and their personality traits. These forms of dispute prevention or intervention could include, beyond simple negotiation or legal proceedings, mediation, as well as self-distancing training (Kross and Ayduk, 2008 ), third-party perspective training (Finkel et al., 2013 ), compassion training (Klimecki, 2019 ), therapy or counselling (Gottman, 1999 ), or conflict coaching (Brinkert, 2016 ).

Limitations and ideas for future study

Although this study shows the beneficial effect of mediation on couple conflict and thus has important implications for conflict resolution, it also has some limitations. For the control condition, we chose to have a silent-third party in the room, in order to test as conservatively as possible whether the mere presence of another person made a difference or whether it was actually the intervention of the mediator per se. In addition, our aim was to provide couples with an environment where a trained mediator could intervene, should the conflict get too heated. This happened in one case, where the silent mediator had to stop the discussion and proceed with a mediation. Furthermore, couples in the control condition were provided with instructions that may have helped them to have a more effective conversation. Although our control condition thus does not represent couples’ discussions as they most likely happen at home, our conditions allow to test the impact of a mediator in a very rigorous and conservative way that controls for the presence of a third party and for the instructions given to structure the session. The instructions in the control condition were given to participants and were minimal in order to keep the conversation as natural as possible (see Supplementary Note 1 ). The instructions in the mediation condition were given to the mediator (see Supplementary Note 2 ).

On average, the mediated discussions were probably not sufficiently long for the mediation to be transformative (Folger and Bush, 1996 ) and to have more impact on the level of disagreement at the end of the discussion and on the IOS. In practice, it is common to resolve couple conflicts in several mediation sessions (Folger and Bush, 1996 ) and to openly discuss emotions during these sessions to achieve a sustainable resolution of the conflict at hand, which we did not specifically instruct our participants to do in either of the two conditions (Folger and Bush, 1996 ; Bodtker and Jameson, 2001 ; Jameson et al. 2009 ). In future research, it will be interesting to study longer interventions over multiple sessions and to examine in more detail the psychological mechanisms of mediation. More specifically, future studies that investigate the dynamic interplay between emotional expressions, body language, and a mediator’s speech and the involved parties could explore which interventions of a mediator are most beneficial for promoting conflict resolution. Moreover, it may be of interest to test the psychological mechanisms (such as self-distancing, emotion regulation, perspective taking, changes in social emotions) through which the beneficial impact of mediation is achieved, as well as the impact of the different styles of mediation (facilitative, evaluative, transformative), the impact of longer mediations, and the situations in which different types of conflict interventions work best (e.g., Klimecki, 2019 ). One of the most important questions for future research will be to test the impact of mediation in couples with very high levels of conflict. Another promising avenue would be to study how training that is focused on developing the ability to use active-constructive and passive-constructive conflict behaviours could influence the outcomes of conflict resolution sessions, as measured with the outcome variables used in our research. We did not find any correlation between satisfaction with the contents and the process of the couple members, and satisfaction with the contents and the process of the mediators; further study is needed to understand this absence of correlation.

Mediation tended to increase positive affect and decrease negative affect of the couple members. Further analysis of the audio and video recordings of the discussions could investigate how the mediators’ behaviors influence the dynamics of the discussion. Further longitudinal research could also show whether this tendency to improve positive and negative affect is sustainable and whether it positively conditions the couple members to have less conflictual discussions in the hours or days following the mediation session.

Further longitudinal research could also test how long the impact of mediation on the existence of an agreement at the end of the discussion (measured by “yes” or “no”) lasts and whether a follow-up mediation session could further improve the perception of an agreement.

Considering that there was an actor and partner effect of active-constructive conflict behaviours on satisfaction with the contents of the discussion, a valuable approach may be to test whether people who have been trained, prior to a mediation session, to use constructive behaviours when discussing difficult topics, such as perspective-taking and expressing emotions, achieve better outcomes than a control group does and how those people mutually influence each other depending on the behaviour that they display.

More research is needed to evaluate the impact of mediation on psychological linkage and whether and how this linkage can inform the parties in mediation, and the mediator, about the progress of the discussion towards a positively viewed outcome. Additional research is also needed to evaluate the impact of different styles and forms of mediation interventions (e.g., facilitative as opposed to transformative), as well as the impact of mediation on the five outcome variables at the different phases of a conflict resolution session. Of particular interest will be to further study the relation between the mediator’s evaluations and the participants’ evaluations, since, for example, the satisfaction of the mediator and that of the participants were not correlated. Furthermore, we found that the higher the increase in negative affect of the parties, the higher the satisfaction of the mediator, which is counterintuitive, but may point to the importance of addressing negative emotions in conflicts.

In addition to the collection of skin conductance data, the discussions of the participants were videotaped. The emotional expressions (face, speech, gestures) from these videos are currently being analysed with automated software and elaborate manual coding by using the specific affect coding system (Coan and Gottman, 2007 ). This could be extended further by studying how the availability of real-time predictive data about the emotional arousal of the parties might help reach better outcomes. Future studies with randomized assignments to intervention groups and real conflicts should test how far the beneficial effects of mediation and other forms of dispute resolution can be extended to other conflict settings, such as business conflicts, workplace conflicts, intergroup conflicts, and intractable international conflicts by using the protocol of the present study.

The present data suggest that, compared with negotiation, mediation is a powerful intervention strategy for conflict resolution in romantic couples and has a positive impact on satisfaction with the contents and process of the discussion and the probability of reaching an agreement. Our data also show promising effects of mediation on positive and negative affects. Although this study focused on mediation in romantic couples, its results could also be of interest for disputes in the workplace or business conflicts.

Data availability

The datasets analysed during the current study are available in the Dataverse repository: https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/SVXIPH . The data sets generated and/or analysed in the current study are available from the corresponding author (F.B.) on request.

Code availability

The code generated and/or analysed in the current study are available from the corresponding author (F.B.) on request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Aleksander Sobolewski and his team from the Psychophysiology Facility at Campus Biotech as well as Remi Neveu from the Brain and Behaviour Laboratory for setting up the lab rooms, Theodoros Kostoulas and Guillaume Chanel for their mentoring, Halima Rafi for conducting some of the experiments, the Eckerd College (St. Petersburg, Florida, USA) for the availability of the free licenses of the Conflict Dynamics Profile and all the mediators who participated pro bono to the experiments (by alphabetical order): Viktoria Aversano, Christophe Imhoos, Jeremy Lack, Alexis Lafranchi, Isabelle Laugier, Fernanda Salina, and Birgit Sambeth Glasner. We also thank Jeremy Lack for his help in setting up the panel of mediators and commenting on a previous version of the present paper.

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F.B., O.M.K., and T.P. conceived the experiment, F.B. conducted the experiment, F.B. analysed the results under the supervision of O.M.K., F.B. and O.M.K. wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Bogacz, F., Pun, T. & Klimecki, O.M. Improved conflict resolution in romantic couples in mediation compared to negotiation. Humanit Soc Sci Commun 7 , 131 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-020-00622-8

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Understanding mechanisms of conflict resolution beyond collaboration: an interdisciplinary typology of knowledge types and their integration in practice

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Published: 04 April 2019
Volume 15 , pages 263–279, ( 2020 )

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Olga Stepanova 1 ,
Merritt Polk 1 &
Hannah Saldert 1

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Conflicts over land use and their resolution are one of the core challenges in reaching sustainable development today. The aim of this paper is to better understand the mechanisms that underlie conflict resolution. To do so we focus on the use and integration of different knowledge types for conflict resolution in three fields: natural resource management, transdisciplinary research and urban planning. We seek to understand what role different types of knowledge have in the different examples and contexts given. How is knowledge conceptualized and defined? How is it used and integrated to resolve conflicts? These questions are answered through a thematic review of the literature and a discussion of the different knowledge typologies from the respective research fields. We compare conflict resolution approaches and, as a synthesis, present an interdisciplinary knowledge typology for conflict resolution. We find that knowledge use centered approaches are seen as facilitating a common understanding of a problem and creating a necessary base for more productive collaboration across disciplines. However, it is often unclear what knowledge means in the studies analyzed. More attention to the role that different knowledge types have in conflict resolution is needed in order to shed more light on the possible shortcomings of the resolution processes. This might serve as a base to improve conflict resolution towards more lasting, long-term oriented and therefore more sustainable solutions. We conclude that the three literatures inform and enrich each other across disciplinary boundaries and can be used to develop more refined approaches to understanding knowledge use in conflict analysis and resolution.

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Introduction

Conflicts over land use are one of the core challenges in reaching sustainable development today (Owens and Cowell 2011 ; von der Dunk et al. 2011 ; Raco and Lin 2012 ; Antonson et al. 2016 ). The ways in which conflicts are managed are decisive for social justice, human rights, democratic participation and long-term environmental protection and conservation, all of which are foundations of sustainable development as well central issues within the newly launched United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Owens and Cowell 2011 ; SDGs, UN 2015 ). A number of approaches from different subject areas and theoretical traditions focus on conflicts both implicitly, through collaboration and consensus building (i.e., in urban planning and transdisciplinary knowledge production research), and explicitly, in studies of conflict resolution and mitigation (i.e., in natural resource management and environmental governance) (Innes and Booher 2015 ; Stepanova 2013 , 2015 ).

For example, while conflict is a given starting point for the urban planning (UP) discourse, it has most often been approached in terms of communication, collaboration and consensus building, as well as in terms of emancipation and agonism regarding the role of power relations and domination in planning processes and outcomes (Fainstein 2000 ; Harvey 2008 ; Healey 1997 ; Innes and Booher 2003 , 2010 ; Mouffe 2005 ; Owens and Cowell 2011 ). A few recent studies present more in-depth analyses of the processes that specifically constitute conflict development and resolution (e.g., Coppens 2014 ; Antonson et al. 2016 ; Kombe 2010 ).

In contrast, in natural resource management (NRM) and environmental governance, conflicts over natural resources, land use and their resolution have been intensively studied as such (Shmueli 2008 ; Reed et al. 2011 ; Stepanova and Bruckmeier 2013 ; Martín-Cantarino 2010 ). A few recent studies from within environmental management (e.g., Blythe and Dadi 2012 ; Stepanova 2013 ; Butler et al. 2015 ) suggest that a hitherto neglected component of knowledge integration might be one of the key elements to support conflict resolution on the way to sustainability. Similarly, the importance of knowledge integration as a crucial component for “societal problem solving” in urban planning, is highlighted in studies on transdisciplinary research (TDR) (Bergmann et al. 2012 ; Burger and Kamber 2003 ; Godemann 2008 ; Pohl et al. 2010 ; Polk 2015a , b ). In these studies, integration of multiple knowledge types from diverse sources is presented as central for sustainable development, resource management and planning.

The integration of different knowledges is especially important for the management and governance of complex issues, including conflict resolution with multiple actors. Research suggests that the integration of different knowledges may help to manage the complexity of conflicts by stimulating different kinds of awareness among the actors, e.g., complexity awareness, awareness of different perspectives and critical knowledge gaps, and whole system awareness (Jordan 2014 , p. 60; Wouters et al. 2018 ). For example, complexity awareness helps to “select strategically central aspects of the issue complex and develop effective action plans” for which the actors usually need “a thorough understanding of conditions and causality” (Jordan 2014 , p. 60). Integration of knowledge may facilitate common understanding of the problem at hand, its causes, help anticipate consequences and develop proposals for actions (ibid.; Andersson 2015 ).

The aim of this paper is to increase our understanding of one of the mechanisms that underlie conflict resolution Footnote 1 , namely knowledge integration, through a focus on the definitions and use of different types of knowledge. To do so, we compare different practices of knowledge use for conflict resolution that are dispersed in the NRM, TDR and UP literatures. By practices of knowledge use, we mean how different knowledges are defined in the literature, and how they are used and integrated in conflict resolution. Thus, the practice of knowledge use is seen as subordinate to mechanisms of conflict resolution. By focusing on definitions of knowledge and its use and integration, we draw attention to the ways that these three scholarly areas see and use knowledge in processes of conflict resolution. Knowledge integration as a mechanism of conflict resolution, is an important but under-investigated link between the knowledge types and the methods of conflict resolution (i.e., tools and approaches, e.g., participation). Both topics receive attention in the literature, however in different degrees of analytical depth and detail. By focusing on knowledge types, we hope to contribute to providing insight into the knowledge use related mechanisms of conflict resolution, which can further inform the development of more refined analytical tools for conflict analysis.

Overall, we seek to understand what role knowledge has in the different examples and contexts given. How is knowledge conceptualized and defined? How is it used and integrated to resolve conflicts? These questions are answered through a thematic review of the literature and a discussion of the different approaches to knowledge use and integration that exist in these research fields. As a synthesis, we present an interdisciplinary knowledge typology, which relates the findings from the review of these literatures to each other.

Building upon the work that has been done in NRM, TDR and UP, we discuss how the integration of these three literatures can be used to develop more refined approaches to conflict analysis and resolution. We believe that the topic of conflict analysis and resolution together with the discussion of practices of knowledge use that constitute resolution strategies, will be of interest for a broad scholarship of sustainability science. This integrative approach in turn has the potential to further our analysis and understanding of collaboration and to contribute to more informed and sustainable management practice (SDGs, UN 2015 ).

The paper proceeds as follows. We present a thematic literature review guided by the question: how are conflict resolution and practices of knowledge use addressed in the respective disciplines? Based on this review we trace and compare the role that different knowledge types and knowledge use processes are given in the respective areas. Finally, we present a synthesis of the reviewed literature and different knowledge typologies that represent the NRM, TDR and UP research fields. In the concluding discussion, we suggest ways in which studies of conflict resolution may benefit from this broader interdisciplinary discussion.

Conceptual base

As noted above, studies of non-violent resource use conflicts (e.g., land use), are spread across disciplines from UP to NRM and environmental governance. The terminology used to address conflicts differs across different approaches. Similar to the term conflict, the terms knowledge and knowledge integration are defined and understood differently in different disciplines and studies. The varying definitions and understandings of the terms imply difficulties when searching for texts to review (Nursey-Bray et al. 2014 ; Reed et al. 2010 ). We will therefore start by clarifying how these terms are defined in our study, both for the purpose of methodological clarity and to facilitate the analysis.

Conflict resolution

Conflict is a term that captures diverging interests or disagreements and is referred to in a number of ways including: dispute, clash of interests, competing interests or simply problem. Conflict resolution is also referred to in different ways, for example as conflict prevention, mitigation, management, transformation, consensus building, cooperation, reconciliation, and collaboration. In this paper, we use the term conflict , to refer to local non-violent resource use conflicts that arise around the use of natural resources, primarily land, and to a lesser extent other natural resources, such as different species. High levels of complexity characterize such conflicts including multiple stakeholders with different interests, values and knowledge who are associated with a variety of political and administrative contexts and levels. In the context of UP, conflicts occur when a planned change in land use infringes upon the interests and values of different stakeholders to such a degree that they cannot accept the change without some sort of negotiation. Here, conflict is broadly understood as a situation where stakeholders have incompatible interests related to certain geographically defined land-use units or resource (von der Dunk et al. 2011 ).

Conflict resolution in the context of NRM and urban planning is a process where a variety of approaches, methods, policy and management instruments are applied. These include formal and informal resolution, governmental and user based procedures, as well as other types of arbitration and mediation, which are direct and indirect, legally enforced and voluntary, knowledge based or culture specific, or a combination of these (Stepanova 2015 ). Throughout this paper conflict resolution is understood as a dynamic iterative process where different stakeholders (not only courts and mediators) initiate attempts to solve the conflict formally and informally in search of “better” management solutions. In this process, stakeholders co-produce, test, use and integrate different knowledge types (Blackmore 2007 ; Collins et al. 2007 ).

Knowledge integration

Knowledge and its integration from different scientific disciplines and non-scientific sources (e.g., local knowledge, professional knowledge) is the theme that is common for all three research fields discussed in this paper: NRM, TDR and UP. Practices of knowledge use and integration is one of the main themes in NRM and environmental governance research where they are discussed as necessary preconditions for more adaptive, collaborative and sustainable resource management (Bremer and Glavovic 2013a , b ; Bohensky and Maru 2011 ; Tengö et al. 2014 , 2017 ). Within TDR, knowledge integration is an overall way to deal with wicked, or complex societal problems (Brown et al. 2010 ; Polk 2015a , b ; Scholz and Steiner 2015a , b ). While not explicitly focusing on ‘conflict management’ or ‘conflict resolution’ per se, TDR approaches all are based upon the assumption that knowledge integration is a cornerstone for not only understanding conflicts that occur within attempts to reach a more sustainable society, but also for resolving them. The integration of knowledge, expertise and values from both scientific and non-scientific sources is used normatively, balancing diverse opinions and values regarding how goals are defined, and over what types of knowledge and expertise are seen as most applicable to the solution of specific problems. It is also used instrumentally, where different types of integration are seen as necessary for grasping the complexity of wicked problems, as well as seen as having additional process-related (governance) value for solving current and future conflicts (Bergmann et al. 2012 ; Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn 2007 ; Polk 2014 ; Wiek et al. 2012 , 2014 ). Knowledge integration from diverse sources also results in an increase of knowledge about how other organizations and actors understand, formulate and solve problems and can thus contribute to how societal problems can be solved in the future (Spangenberg 2011 ; Walter et al. 2007 ; Wiek et al. 2012 , 2014 ). In these ways, the contributions of knowledge integration to solving societal conflicts (in a broad use of the term), is both implicitly as well as explicitly, a cornerstone of the TDR field.

Different types of knowledge and knowledge integration are also central in the planning literature (Rydin 2007 ; McGuirk 2001 ; Watson 2014 ). Rydin ( 2007 ), for example, sees the use of knowledge as “a central element in achieving (positive) change through planning” (p. 53) and claims that “the purpose of planning is to handle multiple knowledges” (p. 55). Practices of knowledge exchange, and different forms and practices of knowing are among the central themes in planning which itself is sometimes conceptualized as a practice of knowing (Davoudi 2015 ). The importance of the conceptualization of knowledge together with the demand to pay more attention to practices of knowledge use in the context of unequal power relations within planning practice has been repeatedly emphasized (Fainstein 2000 ; McGuirk 2001 ; Rydin 2007 ; Owens and Cowell 2011 ; Flyvbjerg and Richardson 2002 ).

Knowledge refers to many different entities (Rydin 2007 ). It is a much used term in the discourses studied here, that is also used analytically and theoretically, sometimes interchangeably and not always clearly defined. This makes it methodologically challenging to track and study its use. In order to untangle the complexity and multifacetedness of the knowledge concept, this paper will build upon Rydin’s conceptualization of knowledge as knowledge claims (Rydin 2007 ). Following Rydin, we define knowledge as a claim to understanding certain causal relationships . In other words, understanding of the causal relationship between action and impact constitutes the core of a knowledge claim (ibid. p. 53). According to Rydin, a knowledge claim can be distinguished from other claims, e.g., ethical, pragmatic, efficiency or aesthetic. Knowledge claims may be used to support values. Values thus may constitute part of a knowledge claim, and influence it, but for our use here, they are not equal to knowledge. Furthermore, knowledge claims cannot be reduced to experiences even though experience may be a prerequisite to understanding (ibid p. 56; Collins and Evans 2002 ; Scholz and Steiner 2015a , b ). This distinction helps to separate knowledge from values in complex conflicts and provides a basis for more refined tracking and analysis of knowledge use. Footnote 2

Regarding knowledge integration, another distinction has to be made in regard to the relationship between knowledge and learning. Knowledge related processes are difficult to identify and isolate as they are always intertwined with learning (Blackmore 2007 ). Here, we understand knowledge use as an overarching term that embraces individual learning, joint learning and knowledge co-production. Learning, in turn, includes knowledge integration as an integral part (Ballard et al. 2008 ). Knowledge integration can also happen on the individual and group level and on different levels of institutional arrangements (e.g., within planning context). In this paper, knowledge integration is understood as the integration of different knowledge claims in a complex social process of knowledge production, synthesis, sharing and learning within planning and decision-making (Godemann 2008 ; Polk 2015a , b ; Stepanova 2013 ). Knowledge integration can be understood as both a process and an outcome of conflict resolution and participatory decision-making. For the purpose of this paper, the process dimension of knowledge integration is seen as internal and inherent to individual and group learning processes and methodologically difficult to capture without long-term ethnographic studies. The outcome dimension of knowledge integration, while entwined with specific results of learning/co-production processes, can be traced through the implementation and application of different knowledges in decision-making processes and documentation (e.g., through the decisions made, argumentation used). We see the integration of different knowledges (conflicting knowledge claims) in the context of urban planning as expressed in development goals, plans, and other forms in the implementation stage of the decision-making processes.

Given the multifaceted nature of conflicts and their engagement of diverse actors, it is also important to distinguish the multiple contexts or levels where processes of joint learning and knowledge integration occur. Multilevel integration is understood as horizontal and vertical integration of different knowledge types (Rydin 2007 ). Horizontal integration happens among stakeholders in formal (e.g., routine public consultation within planning where different knowledge claims and interests get manifested and shared) and informal (e.g., open stakeholder forums, informal dialogues) processes of conflict resolution within urban municipal planning. Importantly, horizontal knowledge integration does not “ensure (its) anchoring in respective institutional and political contexts where social change occurs” (Polk 2015a , b :110). Therefore, the need to also study vertical integration which, together with other knowledge types, includes the integration of knowledge from collaborative and participatory processes on the horizontal level of conflict resolution into actual decision-making and public policy on local and regional levels (Stepanova 2013 ).

Materials and methods

In order to explore how conflict resolution and practices of knowledge use are addressed in NRM, TDR and UP, we thematically reviewed peer-reviewed articles published in English from January 1999 until September 2017. Footnote 3 Only studies published in peer-reviewed journals were included. Books and grey literature (such as reports) were excluded due to the concerns regarding their peer review status and quality. While this delimitation risks missing relevant studies, it nevertheless provides an adequate basis to assess the research in these respective fields for the purpose of this paper.

We applied an iterative search using the search engine Google scholar™ in September–October 2017. This engine was chosen because it returned more results with more complete citation numbers as it includes a wider variety of sources than other search engines. The aim was to first identify studies that directly address conflict resolution in the title, abstract and/or keywords. The keywords for the first search were adapted to the terminology used in respective disciplines. In NRM the keywords were: conflict resolution/knowledge/learning; in TDR: co-production/conflict resolution/joint learning/knowledge integration; in urban planning: conflict resolution/joint learning/knowledge integration/co-production/knowledge use. The results of the first search gave us an overview of how well represented the studies of conflicts and knowledge practices were in the respective disciplines. A second more specific search was made among studies identified in the first round. For this second search, the aim was to distil the studies that discuss practices of knowledge use/integration/learning in relation to /as a strategy for conflict resolution. The keywords applied were knowledge integration/learning/ for conflict resolution. The texts were selected based on the abstract and introduction. A few references were also added from the authors’ wider reading within our research backgrounds (NRM, TDR, UP). These additional references we considered applicable for our purposes as they discussed the themes we were interested in. They were not retrieved through the literature search partly because they dealt with conflict resolution either indirectly or did not use any of the keywords in the title, abstract nor introduction. This was primarily the case for the TD literature, where conflict is not a core concept. In the other areas, the analysis is primarily based on the results retrieved through the organized literature searches. The studies that addressed a combination of the two themes (knowledge integration/use for conflict resolution) were analyzed in more detail. Several exemplary texts were chosen to constitute a base for the discussion of conflict resolution practices in each research area (Tables 1 , 2 , 3 ). The chosen texts most fully fulfilled the criteria for the second search. They discussed practices of knowledge use/integration/learning in relation to/as a strategy for conflict resolution, were highly cited, and represented different streams within the respective research areas.

Knowledge use and conflict resolution in natural resource management (NRM)

The theme of conflict resolution has since long been discussed in NRM together with the theme of knowledge use which is central in NRM. Knowledge-based conflict resolution is a basic prerequisite and aim, for example, within adaptive co-management (Plummer et al. 2012 , 2017 ) that includes adaptive management (e.g., Stringer et al. 2006 ; Pahl-Wostl 2007 ), collaborative management (e.g., Schusler et al. 2003 ; Berkes 2009 ; Mostert et al. 2007 ), and participatory resource management (e.g., Muro and Jeffrey 2008 ; Beierle and Konisky 2000 ).

Conflict, although indirectly, is also at the core within common pool resource research (CPR) and within the social-ecological resilience literature. In CPR, conflict resolution is addressed through deliberation, negotiation, dialogue and joint learning, which is facilitated by innovative institutional arrangements (e.g., Ostrom et al., Adams et al. 2003 ; Dietz et al. 2003 ; Paavola 2007 ; Ratner et al. 2013 ). In the social-ecological resilience literature, conflicts are treated through social networks, knowledge sharing and social learning (e.g., Lebel et al. 2006 ; Olsson et al. 2004 on adaptive co-management for resilience). Together with adaptive co-management, more detailed and in-depth studies of conflicts and their resolution are also found within human ecology (Bruckmeier 2005 ; Bruckmeier and Höj Larsen 2008 ; Jentoft and Chuenpagdee 2009 ; Stepanova 2013 , 2015 ) and biological/wildlife conservation (e.g., Dickman 2010 ; Redpath et al. 2004 , 2013 ; Henle et al. 2008 ; Madden and McQuinn 2014 ). In these literatures, conflict resolution is often framed in terms of participation, cooperation, collaboration, dialogue and conflict transformation (Stepanova and Bruckmeier 2013 ).

Table 1 contains representative studies within NRM that explicitly discuss processes of knowledge use and integration for conflict resolution that were identified in the process of literature review. The resolution approaches discussed in these studies are consensus and compromise oriented and see knowledge sharing and integration through joint learning as a necessary precondition to form a common understanding or interpretations of a problem at hand. The main difference is the level of analysis of conflicts and the way that knowledge integration is theorized or framed. The framing of knowledge integration through social, joint and collaborative learning prevails (Reed et al. 2011 ; Redpath et al. 2013 ; Bruckmeier and Höj Larsen 2008 ; Butler et al. 2015 ) with the exception of the framing/reframing approach (Emery et al. 2013 ; Shmueli 2008 ; Putnam et al. 2003 ) (Table 1 ). Joint learning is seen as central for better understanding the positions and perceptions of participating actors. It is also seen to help formulate common goals and paths to reach them (Reed et al. 2011 ). In slight contrast to other approaches where knowledge integration is conceptualized though learning, in the framing/reframing approach, which may be seen as a process of knowledge integration itself, knowledge production and integration are seen as part of a cognitive process (framing) of understanding , interpreting and making sense of the problem at hand (Shmueli 2008 ; Emery et al. 2013 ). However, it may be argued that learning and understanding are interconnected or constitute each other. At the same time, understanding in framing/reframing is also about acceptance (no matter what it is based on) on the way to a trade-off or consensus.

In the NRM literature, the process component of knowledge integration (related to individual and group learning) is rarely analyzed in depth or evaluated. Rather, it is implicitly present in general processes of dialogue, negotiation, learning, collaboration and participation. Joint formulation of alternative resource management plans often constitute the outcome component of knowledge integration. This latter component is given more attention in the studies as a concrete outcome of the resolution efforts, something that consensus may result in.

The knowledge types identified in these studies fall within the general knowledge typology of scientific, expert/managerial, local (ecological) knowledge. For example, Butler et al. ( 2015 ) provide an example of successful horizontal and vertical integration of competing knowledges (scientific, managerial, local ecological) in a form of jointly produced alternative management plans formulated in the process of collective negotiations.

Stepanova ( 2013 ) offers a more detailed knowledge typology where the three general knowledge types (local, scientific, managerial/administrative) are further categorized as formal or informal, local ecological or local social knowledge. Footnote 4 By informal knowledge, she refers to mainly individual, not documented knowledge communicated in informal forums. Informal knowledge is often integrated in formal knowledge articulated through written documents, norms and procedures.

This review of the NRM literature shows that the authors rarely specify what they mean by knowledge or different knowledge types. In the reviewed studies, the focus is rather on the instrumental processes that stimulate or support knowledge use and integration on different levels of decision-making (concerned with the “how”, “through what strategies and tools”) (i.e., Reed et al. 2011 ; Butler et al. 2015 ), rather than on in-depth discussion of the roles that different knowledge types have in conflict resolution and resource management.

Knowledge types and knowledge integration in transdisciplinary research (TDR) and their contributions to conflict resolution

What can the transdisciplinary approaches contribute to using knowledge integration for conflict resolution in urban contexts? The transdisciplinary discourse includes a number of different approaches to knowledge integration. Given that the transdisciplinary discourse itself is interdisciplinary, knowledge integration is framed from within a variety of theoretical and disciplinary approaches. One of the main focus areas in the TDR literature included in our review is the research process itself, how it is characterized, what features it has, what forms it takes, what its goals are and how different degrees and types of participation/collaboration effect societal outcomes (Jahn and Keil 2015 ; Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn 2008 ; Talwar et al. 2011 ; Walter et al. 2007 ; Wiek et al. 2014 ; Westberg and Polk 2016 ; Wickson et al. 2006 ). Overall, participation and learning (mutual, social, situated) are seen as mechanisms for ensuring sufficient integration of knowledge, expertise and values from different stakeholder groups. TDR thus includes not only discussions regarding knowledge integration, but also focuses on process , and more recently on how power relationships influence the ability to integrate different perspectives into TDR (Berger-González et al. 2016 ; Klenk and Meehan 2015 ; Schmidt and Neuburger 2017 ). For the purpose of this paper, four topics within the TDR literature will be discussed here. These include: conceptual models for collaboration, knowledge typologies, mutual learning processes and participatory features/power (see Table 2 ).

For the context of conflict resolution in focus in this paper, knowledge integration in the TD discourse is not just about knowledge outcomes, it is about knowledge creating processes, about how knowledge exchange, sharing and integration occur through different types of participation, cooperation and collaboration. A great deal of attention has been put on designing conceptual models for collaboration that can create the premises for knowledge exchange and learning (Jahn et al. 2012 ; Lang et al. 2012 ; Morton et al. 2015 ; Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn 2007 ; Polk 2015a , b ; Wiek et al. 2014 ). These models focus on designing mechanisms into the research processes that ensure a sufficient amount of knowledge integration to grasp the complexity of the problem under study and represent the expertise of relevant stakeholders. Key strategies include creating joint understanding and problem framing around a common research objects, collaborative knowledge production processes and joint synthesis, implementation and communication of results (Lang et al. 2012 ; Polk 2015a , b ). Central issues for joint understandings and problem formulations include discussions regarding the significant amount of time needed to create the mutual trust and commitment that underlies the creation of productive relationships.

Numerous studies within the TD discourse discuss both knowledge types and their integration (Burger and Kamber 2003 ; Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn 2007 ; Pohl 2011 ; Zierhofer and Burger 2007 ; Klenk and Meehan 2015 ; Morton et al. 2015 ; Hoffmann et al. 2017 ). Overall, the main distinction of knowledge types is between scientific knowledge and practitioner-based expertise or the so-called science–policy interface (Munoz-Erickson 2014 ). A number of TD scholars make further distinctions based upon groups of actors, the focus or functions of knowledge, and on knowledge systems or communities. The first is often within the science–practice divide and includes interdisciplinary knowledge integration among different disciplines and scientific domains like the natural and social sciences, and different types of professional or experienced based knowledge based on groups of actors such as bureaucrats, civil servants, business interests or on experiential or lay knowledge (Edelenbos et al. 2011 ; Enengel et al. 2012 ; Munoz-Erickson 2014 ). The second includes knowledge classifications based on the type of analysis being undertaken such as instrumental, normative and predictive (Burger and Kamber 2003 ; Pohl 2011 ). The third focuses more on mutual learning processes and includes how knowledge systems are constituted in different communities, collectives and epistemologies (Burger and Kamber 2003 ; Pohl 2011 ; Westberg and Polk 2016 ).

From the Swiss discourse on TDR, Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn present a much-cited typology of knowledge, where systems, target and transformative knowledge are noted as the basic types of knowledge that are needed for TDR for sustainability (Burger and Kamber 2003 :52; Proclim 1997 ; Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn 2007 ). Systems knowledge refers to knowledge about the current state of a specific problem (How did we get here and where are we heading?); target knowledge refers to desirable futures or goals (Where do we want to go?), and transformative knowledge refers to knowledge about how to transition to a specific goal or future (How do we get there?) (Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn 2007 ; ProClim 1997 ). These knowledge types are seen to embody the specific challenges of sustainability, regarding uncertainties, the contested nature of sustainability and the practical and institutional contextual complexity related to reaching sustainability (Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn 2007 ). These types of knowledge are not based on stakeholder categories, but span both disciplines and actor groups.

Knowledge integration is also approached with a focus on mutual learning processes as well as how this learning occurs within group settings (e.g., Godemann 2008 ; Westberg and Polk 2016 ). Here the focus is on the specific aspects of the knowledge/knowing concept and how different types of knowledge/expertise are brought together via, for example creating a common knowledge base, cognitive frame, and shared mental modes through situated and social interactions within a group (Godemann 2008 ; Schauppenlehner-Kloyber and Penker 2015 ; Westberg and Polk 2016 ).

Dealing with power differentials has also been an implicit topic within TDR through analyzing how participatory features enable different degrees of collaboration, t. ex. Talwar et al. ( 2011 ), Brandt et al. ( 2013 ) and Wiek et al. ( 2014 ). There is a growing focus on the impact of power differentials, since the integration of multiple voices and knowledges are a cornerstone of the TD approach (Bracken et al. 2015 ; Berger-González et al. 2016 ; Klenk and Meehan 2015 ). More recent approaches criticize TDR for not adequately dealing with ingrained power differentials between participating groups. For example, approaches from anthropology and science studies criticize what they consider a naive approach to knowledge integration that does not adequately deal with power and their resultant epistemological and cultural differences (Berger-González et al. 2016 ; Klenk and Meehan 2015 ).

As this section shows, TDR provides in-depth discussions and reflections over the participation processes that lead to knowledge integration and co-production. It looks into how knowledge integration and co-production happen through in-depth study of the process-related mechanisms and the premises for knowledge exchange and learning.

Knowledge use and conflict resolution in urban planning (UP)

In contrast to TDR where conflict is present indirectly, conflict is widely acknowledged in urban planning literature (Healey 2003 ; Innes and Booher 2003 , 2010 , 2015 ; Owens and Cowell 2011 ). Conflicts are seen as natural byproducts of the planning process where conflicts of multiple differing interests and goals become manifest. Formal planning procedures are themselves a tool for conflict resolution, which is achieved through both formal (e.g., legal and policy based) and informal procedures that may differ in means and/or form (Zhang et al. 2012 ). For example, in collaborative planning conflict resolution is an explicit goal (Innes and Booher 2010 , 2015 ). Innes and Booher ( 2015 ) argue that “collaboration is about conflict”, they refer to conflict as an engine behind collaboration, because if stakeholders did not have disagreements, they would not need to collaborate (ibid p. 203). In urban collaborative planning, conflicts are addressed through different forms of consensus oriented collaborative efforts, e.g., dialogues, discussions, formal (e.g., public consultation within planning) and informal (e.g., stakeholder forums) participatory procedures. Footnote 5 The resolution procedures aim to generate common/shared perceptions, objectives or understanding among the stakeholders, inform negotiation and decision-making (Ross 2009 ; Halla 2005 ; Margerum 2002 ; Sze and Sovacool 2013 ).

Together with the conflict theme, the theme of knowledge use, knowledge contestation and plurality of knowledge is also internal to collaborative planning (Sandercock 2003 ). Knowledge integration, although implicitly addressed, is incorporated in collaborative planning’s striving towards a joint creation of a shared understanding and meaning (Innes and Booher 2015 ). Different forms of communication and participation, for example collaborative dialogues, group negotiations, open stakeholder forums within collaborative planning serve as arenas for integration of different knowledges (Peltonen and Sairinen 2010 ; Sun et al. 2016 ; Domingo and Beunen 2013 ; Patterson et al. 2003 ). Shared understanding of the issue at hand is one of the expected outcomes of integration of different knowledge types.

Critical planning scholars, who criticize collaborative planning´s orientation towards consensus, call for more robust deliberation and institutionalization of inclusive participation in order to facilitate transformative learning/integration of knowledges. Transformative learning may expose power relations and widen the scope of the value systems. It may also widen the scope of forms of knowledge and meaning used to inform the formulation of planning aims (Brand and Gaffikin 2007 ; McGuirk 2001 ; Mouffe 2005 ) and lead to a more accurate and meaningful knowledge base for planners to act and make decisions upon (Innes and Booher 2015 ). Scientific, lay and expert/managerial knowledge types are among the most recognized.

Acknowledging the contribution and relevance of collaborative planning literature for general conflict resolution through collaborative procedures, we find that very few studies explicitly focus on both practices of knowledge integration and conflict resolution. Most of the UP studies reviewed here revolve around collecting or sharing information within the frames of communication, rather than discussing different knowledge types and the processes of their use. However, a few studies also focus explicitly on collective knowledge production and knowledge integration and deem the integration of different knowledge types in collaborative processes as important for conflict resolution or reaching consensus (Ross 2009 ; Peltonen and Sairinen 2010 ; Patterson et al. 2003 ; Golobiĉ and Maruŝiĉ 2007 ). For example, Peltonen and Sairinen ( 2010 ) argue that joint knowledge production (co-creation) and communication of the newly produced knowledge are important elements of the planning process that may help finding new solutions, especially in conflict management. Integration of the three main knowledge types distinguished in these studies—scientific, expert/managerial and lay—is expected to provide an overview or deeper understanding of conflicts and different issues, and help to find common interests and reach consensual solutions (Table 3 ).

Some examples of the tools applied to facilitate knowledge integration include development of knowledge-based alternative solutions based on integration of local/lay and expert knowledge through creation of “cognitive maps” (models) that are later used for open public debates (Golobiĉ and Maruŝiĉ 2007 ), and the use of social impact assessment (Peltonen and Sairinen 2010 ). Through the mediation process, the conflicting parties build a common platform of knowledge which may be further used for formulation of intermediary agreements, trade-offs and decision-making.

This section shows that UP authors see conflicts as a natural part of the planning process where the planning procedure is, itself, a tool for conflict resolution. The theme of knowledge use is internal to the planning process. However, very few studies explicitly focus on how different knowledge types contribute to knowledge integration and conflict resolution simultaneously.

Comparing knowledge use practices for conflict resolution in NRM, TDR and UP

The need to address the challenge to manage multiple knowledge types and claims is evident among the reviewed studies that represent NRM (Blackmore 2007 ; Henry 2009 ), TDR (Polk 2015a , b ; Godemann 2008 ; Walter et al. 2007 ; Wiek et al. 2014 ; Pohl et al. 2010 ), and UP within the collaborative planning literature (Healey 1997 ; Rydin 2007 ; Innes and Booher 2003 , 2015 ).

Overall, in the NRM literature more refined and defined knowledge types that go beyond the general categories of local/scientific/managerial are rarely discussed in relation to conflict resolution. In the reviewed studies, the focus is primarily on the outcomes of participation and collaboration as the main approaches to resolving conflicts, rather than on processes and mechanisms. The studies are mostly concerned with the instrumental part of conflict resolution, e.g., collaborative and participatory tools, with limited further analysis or evaluation of the processes that happen within these tools.

Similarly, the reviewed UP studies tend to focus on specific tools to facilitate integration/collaboration/communication of knowledge. They do not go into in-depth analyses or discussion of the mechanisms of integration or the roles that different knowledge types have in the process. Neither do the reviewed studies provide an in-depth analytical evaluation of the knowledge integration process in terms of its specific contribution to planning and decision-making. In contrast to NRM and UP, TD specifically focuses on the phases and mechanisms of knowledge integration, with no specific focus on conflict resolution.

Although the reviewed studies and practices of knowledge use do not always explicitly aim to resolve conflicts, they have in common the goal of creating a common/joint understanding of the problem at hand. Common understanding is regarded as one of the cornerstones and prerequisites for reaching a trade-off among the stakeholders; it serves as a basis for more adequate and informed decision-making and, eventually, resolution of conflicts. Collaborative and participatory settings and tools that promote joint learning/joint knowledge production and communication are among the main tools used to facilitate integration of different knowledge types.

However, the degree of attention paid to actual practices of knowledge use and integration differs significantly between the three fields. In NRM and UP the analysis and discussion of knowledge processes often remain on the discursive/rhetorical level or is reduced to the general and largely undefined knowledge types (scientific, local/lay, expert knowledge). Integration of different knowledge types is often pre-understood or implied through the general collaborative and participatory settings and through information exchange (in UP). The processes of integration often remain undiscussed or assumed behind “participation”/“collaboration”. This makes it difficult to see what role collaborative and participatory processes that aim at knowledge integration actually play in conflict resolution.

In cases where knowledge types are part of the discussion in NRM and UP they often remain largely undefined. It is often unclear what authors mean by “knowledge” or specific knowledge types. This highlights the question of what is being integrated in the resolution processes presented in the reviewed studies. The question of how knowledge is used and integrated in the resolution of conflicts in NRM and UP also remains. Overall, our review shows that more elaborated knowledge typologies that could be relevant for conflict resolution in NRM and UP are relatively few (e.g., Raymond et al. 2010 ; Stepanova 2013 ; Rydin 2007 ).

While conflict studies in NRM and UP are somewhat less concerned with the mechanisms of knowledge integration or elaborated knowledge typologies, TDR offers in-depth analyses of and reflection on participatory and learning processes, on process of knowledge integration their goals and forms (e.g., Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn 2007 ; Burger and Kamber 2003 ; Pohl 2011 and others mentioned in section on TDR). Conflict studies within NRM and UP could therefore benefit from some of the approaches to knowledge integration developed within TDR to refine the analysis of knowledge use in different types of conflict resolution. Below we present a first attempt to such an interdisciplinary knowledge typology, which combines approaches from NRM, collaborative planning within UP, and TDR (Fig. 1 ).

Source: Stepanova 2013 and references therein, Rydin ( 2007 ) and Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn ( 2007 )

Interdisciplinary typology of dominant knowledge types in conflict resolution. Dashed arrows symbolize the tentative distinction between different knowledge types, as in practice they are often intertwined and difficult to separate. Thick, overarching/colored arrows mean that different levels of the typology are interrelated and inform each other. The color is used to facilitate readability and does not have specific meaning.

Synthesis: interdisciplinary knowledge typology for the analysis of conflict resolution

The interdisciplinary knowledge typology, in Fig. 1 , presents a combination of knowledge typologies by Stepanova ( 2013 ) for conflict resolution in NRM, Rydin ( 2007 ) for UP, and by Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn ( 2007 ) for TDR. It includes both knowledge types and analytical levels from the respective areas.

Regarding knowledge types, Stepanova identifies informal, formal, local/lay, scientific, administrative/managerial knowledge types, differentiating between different contexts and actors in NRM (Stepanova 2013 ). Rydin distinguishes five types of planning knowledge based on functional characteristics and knowledge sources. These include process, predictive, normative, empirical, and experiential knowledge types (Rydin 2007 ). We also add knowledge jointly co-produced by stakeholders in collaborative and participatory settings as an additional type of knowledge that can be traced in resolution processes (Polk 2015a , b ; Albrechts 2012 ). Rydin’s process, predictive and normative knowledge are used in our typology as practice related sub-categories of formal and informal knowledge of different actors, while her categories of empirical/experiential knowledge are merged with the broader category of informal knowledge that is context bound. Footnote 6 Rydin’s categories of process, predictive and normative knowledge also correspond well with the functional knowledge categories suggested by Pohl and Hirsch Hadorn ( 2007 ). As outlined earlier, their knowledge types include systems , target and transformative knowledge . We combine these two sets of knowledge categories as they complement each other in their definitions and have strong connections to practice related level of analysis. These knowledge types represent the specific challenges of sustainability regarding uncertainties, normativity and institutional and contextual complexity, and can be traced in practice routines, e.g., documents, visions.

Combining typologies from different fields, shows the different ways that knowledge can be conceptualized and analyzed. In our typology, these different conceptualizations are positioned on different analytical levels: in broader contexts (formal and informal), in institutional affiliations and mandates (individual actors, planning professionals, decision-makers, academics) and in practice related processes, (planning and implementation routines, decision-making processes). The levels of context , actors and practice are the analytical distinctions we will use to structure the analysis of complex conflicts and resolution practices. These analytical levels transform a simple typology into an integrated analytical tool. The different levels of analysis mirror those found in NRM, TD and UP, making it possible to compare knowledge types across discourses and categories and potentially identify gaps in knowledge use and integration in conflict resolution process.

When applied to conflict analysis, the practice level of the typology could serve as a starting point. The practice level is where different knowledge claims that different actors bring into conflicts can be traced, identified and compared (e.g., scientific, professional, local/lay) in relation to practical, predictive and process components of practice. For each practice related knowledge type, one can further identify the more specific knowledge types that actors bring into the discussion (actors level types), because the basis for the claims made explicit on the practice level is different according to the different actors involved. For example, one can compare the target goals from different actors as expressed through the knowledge claims they operate with. Practice related knowledge types are easier to trace in the documents and other sources, which also makes this level a convenient point to start the analysis from. The analytical levels mirror the complexity of conflicts and to some extent thus address the wickedness of the problem at hand. The three analytical levels also embody the theoretical (or analytical) approach that conflict resolution is about how context and actors play out in practice through different types of knowledge claims; that is, in practices of conflict development and resolution.

Positioning these knowledge typologies in terms of levels thus increases our ability to compare the diversity of knowledge conceptualizations and better understand how they relate to the different levels of analysis presented in the reviewed studies.

Presenting the different knowledge types in the form of a typology has its limitations as knowledge types can overlap, be held by different actors, and be integrated into one another. Such limitations become visible for example in case of local and indigenous knowledge. Local knowledge includes indigenous knowledge, but it is difficult to locate it to one specific knowledge type or level. Indigenous knowledge may be local, based on practice, observation, experience, but also professional as it can be concentrated with local “experts”. Footnote 7 It can be about rules, procedures and laws; it can also serve as a basis for decision-making, for example in case of small-scale fisheries, biological conservation, sustainable land use, etc. (Deepananda et al. 2015 ; Ens et al. 2015 ; Mistry and Berardi 2016 ). The fact that indigenous knowledge may also be professional (expert), allows looking at it not only from informal, but also from a formal knowledge perspective. In the case of indigenous knowledge, we recognize it as imbedded in different knowledge systems, which makes it difficult to place in a single knowledge type (Tengö et al. 2017 ). This example shows how complex knowledge types, while problematic, can still be adequately positioned in multiple places in our typology.

The framework presented in Fig. 1 , importantly, is not suited for and does not strive to access the validity of knowledge claims; rather, it aims to help identify the dominant knowledge types articulated by stakeholders during the course of conflict development and resolution. We accentuate “dominant” knowledge types because different stakeholders hold multiple types of knowledge and employ them simultaneously (Negev and Teschner 2013 ). Nevertheless, knowledge typologies are helpful for identification of the dominant knowledge types articulated by stakeholders in conflict. Whether or not different knowledge types get integrated can only be traced indirectly, through the outcome component of knowledge integration (see Methodology section). This may be seen, for instance, through the change in positions of stakeholders that leads to a jointly accepted solution which may be reflected in documents, policies, alternative management plans, etc. (for examples see e.g., Stepanova 2013 ; Redpath et al. 2013 ; Butler et al. 2015 ; Reed et al. 2011 ).

The interdisciplinary knowledge typology presented above could serve as a point of departure in mapping the knowledge types used in practices of conflict resolution. When identified, they may be followed further in horizontal collaborative, participatory processes and in vertical processes of integration into decision-making. When tested in practice, the typology must clearly be refined and specified according to contextual needs, because “processes of conflict development, resolution and knowledge use are complex social phenomena which require attention to the context where experiences and meanings are largely bound to time, people and setting” (Baxter and Eyles 1997 ).

Complementary integration of typologies (such as one suggested in Fig. 1 ) might help to better analyze what knowledge is marginalized, excluded from or underrepresented in the participatory/collaborative processes, what implications this could have on the outcomes of participation/collaboration, and what implications this could have for long-term oriented conflict resolution and management.

Discussion and conclusions

The aim of this paper is to better understand the mechanisms that underlie conflict resolution through a focus on the use and integration of different knowledge types in three discourses: NRM, TDR and UP. We seek to understand what knowledge refers to in the different examples and contexts, and how knowledge is and can be used and integrated to resolve conflicts. First, based on the thematic review of the literature, we compare conflict resolution approaches in the respective fields and identify common features in relation to how conflict resolution is practiced. In all three discourses, the centrality of participatory and collaborative approaches that promote knowledge exchange and joint learning for conflict resolution is widely acknowledged. Overall, knowledge use centered approaches are seen as facilitating a common understanding of a problem and creating a necessary base for more productive collaboration. However, in some of the reviewed studies, we also identify a general lack of attention to concrete mechanisms and processes that constitute the notions of participation and collaboration of conflict resolution (with a few exceptions of studies that point out that formal participation organized in a mechanistic way is no guarantee for productive learning or collaboration). What is happening during these processes or what needs to happen in participatory processes in order for stakeholders to develop a common understanding of a problem remains under-discussed in NRM and UP where the focus is rather on the outcomes than on processes. In contrast, TDR provides a more in-depth discussion and reflection over the processes that are meant to lead to knowledge integration and co-production. It focuses on phases of knowledge integration, on the integration process itself, its’ premises, mechanisms, forms and goals. TDR also pays more attention to the role the different knowledge types have in this process and in how they affect the outcomes (what they contribute to conflict resolution and decision-making).

Second, we look into how knowledge is seen, defined and used in resolution processes. The thematic review allowed to explore how different knowledges are defined, used and integrated for conflict resolution, planning and solving complex problems in the three scholarly areas of NRM, TD and UP. In the studies analyzed, the practices of knowledge use and integration often remain on a discursive level with largely undefined or pre-understood knowledge types. This limits our ability to see what role different knowledges play in participatory processes and how they specifically contribute to conflict resolution. In some instances (e.g., with TD literature), their use for conflict resolution required interpretation.

We identified some general trends and common practices of knowledge use that directly or indirectly facilitate conflict resolution. For example, it is often unclear what knowledge means in the studies analyzed. When different knowledge types are discussed, the classifications often seem pre-understood and tend to fall into the general and largely undefined categories of scientific, local/lay and managerial/expert knowledge (i.e., it is often not explained what local/lay knowledge is in particular studies and contexts). This lack is to some extent balanced by the discussion of the more or less comprehensive knowledge typologies found in each discourse that go beyond the general knowledge types and provide clearer definitions.

Our interdisciplinary knowledge typology for conflict resolution (Fig. 1 ) serves as an attempt to integrate approaches from different fields. It is an example of a possible starting point for further research and discussion on how conflict analysis and resolution may be enriched through developing more refined interdisciplinary tools for the analysis of knowledge use practices. Our findings call for more research on knowledge integration processes and mechanisms, and more attention to the evaluation of the role that different knowledge types have in resolution of conflicts. By paying more attention to the question of what knowledge is referring to and how knowledge is used and integrated in resolution practices, more light may be shed on the possible shortcomings of the resolution processes, which might in turn serve as a base to improve conflict resolution towards more lasting, long-term oriented and therefore more sustainable solutions/planning.

In conclusion, these three literatures inform and enrich each other across disciplinary boundaries on the way to developing more refined approaches to conflict analysis and resolution. This in turn has the potential to develop the focus on collaboration and to contribute to more informed and sustainable management practice (SDGs, UN 2015 ).

Other mechanisms for conflict resolution, which are outside the scope of this paper include, for example, building trust, increasing institutional capacity, and developing new policy, laws and routines (Bruckmeier 2005 , Stepanova 2015 ).

We use this definition of knowledge to facilitate our analysis of the reviewed studies; however, this does not mean that definitions of knowledge used in the reviewed studies are similar to ours.

Such a period is appropriate since the research within communicative planning theory and collaborative planning, where conflict and its resolution is central, started gaining momentum during this time. The NRM and TDR fields are also adequately represented in this period.

For an example of a more comprehensive knowledge typology within environmental management see, e.g. Raymond et al. ( 2010 ).

Although scholars representing this line of thought acknowledge that full consensus may not be always possible, such focus has received criticism. The criticism regards collaborative planning orientation towards consensus as being ignorant of inevitable tensions of power in planning realities (Margerum 2002 ; Owens and Cowell 2011 ). Collaborative planning scholars meet this criticism arguing that communication power is inherent to collaboration and thus is not and cannot be ignored in collaborative planning discourse (for detailed discussion see Innes and Booher 2015 ).

Rydin conflates claims that come from practice and different actors. In contrast, we separate those claims and place them according to the three levels of analysis—context, actors, and practice.

We thank the anonymous reviewer for drawing our attention to this point.

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Stepanova, O., Polk, M. & Saldert, H. Understanding mechanisms of conflict resolution beyond collaboration: an interdisciplinary typology of knowledge types and their integration in practice. Sustain Sci 15 , 263–279 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-019-00690-z

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Conflict Management: Difficult Conversations with Difficult People

Amy r. overton.

1 Division of Health Policy and Management, Department of Health Administration, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Ann C. Lowry

2 Division of Colon and Rectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Minnesota, St Paul, Minnesota

Conflict occurs frequently in any workplace; health care is not an exception. The negative consequences include dysfunctional team work, decreased patient satisfaction, and increased employee turnover. Research demonstrates that training in conflict resolution skills can result in improved teamwork, productivity, and patient and employee satisfaction. Strategies to address a disruptive physician, a particularly difficult conflict situation in healthcare, are addressed.

Objectives: Upon completion of the article, the reader will: (1) Understand the importance of conflict resolution and management. (2) Recognize skill sets applicable to conflict management. (3) Summarize the steps necessary involved in a successful confrontational conversation.

Conflicts of various magnitudes occur frequently. You share a workspace with a colleague who consistently leaves the space disorganized and messy, which seems unprofessional to you since patients are seen in that office. Or a senior colleague insists being the first author on a research paper when you did all the work. In the preoperative area, the anesthesiologist disagrees with your surgical plan in the presence of the patient. A more extreme example would be a disruptive physician who yells or throws charts or instruments.

The frequency of conflict has been measured in several settings. In an observational study of operating rooms, conflicts were described as “high tension events”; in all surgical cases observed there was at least one and up to four high tension events. 1 Another study found on average four conflicts per operation emerged among operating room team members. 2 In a survey of 5,000 full time employees in nine different countries, 85% of employees dealt with conflict at work to some degree and 29% dealt with conflict frequently or always. 3 Another viewpoint focuses upon “toxic personalities” defined as “anyone who demonstrates a pattern of counterproductive work behaviors that debilitate individuals, teams, and even organizations over the long term.” 4 Conflict occurs frequently when working with such people. In a survey, 64% of respondents experienced a toxic personality in their current work environment and 94% had worked with someone like that during their career. 4 In another study, 91% of nurses reported experiencing verbal abuse. 5 The impact of these interactions on mood is significant. In a real-time study, employees recorded interactions with a coworker or superior at four random intervals daily; the employees rated the interactions as positive or negative and recorded their mood. The negative interactions affected the employee's mood five times more strongly than positive encounters. 6

Some would argue that conflict may be beneficial in certain situations, but in others it has negative consequences. 7 The proposed benefits of conflict include improved understanding of the task, team development, and quality of group decision making. The other line of thought suggests that conflict distracts from the immediate tasks and wastes resources on conflict resolution. Whether or not it is occasionally helpful, it is clear that many instances of conflict are harmful.

Conflict is associated with significant cost to organizations. In the study of employees from nine countries, the average number of hours spent per week on workplace conflict varied from 0.9 to 3.3 hours. In the United States, the average was 2.8 hours. 3 The calculated expense based on average hourly earnings in 2008 was $359 billion in lost time. High rates of employee turnover and absenteeism are associated with environments where conflict is poorly managed.

Health care is a complex system that requires effective teamwork and cooperation to function well. Patient safety research reveals that patient outcomes are negatively impacted when conflict mismanagement and other dysfunctions occur. 8 9 10 Another consequence of poorly managed conflict is disruption of care. In a national survey of physicians, almost two-thirds of respondents reported seeing other physicians disrupt patient care at least once a month. 11 More than 10% of the respondents reported witnessing that behavior daily.

Frequent causes of conflict include lack of clarity with expectations or guidelines, poor communication, lack of clear jurisdiction, personality differences, conflicts of interest, and changes within the organization. 12 Behavior that results in conflict could include bullying, limited communication or not sharing important information, and verbal or physical violence. 13 Employees cite personality clashes, stress, heavy workloads, poor leadership at the senior and managerial levels, lack of honesty and openness, and lack of role clarity as the most frequent causes of conflict. 3

Although conflict cannot be avoided, it can be managed. Since conflict will always be present on an individual and organizational level, it is important to develop the skills to appropriately manage a difficult conversation or interaction. Experts agree that the skills necessary can be acquired; they believe that conflict competence can be defined and learned. One definition of conflict competence is “the ability to develop and use cognitive, emotional, and behavioral skills that enhance productive outcomes of conflict while reducing the likelihood of escalation or harm.” 14 The goal is to be competent in having difficult conversations. One model uses the terminology “crucial conversations and “crucial confrontations.” A “crucial conversation” is defined as “a discussion between two or more people where (1) the stakes are high, (2) opinions vary, and (3) emotions run strong.” 15 Confrontations are those face-to-face conversations in which someone is held accountable. 16

Real life examples prove their statements and the benefits of improved conflict management. One group demonstrated that teaching the necessary communication skills resulted in 10% improvement in their habits of confronting difficult issues. 16 With that change, customer and employee satisfaction, productivity, and quality also improved. An information technology (IT) group found that improved communication practices resulted in 30% improvement in quality, almost 40% increase in productivity, and near 50% decrease in costs. 16 CPP Global report “Workplace Conflict and How Business Can Harness it to Thrive” study found “training does not reduce the occurrence of conflict, but it clearly has an impact on how conflict is perceived and can mitigate the negative outcomes associated with conflict.” 3

Various models of successful conflict management have been proposed. 14 16 The models typically include discussions of common responses to conflict and ways to effectively address conflict. These models will be combined and summarized in this article.

The common underlying principles of all the models are that

Conflict is inevitable and that both positive and negative consequences may occur depending on how the conflict is managed.
The results are likely to be better with active engagement rather than avoidance.
People must be motivated to address conflict.
Behavioral, cognitive, and emotional skills can be acquired.
Emotional skills require self-awareness.
The environment must be neutral and feel safe.

Response to Conflict

To begin this process, it is important to cultivate self-awareness in regards to one's physical and emotional reaction to situations involving conflict. The most common responses on approaching conflict include: avoiding, accommodating, competing, compromising, and collaborating. 17 Avoidance (or silence) refers to an individual recognizing conflict in a situation and actively deciding to not engage or deal with the problem. Avoidance may be prudent when the issue is minor in nature, as a temporary response when emotions are high or when others can resolve an issue more efficiently. This approach would be the opposite of someone whose response is to compete, which is categorized as being forcing, uncooperative, and assertive in the situation. Competition might be appropriate in emergent situations or actions known to be unpopular need to be taken on an important issue. People whose response is to accommodate others generally do not have their own needs met. Accommodation may be necessary when one is wrong, if the issue is more critical to others or if the value of harmony in the situation outweighs the benefit of a conflict. When accommodation is used, the conflict is resolved but if the pattern repeats itself frequently residual resentment may affect the relationship. Accommodation is also referred to as yielding. 18 Compromise and collaboration are both a balance of assertiveness and cooperativeness. The difference between the two is that compromise is often a negotiation between two parties with equivalent power, whereas collaboration is focused on finding a solution where all parties involved have their needs met. Compromise is focused on fixing a problem with a set amount of resources and collaboration allows for a broader view on problem solving. A combination of compromise and collaboration has also been defined as a problem-solving response. 18 Although there is not a correct response, responses characterized by open-mindedness to the ideas and perspectives of others promote positive outcomes. 17

Conflict Management Skills

When a conflict exists, the first step is to decide whether to address it. That decision involves balancing the reward against price of addressing the issue; that balance is unique to each circumstance. Some general rules are that if the issue is troublesome enough that it is affecting your behavior or weighing on your conscience, it should be addressed. It is important not to confuse the perceived difficulty of the conversation with determination of whether it will be beneficial and appropriate to proceed. Perceived differences in power often impact a decision to address a conflict; however, lessons from aviation and other industries illustrate the benefits of open communication and the risks of silence even in situations of different levels of authority or power. 19 20

Once it is been decided to address the conflict, there are several steps involved in preparation for the conversation. One step is to determine the exact nature of the conflict. When considering the exact nature of the conflict, some authors offer the following guidance. 16 If the issue occurs once, it is appropriate to discuss the content of the issue; if it has occurred repeatedly, one should focus on the pattern of events. If the problem impacts your relationship with the other person or team members, then the topic should be your relationship. One pitfall of conflict management is allowing task or pattern type conflict to deteriorate to relationship conflict by overpersonalizing the issue. Another system appropriate for team conflict divides conflict into task, process, and relationship conflicts. Task conflict is similar to content conflict, while process conflict refers disagreement over team processes. 21

One must also thoroughly understand one's own position. It is critical to gather all of the background information and any data necessary to discuss the conflict. Then one needs to achieve clarity about what is desired from the confrontation as well as what one is prepared to give up or compromise. Another key element is awareness of which outcomes one considers undesirable. Part of the preparation is consideration of one's own motivations and goals as well as the motivations and goals of the other party. This step seems obvious but is frequently not done or only superficially evaluated. Considering why a rational and ethical person would have behaved in the manner troubling you often opens an alternative view of the situation. The authors of Crucial Confrontations label this preparation as “mastering your story.” 16 In short, it is understanding from as many vantage points as possible how the problem situation might have developed.

The level of intensity of the conflict is another consideration in determining how best to approach the issue. One model divides the intensity of conflict into five levels. 14 Level 1 is differences. Those are situations in which two or more people have different perspectives on the situation; they understand the other person's viewpoint and are comfortable with the difference. This level of conflict can be an asset for a team or organization because it allows individuals to compare or analyze without an emotional overlay. Level 2 are misunderstandings in which two people understand the situation differently. Misunderstandings are common and can be minor, but can also escalate when stakes are high. If there are negative consequences such as missed events or obligations people tend fault and accuse one another which adds negative emotions to the situation. If the misunderstandings are frequent, it may indicate problems with communication. Level 3 is disagreements; these are times when people have different viewpoints of the situation, and despite understanding the other's position they are uncomfortable with the difference. This level can also easily escalate if ignored. Level 4 is discord. In those instances, conflict results in relationship issues between the people involved even after a specific conflict is resolved. There is often constant tension between those individuals. Level 5 is polarization, which describes situations with intense negative feelings and behavior in which there is little to no hope of resolution. For those conflicts, the mandatory first step is the agreement to communicate.

Another aspect of preparation is to recognize your emotional response and how it might affect your view of the situation. Addressing a difficult situation when one is angry or frustrated is more likely to be ineffective than when one is calm. Several famous quotes illustrate the point.

“Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.”

–Ambrose Bierce

It is therefore important to postpone the discussion until one is able to think more calmly and clearly. It is helpful to have an awareness of behaviors that “push your buttons.” One list of possibilities comes from an assessment instrument, “Conflict Dynamic Profile (Center for Conflict Dynamics Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL)” that includes the following behaviors: abrasive, aloof, hostile, micromanaging, over analytical, self-centered, unappreciative, unreliable, and untrustworthy. 22 A technique to reduce tension is cognitive reappraisal or reframing which refers to looking at alternative perspectives and outcomes of the situation to “reframe” it in a different, generally positive, light. Some other suggested techniques to manage one's emotions are consciously identifying and addressing one's fears about the outcome of the conflict or possible consequences. Centering techniques, which are based on martial arts, offer a way to calm oneself and focus on the positive aspects of the situation. 14

“The great remedy for anger is delay”

–Thomas Paine

All conflict management research confirms that setting a safe environment is a critical element in successful management of conflict. In a safe environment, all participants believe they will be respected and treated fairly. The authors of Trust and Betrayal in the Workplace present a model that includes three different types of necessary trust. 23 One is contractual trust or trust of character which is confidence in the intentions of others. The second is communication trust or trust of disclosures. In an environment with communication trust, everyone is comfortable that people will share information, be honest, and keep private information confidential. The final type is capability trust; when present, the participants have confidence in others' abilities to deliver on promises. That model recognizes that trust can be harmed by betrayal, but also rebuilt.

Another description of a safe environment is one with mutual respect and mutual purpose. 16 Mutual respect involves using a tone of voice and words and facial expressions that convey respect for others as human beings. Mutual purpose is having the common goal of problem solving. Although the first model may seem difficult to achieve in all situations, mutual respect and mutual purpose are basic required elements for an effective discussion of a conflict.

How does one establish a safe environment? The conversation must be held in a private, preferably neutral, setting with enough protected time for the discussion. Some experts suggest that a potentially neutral way to establish the goal of joint problem solving is to start the discussion by describing the gap between the expected and observed behavior. Other options include asking for permission to discuss a topic or beginning with the facts from your perspective or your observations. It sets the wrong tone to start the conversation with your conclusion, particularly if it is harsh. One should share all appropriate and relevant information and avoid being vague. 16 Other tips to maintain a safe environment include asking open-ended questions, focusing initially on points of agreement and using “I” statements. Some examples of “I” statements are “I feel frustrated” and “I am concerned.” One must be aware of one's body language as well as tone and volume of voice.

Common mistakes to avoid are trying to soften the message by mixing it with complimentary statements or using an overly familiar tone of voice initially before addressing the problem. Most people feel they are being manipulated or treated dishonestly when the messages are mixed. Inappropriate humor or comments disrupt the rapport needed for a safe environment. Another common error is using nonverbal hints or subtle comments with the belief they can successfully address a conflict. This technique is risky because one is never clear on the other person's interpretations of the hints or comments. It also does not work to blame someone else for a decision or request you are making. It ultimately undermines any respect or authority you may hold. Asking people to guess the reason for the meeting, essentially to read your mind, is irritating and ineffective at problem solving.

Once a decision has been made and a neutral environment decided upon for the conversation, there are key elements to conducting the conversation. One organization (CMP Resolutions) terms this first phase as scoping. 24 It includes the time to understand what is happening, each person's perspective of the conflict, and what is important to them, as well as establishing ways the involved parties can work toward a solution. The first step in the conversation is to allow all parties to state their opinions and their perspectives on the conflict. Before beginning, the ground rules regarding confidentiality and decision making should be outlined. Listening, respectively, to each participant during this step is very important. Asking clarifying questions without imposing one's own view of the situation is a skill that often requires practice. One must be aware of the tone and volume of voice to ensure that the environment remains respectful. Expressions of empathy such as “that sounds really difficult” are helpful in setting the tone and encouragement of information sharing. One should avoid judgmental or blaming statements. Listening skills are one of the primary skills to be developed when working on one's ability to manage conflict. Utilizing “AMPP” helps to remember four main listening skills that are helpful when faced with a problem. 16 “A” stands for ask which starts the conversation and allows the other person to discuss their feelings about the situation. Mirroring (M) is a tool to encourage the speaker to continue or offer more information when they seem reluctant. The technique involves statements about what you are observing (e.g., you seem down today) in the other person and then asking a question. The third technique, paraphrasing (P), is the restating of their responses in your own words which shows active listening and makes clear whether you both have the same understanding. Finally, prime (P) refers to priming the pump. It is useful when someone is clearly emotional about the issue but reluctant to talk despite the use of the first three techniques. With this method, one makes a guess out loud about what the other person might be thinking or feeling. One must choose the words carefully and use a calm tone to avoid worsening the situation. The goal is to make the other person feel comfortable speaking. Other potentially helpful acronyms to use during conflict management are seen in Table 1 .

The next part of the conversation is defining the problem. A consensus on the definition of the problem is necessary for participants to be able to compare and discuss solutions. As noted earlier, the problem might be defined as the issue with one occurrence, a pattern of episodes or the working relationship. After creating a mutually agreed upon definition, the next step is to brainstorm possible solutions to the conflict. If possible, these solutions should address the needs of all parties involved.

After a list has been created of alternative solutions, each participant should discuss their preferred solution. There also needs to be a “reality check” with the decision makers. Perhaps the ideal solution is too expensive or not feasible because of existing regulation or organizational policies. The goal is finding commonality and acceptable compromises that allow for all participants to feel like their needs are met and the conflict is being addressed. Once this solution is chosen, an action plan that outlines the “who, what, and when” of fixing the problem needs to be devised. Making sure that everyone involved understands their role and tasks are an important step to accomplish the solution.

Many models suggest that reflection on ways to prevent or more effectively handle similar conflicts in the future at the end of the conversation is beneficial. A follow-up plan is critical. If a plan with timelines is not designed and implemented, the behavior will typically change for a period of time but then slip back into old patterns. Whether the plan is another meeting, completion of certain tasks, or a system of monitoring, it should be defined clearly.

A particularly complex issue in conflict management is the disruptive physician. Historically, that issue has been addressed reluctantly if at all. The physician is often a high revenue producer and organizational leaders fear the consequences of antagonizing the physician or there is concern about a potential conflict of interest. The term is defined in various ways. One definition of disruptive physician behavior is “a practice pattern of personality traits that interferes with the physicians' effective clinical performance.” 25 The Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons defined it as “inappropriate conduct whether in words or action that interferes with or has the potential to interfere with, quality health care delivery.” 26 An occasional bad day or overreaction does not constitute disruptive behavior. Rather it is the pattern of repeated episodes of significant inappropriate behavior.

The typical behaviors are often divided into aggressive and passive aggressive categories. Aggressive behaviors include yelling, abusive language, intimidation, and physically aggressive actions. Passive-aggressive behaviors include intentional miscommunication, impatience with questions, racial, general or religious jokes, and implied threats. Despite estimates that only 3 to 6% of physicians qualify as disruptive physicians, 27 the negative impact on the health care system is significant. The behavior undermines morale and productivity as well as the quality of care and patient safety. For example, nurses are less likely to call physicians with a history of disruptive behavior even when they need to clarify an order or report a change in a patient's condition. According to the Joint Commission, these behaviors “can foster medical errors, contribute to poor patient satisfaction and to preventable adverse outcomes, increase the cost of care, and cause qualified clinicians, administrators, and managers to seek new positions in more professional environments.” 28 In an academic environment, this behavior is associated with poor role modeling for students and trainees. Because of the impact, both the Joint Commission and the Federation of State Medical Boards addressed the issue in their standards and policies. 28 29

If the pattern of behavior is recognized early, a conversation with a trusted colleague or physician leader using the techniques described above might be sufficient to change the pattern of behavior. One model of corrective feedback starts by preparing the physician for the meeting with advanced notice and provision of a private setting and respectful atmosphere. Often asking the physician to provide a self-assessment of their interactions with others is a good starting point that can be followed with the observations of specific disruptive behaviors. Strategies for change and improvement as well as set expectations and a monitoring program need to be discussed and articulated before concluding the meeting. 30

There is evidence that an organization that sets standards for behavior and uses the principles of “action learning” to address variances will have desirable outcomes with disruptive physicians. Briefly, the principles of action learning, which was developed by Reginald Revans, are that the best learning occurs through active questioning and reflection rather than instruction. 31 The people involved tackle a real-life problem by asking questions, discussing alternative solutions, reflecting on change, and monitoring progress. In an interview study of independent, single-specialty surgical practices representing 350 physicians, the investigator determined whether the use of action learning principles correlated with desirable outcomes with disruptive physicians. 32 Desirable outcomes include retention of the physician with a change in the troublesome behavior. In 20 practices, action learning resulted in successful management of the problem.

However, most disruptive physicians require more intensive intervention. Reynolds argues that “constructive change in disruptive physicians comes through requiring adherence to expected behaviors while providing educational and other supports to teach the physician new coping skills for achieving the desired behaviors.” 25 A comprehensive evaluation including medical, chemical, and psychiatric evaluation is the first step. It is important to identify an underlying treatable condition. A program of remediation including educational and psychological training to foster new coping skills is outlined. A critical part of the program is long-term follow-through and monitoring. For most disruptive physicians, it is the threat of imposed consequences rather than internal motivation to improve that guides their compliance with the program. 25 Several well-established programs offer resources for the training including the Physician Assessment and Clinical Education (PACE) program at the University of California School of Medicine, San Diego 33 and the Distressed Physician Program at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville. 34 A composite case study of transformative learning to address disruptive physician behavior illustrates the process used. 35

Conflict occurs frequently and often results in significant disruption and cost for individuals and organizations. Although often avoided or poorly managed, evidence suggests the skills for effective management of conflict can be learned. Multiple studies confirm when conflict is successfully addressed, and multiple benefits accrue to the organization and individuals.

429 Conflict Essay Topics

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Conflict Theory, Functionalism, Symbolic Interactionism
Managing Conflict Discussion: Personal Experience
Ugli Orange Case and Filley’s Conflict Management Theory
Media and Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism
Hamlet’s Internal Conflict in Shakespeare’s Play
Role of Religion in Functionalism and Conflict Perspectives
Conflict in “A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings” by Márquez
Main Conflicts in “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger The Catcher in the Rye was a novel written by J.D. Slinger. The novel’s protagonist is a young man struggling with various issues in his adolescence.
Power, Politics and Conflict in an Organization In any organisation, there are office politics involved. Politics emerge due to the scarcity of important resources.
Conflict Management in the Army The paper states that conflict management skills are essential for an army leader. A competent leader can resolve interpersonal disagreements.
Functionalism vs. Conflict Theory on Social Stratification The primary difference between fundamentalism and the theory of conflict lies in each model’s views regarding the nature of stratification.
Theme and Conflict in “A Doll’s House” by Henrik Ibsen The main conflict in the play ‘A Doll’s House’ by Henrik Ibsen shows how men in this society controlled women in everything, even their own choices in life.
Conflict Resolution Techniques In terms of the topic, the notions of conflict types, conflict resolution strategies, and conflict resolution skills will be taken into consideration.
Troy and Cory Conflict in “Fences” Play by Wilson Fences is a play in two acts written by August Wilson. The plot follows the life of Troy Maxon. One of the central conflicts of the play is between Troy and his son Cory.
Conflict Theory: Background, Critical Aspects, and Personal Views Conflict theory is one of the models that make it possible for people to learn more about societies, and it is believed to have originated from the works of Karl Marx.
Examples of Conflict Between Personal and Professional Values Under conditions where personal and professional values are hard to deal with, a social worker has a right to apply the morally responsible measures in dealing with the problem.
Conflict Theories: Gay Marriages and Feminism Conflict theories purport that, families can take different structures and do not view change as a clash or dysfunctional. This theory has been a catalyst for gay marriages and feminism.
Gender Roles in Modern Society: Structural-Functional vs. Conflict Perspectives Some people are obsessed with their biological or social differences, while others prefer not to pay much attention to these concepts.
A Driving Conflict in Wilson’s Fences Play In Fences, Wilson uses the conflict of Troy versus family to drive all the elements of the play, as evidenced by family conflicts over a college scholarship and Troy’s infidelity.
The Role of Conflicts in Hamlet by William Shakespeare A number of conflicts come out in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare: internal conflict of Hamlet, the conflict between Hamlet and King Claudia and others.
The Conflict Theory in Today’s World The Conflict Theory is still relevant today because wealth disparity, racism, and sexism are becoming more and more prominent due to increased exposure.
Conflict and Functionalism Theories Functionalism theory developed from the work of Durkheim, who evaluated how part of society unite to form a whole society.
Tesla Inc.’s Workplace Safety Conflict Tesla Inc. was founded by Elon Musk in 2003 and has become one of the most innovative companies on the market.
Conflict Resolution at Walmart The paper concerns conflict resolution at Walmart. It analyzes the challenges that Walmart needs to overcome and the application of management theories.
Meaning of Conflict and Its Importance for Organizations The paper defines conflict and negotiations, explores the tactics and strategies that improve the conflict outcomes, and explains why conflicts are important for organizations.
Conflict Between Friendship and Justice I was angry with my friend Omar because he openly discriminated against other people in my presence. He was especially skeptical about homosexual people.
Cultural Conflict Description This paper discusses cultural conflict that was observed or personally experienced with people of a different background, and provides reflection and conclusions.
Ethics vs. The Law: Main Conflicts Ethics is a philosophical branch that defines what is right and what is wrong concerning the actions of people, as well as the decisions they make.
Hypothesis Writing: Israeli-Palestinian Conflict The conflict between Israel and Palestine can be seen as one of the characteristic attributes of politics in the Middle East.
Israeli-Palestinian Warfare: The Gaza Conflict The Gaza Conflict is one of the many conflicts within the Israeli-Palestinian warfare. The Gaza strip has been under attack for decades.
Walt Disney Company Conflicts Management One of the sources of disputes at Disney entails the different values held by the various stakeholders. Conflict occurs when people fail to understand each other.
Workplace Conflict: Case Study and Solutions Conflict within a company may be defined as a process that generally involves people disagreeing at work and may range from minor disagreements to considerable workplace violence.
Labeling Theory and Conflict Theory The study of various theories to identify the most appropriate and convincing that can explain the unique relationship between capitalism and crime.
Leadership and Conflict Management The primary goal of the following paper is to present a practical way to employ conflict management skills within a team.
Marxist Conflict Theory According to Karl Marx, despite the systemic nature of the social relations between the members of society, they contain a huge number of conflicting interests.
Conflict and Power: Police and Community Collaboration This paper includes an analysis of the nature of the conflict between law enforcement and citizens in the US, as well as some strategies that can contribute to solving the problem.
Parent-Child Conflict Resolution: Communication Problem The psychological view upon the problem of the parent-child conflict covers many aspects explaining the nature of generations’ contradictions.
Conflict Management and Classical Theory Analysis This paper explores classical conflict theory, which emphasizes that conflicts arise due to differences in people’s views and poor quality of communication.
The Israel-Palestinian Conflict and Its Solution The paper gives a look on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and tries to come up with a solution to the conflict through the formulation of new strategies.
Conflict in “The Stranger” Novel by Albert Camus In the novel “The Stranger” by Albert Camus, readers follow the story of Meursault, whose mother recently died and who killed an Arab for no understandable or obvious reason.
20th Century Ideological Conflicts The end of World War II did not mean the end of ideological struggles between the great powers, as the new conflict named the Cold War began soon after.
Negotiations and Conflict Resolution The paper discusses the statement: Negotiators who frame a conflict as ‘winner takes all’ will have a harder time than those who believe it is possible for everyone to win.
Conflicts in Harper Lee’s Novel “To Kill a Mockingbird” Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird reveals the central conflict of society and humanity that is represented through Boo’s disagreements with the entire town Maycomb.
Israeli-Palestine Conflict and Global Community The paper describes the causes of the Israeli-Palestine conflict and discusses what historians have claimed as the role of the wider international community in the conflict.
Google Inc.’s Male and Female Employees’ Conflicts In all contexts that involve interactions between different people, communication skills are necessary to ensure the passage of the intended message.
United Nations in the Israeli-Palestine Conflict In some cases, the UN has played a major role in contributing to conflicts. One such case is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that still remains an issue to this day.
Conflicts between Antigone and Creon This paper analysis Antigone by Sophocles. This story begins after banishment of Oedipus, the king of Thebes. Antigone’s act sparks a conflict between her and her uncle, Creon.
Karl Marx’s Conflict Theory and Alienation The current paper is devoted to Karl Marx’s conflict theory and the construct of alienation analysis and identifying its usefulness for social workers.
Shakespear’s Hamlet: Conflict Between Seeming and Being This is an analysis of the characters such as Hamlet, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern clarifies the play’s obsession with the theme of the conflict between seeming and being.
Conflict Resolution in Nursing Sufficient conflict resolution is an essential component of any organization’s successful performance because conflicts occur in any sphere where human interaction is involved.
Characters Conflict in “The Hound of the Baskervilles” by Doyle Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles is the continuation of the adventures of the genius detective Sherlock Holmes.
Interpersonal Conflict and Worldview Interpersonal conflict – the form of struggle that involves two or more people different from intrapersonal conflict, which only involves a struggle within yourself.
Pronatalism in Functionalist and Conflict Theory Views This paper looks into the consequences of taxing the childless population at the expense of families and the views of functionalists and conflict theorists toward pronatalism.
Man vs. Society Conflict in ”The Lottery” by S. Jackson The purpose of this paper is to discuss the conflict in “The Lottery” by S. Jackson as that of man vs. society.
Conflicts in “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff In the short story “The Rich Brother,” Tobias Wolff vividly portrays a conflict between rich and poor brothers.
Nurses’ Intergroup Conflict and Its Stages This paper investigates an intergroup conflict based on nurses’ experience and attitude towards new employees, describes four main stages that can be a part of any conflict.
Compromise and Collaboration in Conflict Resolution The choice of conflict resolution approach depends on the situation. Compromise and collaboration are the most popular approaches with their own benefits and disadvantages.
Power, Politics, and Conflict in Business Organizations Conflict is an attribute of both power and politics, and this paper aims to observe how it results from organizational resource scarcity within the business sector.
Mother-Son Conflict in Toole’s “A Confederacy of Dunces” John Kennedy Toole’s novel A Confederacy of Dunces unveils diverse issues. They include relationships with others and ways to fit in the community.
Structural Functional and Dysfunctional Conflicts Conflict is something that occurs in any workplace, it is an inevitable part of the work routine. Sometimes it can be helpful, as conflicts highlight a particular problem.
Concept of Saving Face in Conflict Resolution Human beings are flesh and blood with emotion and words can scar one for life. Before one opens their mouth to confront another party they should think about their words.
Team Building and Conflict Resolution at Workplace Teamwork is recognized more as a collaborative effort by the members for the mutual benefits of corporation and organization employee relations resulted as cooperation among the team members.
Controlling and Managing Interpersonal Conflicts in the Workplace This paper states that it is critical for the supervisor to learn how to control and manage interpersonal conflicts in the workplace.
Conflict Resolution Between Nurse and Patient This paper discusses the case of intense disagreement between a nurse and a patient regarding the use of antibiotics as a treatment method for a viral infection.
Conflicts in the Film “A Clockwork Orange” One of the A Clockwork Orange movie’s conflicts that can be observed is between the values of individual choice and society’s need for control.
Conflict Resolution Case: Details and Stages There are many options for resolving various conflict situations. To use them, it is necessary to think soberly and sometimes even predict possible conflicts.
Gender and Cultures in Conflict Resolution The conflict resolution measures should not solely end conflicts, but should also help to restore the fighting communities together.
Conflict Stages and Its Resolution in Healthcare The purpose of this paper is to describe the case related to the development of a conflict in a healthcare setting, identify its type and discuss four stages of a conflict.
Deontological and Consequential Ethical Conflict The case under discussion provides a moral dilemma when adhering to the rules contradicts the desire to do someone good.
Personal Experience in the Covert Conflict I experienced the negative consequences of the covert conflict while living with the roommate who avoided expressing the real emotions and feelings.
Conflict Resolution in a Healthcare Setting The senior management of a healthcare setting must find a way to resolve a conflict in order not to undermine employees’ productivity and the quality of the provided care.
Conflict Management Steps and Styles In all the various forms, various types of conflict termination are realized: such as mutual reconciliation or destruction of opposing agents.
Conflict Management in the Workplace In most workplaces, there are instances where different people with varying opinions and needs enter into an argument.
Technology’s Impact on Workplace Conflict Technology is a significant part of modern business because it simplifies several tasks in an organization’s day-to-day functions.
The Rise of Criminological Conflict Theory Three key factors that explain the emergence of conflict theory are the influence of the Vietnam War, the rise of the counterculture, and anti-discrimination movements.
Conflict Management Styles This article describes a specific conflict that occurred in the shoe store queue and describes ways to resolve the conflict.
Labor Conflicts From 1877 to 1894 This essay covers three significant strikes that took place in 1877-1894: the Great Railroad Strike, the sugar cane labor strike, and the successful Cripple Creek miners’ strike.
Conflict Resolution in Business The function of a conflict is drawing attention to the problems that exist within a group of people and catalyze its resolving.
Conflict Resolution and Action Plan in Hospital In this assignment, a recurring conflict in a hospital setting in Miami will be discussed for the purpose of developing an effective action plan for subsequent conflict resolution.
A Personal Experience of a Destructive Conflict The paper presents a discussion of a personal experience of a destructive conflict, the kind of conflict style that happened, and how the conflict was resolved.
Conflict Theory Applied to the American Civil War The research question of the planned research will be as follows: How does the conflict theory inform the causes of the American Civil War?
Conflict Self-Assessment and Resolution In this article, the author considers various conflict situations, ways to resolve them and methods of conflict Self-Assessment.
Conflict Theory in the Society Social conflict theory asserts, that individual behavior is connected to conflicts within the group and between the groups. It is common in contemporary society.
Conflict and Negotiation in the Workplace When people are working together, conflicts are inevitable; however, when solved and managed effectively, they can lead to better understanding among team members.
Territorial Conflicts in Animals and Humans The territory is a concept that is common in this world and an animal or a human may want to fight to defend it if another party wants to claim it from them.
Homosexuality as a Problem in the Conflict Theory The term “sexual behavior” encompasses various actions that people engage in to show their sexuality. Sexual arousal is a part of these behaviors’ biological and cultural aspects.
The Conflict in Libya and Anatomy of a Failure The conflict in Libya is a result of both endogenous and exogenous political factors that have resulted in the division of the nation into two administrative groups.
Impact of Workplace Conflict on Patient Care The paper states that disruptive behaviors in the healthcare workplace harm the patient health outcome due to the inefficient functioning of staff.
Nurse Manager’s Role in Conflict Resolution The causes of conflicts can range from simple misunderstandings and communication failures to more profound clashes of values, personalities, or objectives.
Advanced Practice Registered Nurse’s Role Conflict Resolution The APRN role conflict is pervasive within interdisciplinary teams. The most appropriate approach in resolving the APRN role conflict is the collaborative style.
Emotional Factors in Conflict Management This essay will point out the emotional factors embroidered within this field and relate them to the theories and hence evaluate the role played by the emotional factors.
Conflict Theory in Nursing Practice This reflective journal entry elaborates on some issues that nurses face in their daily practice, and what theories can support them when resolving the arising problems.
Worker Exploitation in the Social Conflict Theory The conflict theory suggests that the different social groups within the society are engaged in a constant struggle over the scarce resources and for dominance over each other.
The Armed Conflict in Nigeria and Its Impact The primary aim of the research is to explore the impact of armed conflict in Nigeria. This conflict features less in media as compared to the wars in Syria and Yemen.
Conflict of Interest in Speech Therapy Conflict of interest in clinical practice and especially in speech therapy is a phenomenon emerging due to the presence of varying perspectives of personal and professional nature.
Role Play on Conflict Resolution Conflict resolution within an organization is one of the most critical leadership skills that foster cohesion, enhances work relationships, and improve the overall outlook of products.
Interpersonal & Internal Conflict in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” Conflicts are integral parts of our lives, and knowing how to resolve them is one of the essential skills to learn.
Leadership Strategies for Conflict Management in Nursing This paper will discuss the servant, transformational, and authoritarian conflict management styles, as they are the most prominent in the relevant literature.
Sources and Levels of Organizational Conflict The purpose of this essay is the examination of the sources and levels of conflict and the evaluation of potential outcomes of the conflict solution.
Conflict Perspective to Analyze Personal Problems The main three perspectives used by sociologists today are the functionalist perspective, the symbolic interactionism, and the conflict perspective.
Conflict in Former Yugoslavia The conflict in the former Yugoslavia was caused by the long standings borders between several nations that should have never occurred.
Effective Conflict Resolution Strategies & Theories There are five behavior strategies in a conflict, such as withdrawal, coercion, compromise, concession, and cooperation.
Workplace Conflict Resolution and Team Building This paper provides several recommendations for resolving a number of conflict situations in the workplace and creating an effective team.
Role, Conflict, Social Exchange Theories in Nursing Role theory, conflict theory, and social exchange theory should be discussed in the case of the nurse that is regularly challenged to prove her self-worth and skills.
Communication and Cultural Conflicts Conflicts due to variations in values, beliefs, and practices are bound to occur when people communicate to achieve shared objectives, complement each other, and share resources.
Seminar: Conflict and Power Dynamics The categories of conflict resolution are compared based on the transaction cost involved, satisfaction with the outcomes, recurrence, and effect on the relationships.
Workplace Conflict Between Nurses The task of nurse leaders is to provide visionary leadership to foster a constructive work environment where disagreements are dealt with more effectively.
Coser’s Theory and an Example of a Social Conflict This paper discusses the concept of social conflict, which arises due to contradictions between different social groups, and its significance in societal progress.
The Role of Power in Conflicts in the Workplace This paper states that legitimate power presents itself as the most effective power in solving conflicts in an organization.
Conflict Resolution at the Workplace Mutual conversation among employees is one of the critical factors which result in good relationships among the workers.
Myths Featuring Conflicts Among Members of a Gods Family The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast two myths that depict a conflict between a family of gods.
Media Coverage on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict The media highlights the occupation as an immoral and illegal act by Israelis which should be resisted in its entirety.
Values and Conflicts in The Oresteia by Aeschylus The play Orestes revolves around the concept of justice: justice as revenge thus putting personal responsibility of revenge on the insulted.
Evidence-Based Conflict Resolution Strategies in Healthcare This paper aims to discuss an evidence-based example of a conflict situation in order to develop a comprehensive understanding of the best conflict resolution strategies.
Workplace Interpersonal Conflicts Among the Healthcare Workers The work in a healthcare setting is rather demanding and may sometimes require much more than a thorough preparation and the knowledge of one’s job.
Resolving Workplace Conflict: Challenges and Strategies All factors that affected the workers, at personal level and work had to be factored in, and effective mechanisms needed to be put in place to cater for these.
Conflicts and Resolution at Engineering Companies The purpose of the current exploration is to discuss the cases of internal and external conflicts in a project team, with a special focus on the engineering context.
Conflict Resolution: Compromise and Collaboration Conflicts are usually caused by the incompatibility of principles, aims, interests, or experiences. The success of conflict resolution depends on the selected strategy.
Team-Building Activities and Conflict Resolution Team building is an important instrument that assists organizations in building teams that are able to accomplish objectives and tasks which are defined by organizations.
Zimbabwe’s Political Elites and Ethnic Conflict Zimbabwe used to be one of Africa’s most prosperous states, backed up by a thriving tourism industry, a lucrative precious metals sector and a robust agricultural industry.
Conflicts: Main Reasons and Resolution Conflict resolution is a complex issue that implies numerous points of view on the same problem and the ability to find the main reason for confrontation.
Conflict Management in Healthcare Facilities Heads of different health faculties must effectively resolve the issues of conflict in their areas as health care leaders are not immune.
The Role of Conflict Management Plan Given the possibility of undesirable influences of conflict on teamwork, it is worthwhile for organizational heads to adopt strategies for the management of conflict.
“Disgrace” by John Maxwell Coetzee: Conflict Resolution This is a literary analysis of Disgrace by Coetzee that demonstrates conflict resolution styles of David and Lucy Lurie differ due to their social environments and sexual genres.
American Apparel: The Ethical Conflicts This study of American Apparel found ethical conflicts such as untimely paying employees, using taboo topics to promote their product, and insults and abuse by supervisors.
Change and Conflict Management in Church Over the last few decades, the Christian church has been rocked with major sex scandals, which hints at the necessity to rethink modern leadership.
How Conflict Influences Decision-Making One of the last conflicts that occurred at work was a dispute with a colleague regarding the fact that I noticed that he did not fulfill a number of his duties.
A Managerial Conflict in the Workplace This paper will encompass an analysis and an overview of the conflict in the work setup. Conflict entails a disagreement between two managers.
Relational Dialectics and Conflict Management Relational dialectics can be described as a concept of communication theories that analyses contradictions and tensions that exist in relationships.
Conflict: Positives, Negatives, and Strategies Conflict is a significant part of interpersonal interactions, arising from a perception of incompatible goals between interdependent parties.
The Conflict between Russia and Chechnya The paper describes the conflict between Russia and Chechnya, the causes of that war, and what’s happening today.
Conflict of Interests of the Patient and the Doctors The paper discusses the conflict of interests of the patient and the doctors. They both should be adequately addressed, but the needs of James and his proper treatment are a priority.
Resolving Conflict & Dealing with Difficult People Successful communication is an essential part of human life, and it defines one’s overall promotion in all spheres. Some conflicts prevent us from being good at communicating.
Conflict Theory: Definition and Main Concepts Conflict theory is a concept used in a wide range of disciplines, such as sociology, psychology, criminology, communication, education, among many others.
Transformational Leadership Approach to Conflict Management in Emergency Care The research stresses the leadership importance in the conflict management process and highlights its vitality for bringing positive changes to the emergency departments.
Conflict Resolution: A Constructive Approach The lack of strategic vision and poor group management in an organization can result in low commitment and conflict situations, lack of understanding, and satisfaction.
Conflict Resolution for Nurses and Other Providers Arguments between nurses and other healthcare providers may be inevitable but can be solved by the methods of conflict resolution.
Nurse-Physician Conflict and Resolution Nurses communicate with a variety of health professionals. When it comes to nursing, conflicts in the workplace can have serious effects on patient health.
Healthcare Conflict Resolution Case This paper dwells on the details of the conflict in a Healthcare Setting between Kimberly and Jade and describes the stages of the conflict.
Conflict in Nurse Work and Its Resolution Conflict is an inevitable part of nurse-patient relationships. This paper analyzes the conflict issue and determines the main aspects of its resolution.
Rwanda Conflict and Its Resolving Options On April 1994, after the assassination of Hutu’s President, Juvenal Habyarima, the state of Rwanda fell into political turmoil. It is said to be instigated by the Hutu community.
Conflict Management in Nursing Practice This paper explores the nature of conflict in the context of patient care, its four stages, and suggests the best strategy for resolving the conflict.
General Hospital’s Case of Conflict Management The paper studies the case of General Hospital, its conflict management styles and strategies of cost reductions negotiations needed to stay competitive.
Self-Interest and Public Interest Conflicts This paper discusses two inherent conflicts that might occur between self-interest and public interest, namely definitional challenges and market-oriented mechanisms.
The 24 Hour Fitness Firm’s Employee Conflict On March 12, 2018, a complete story documenting the ongoing conflict between 24 Hour Fitness’s staff and management appeared in Capital & Main.
Role Ambiguity, Role Strain and Role Conflict I was a college student who was constantly busy with academic life and work. I was a full-time student, worked part-time at a retail store, and was also the president of a student organization. Despite my busy schedule, I felt fulfilled and enjoyed being involved in multiple activities. However, everything…
Human Nature: War and Conflict It is important to note that Kenneth Waltz is a neo-realist who identifies three major “images” which contribute to the conflict around the world.
Functionalism vs Conflict Theory in Sociology Among the many sociological theories that study the structures of society, functionalism and conflict theory stand out as progressive ideas.
Conflict Between Supervisor and Employee: Case Analysis This paper discusses the conflict between supervisor and employee. Also, it shows the collaborative model of conflict resolution.
Ways of Managing Conflict Once all of the issues in the dispute had been resolved, the parties understood and agreed to the terms of their agreement.
Conflict and Negotiation Analysis of Nick Cunningham Case Study The case study notes that constant disagreements attract long-term decisions affecting both personal and professional lifestyles.
Violence and Conflict for Children and Women Domestic violence is an “epidemic” in most countries of the world. There are certain features of psychological work with women and children who have suffered from violence.
Sleepy Hollow General Hospital: Conflict of Interest The organization under review, the Sleepy Hollow General Hospital, experiences an issue in the incoherency in hip and knee implant supply.
Correlation Between Negotiation and Conflict Resolution The paper describes the goals of dialogue communication during the negotiation process, types of negotiations, stages, and factors for successful negotiations.
Communication and Conflict Resolution Ways A destructive conflict is that which is fanned by various destructive attitudinal elements, creating an escalation in disagreement and offering no platforms to solving the issue.
Conflict and Negotiation Discussion As a manager or leader it is a fundamental duty to maintain the goal of the company by resolving conflict through negotiation.
Group Dynamics, Managing Conflict, and Managing Stress and Employee Job Satisfaction This paper discusses of whether a high cohesiveness in a group leads to higher group productivity, or not. Analysis of the effect of the quality of decision-making within the group.
Conflict Management and Team Building Communication is one of the most crucial elements in stable and healthy relationships. It can also affect conflicts positively, as it can help people to identify the causes of disagreements.
Teamwork and Conflict Management in Nursing A nursing leader should accept that conflicts are a natural part of building team cohesion. A good understanding of key factors may help to develop a conflict resolution strategy.
Moral Issues in 21st-Century Conflict Killing an innocent person is an immoral act in itself, and it means nothing whether it has some noble purpose or not.
Conflict Management Plan in Health Care Effective change management should not underestimate the role of communication in the change process. It is critical to examine both the positive and negative aspects of stakeholders’ relations.
Nursing Leadership and Conflict Resolution The paper unveils the working mechanism of the qualities of a leader, and the ability of the leader uses an array of strategies to mitigate conflicts at the working place.
Four Intercultural Conflict Styles The current paper aims at analyzing the dual concern model offered by Hammer, discussing the situations with different intercultural conflict styles, and introducing a list of codewords.
Organization Conflicts and Bullying Workplace bullying is a serious problem with huge costs attached to it in terms of loss of working days. The topic requires academic attention to ascertain the factors that induce such behavior.
Intergroup Dynamics in Conflict Resolution This literature review delves into the existing literature on the theory of social identity and discusses new findings and shortcomings of the theory.
Strategies for Workplace Conflict Management It is essential to recognize the stage of conflict and intervene to resolve it. It is necessary to develop management skills to identify the causes and consequences of disputes.
Religious Diversity and Sources of Conflict Religious diversity is a prospective source of conflict in almost every cohesive society. There may be some friction due to people’s frequent ignorance about different religions.
The True Story of Che Guevara: Conflict & Terrorism
Stakeholders’ Conflict of Interests in Healthcare Provision
Intercultural Conflicts: Occurrence and Solutions
Theories of Conflict Resolution
The Conflict Resolution Process
Conflict Styles and Ways to Resolve It
Conflict Management in Business
Workplace Conflicts’ Impact on Employee Well-Being
Communication, Decision Making and Conflict Management
The Conflict Theory: Crucial Aspects
Criminological Conflict Theory by Sykes
“The Lottery” and “The Destructors”: Conflict, Characterization and Irony
Internal Strife and Conflict in Literary Works
10-Hour Training Course for Teachers on Conflict Management
Tourism and Socio-Cultural Conflicts in Lhasa, Tibet
Moro Conflict in Mindanao: Ethnic Civil Wars
Social Construct of Ethnicity and Ethnic Conflict
Child Soldiers in Modern Armed Conflicts
Affordable Care Act and Related Ethical Conflicts
Male and Female Escalated Conflict
Sexism and Gender: Culture and Conflict Reflection
Nurses Role in Conflicts
Conflict Resolution Strategies and Organizational Behavior
Time and Conflict Management in Nursing
Conflict Management and Leadership Skills
Impacts of the China-Taiwan Conflict on the US Economy
Work-Family Conflict and Women of Impact
Alternative Business Conflict Resolution in the Board of Directors
The Veil Conflict: Wearing Religious Symbols in Schools
Conditions Leading to Statehood in Israel- Palestinian Conflict 1948
The Day of Revenge, BRAVO, and ALPHA Conflict
Centurion Media: The Conflict of Interest
Organizational Conflicts: The Key Aspects
Implications of the U. S. Endorsement of Jerusalem on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
The United States in the Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Family Counselling and Therapy for High-Conflict Couples
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Servant Leadership, Cooperative Groups, and Productive Conflict
International Law and Conflicts in Jurisdiction
Conflicts Between the British and the Colonists
Managing Conflict: Understanding Interpersonal Communication
Law of Armed Conflict Rebuttal
Zionism Issues in Israel and Palestine Conflict
Conflict Resolution for Hospital Leadership
Emotional Intelligence in Conflict Resolution
Conflict and Coexistence: Jews and Christians
Conflict in the Workplace: Impact of Social Aspects
Analysis of Age of Conflict in Viceroyalty of New Spain
Conflict Resolution: Video Analysis
Intercultural Conflict Communication Style
Agency Conflict Between Company’s Owners and Shareholders
Aspects of a Brewing Litigation Conflict
Violence in Settlers & American Indians Conflicts
Conflict Between Inward Traits and Outward Circumstances in “Paul’s Case”
Workplace Disputes: Conflicts Between the Employee and the Employer
Undefined Roles of Nurses and Doctors Lead to Conflict in Interpersonal Collaboration
The American Civil War and North-South Conflict
Sunni and Shia Forms of Islam and Their Conflicts
Conflict Between Employee, Customer, and Manager
Desdemona and Lago’s Conflict in “Othello” by Shakespeare
FlipHarp Company’s Conflict Resolution
Workplace Conflicts: Jan and Mike Case
The Dakota Conflict Documentary’s Analysis
Social Conflict Theory & Behavior Theory Analysis
The Would-Be Borrower Communication Conflict
Conflicts, Politics, and Conflict-Handling Styles
Workplace Conflict in the Medical Sphere
Europeans vs Native Americans: Why the Conflict Was Inevitable?
Christianity vs. Judaism: A Medieval Conflict
Conflict With Juvenile Offenders
Codes of Conduct: Conflicts in Organization
“Crucible of Fire” and “Canadian Soldiers in West African Conflicts” Articles Comparison
Conflict Management as an Essential Skill
Factors of Conflict Between American Colonists and the British Empire
Communication Issues and Conflict Resolution
Sports and Organizational Conflict: Articles Analysis
Change and Conflict Management in Nursing
Conflict Resolution. A Values-Based Negotiation Model
Managing Conflict in Teams and Organizations
Conflict Resolution: Conflict Prevention Methods
Identity Establishment in Adolescence and Its Relation to Conflict
Conflict Between Transgender Theory, Ethics, and Scientific Community
The Emergence of Professional Disputes and Conflicts
Conflict Management Issues
Ethical Conflict Associated With Managed Care: Views of Nurse Practitioners’: Article Critique
Difficult Interactions and Conflict Resolution
Conflict in Nursing: Conflict Resolution in a Healthcare Setting
The Land Conflict Between White Settlers and Native Americans
History of Settlers-Natives Conflict in Canada
Leadership for Conflict Management in Nursing
Civility and Conflict Management in the Workplace
Negotiation’s Strategy: Conflict Between Basran and Carpathia
Conflict Style Assessment and Analysis
Workplace Conflict Resolution by a Human Resource Manager
The Palestine and the Arab-Israel Conflict
The Inevitability of the 1947-48 Conflict Between Jews and Arabs in Palestine
Race and Ethnicity and Meaningless Conflict
Conflict Resolution Strategies Training Program
Conflict and Order Theory on Race and Gender Issues
Conflict 101: Questions. Analysis of the Conflict
Conflict Handling Style in the Healthcare Environment
China-Philippines Conflict: Differences in News Broadcast
Military Conflict and Involvement Consequences
Indirect Emotion Regulation in Intractable Conflicts
American-Japanese Military and Race Conflicts in the Book “War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War”
Workplace Conflicts Among Healthcare Workers
Conflict Between Augustine and Pelagius
Conflicts and Political Goals in Afghanistan, Gaza and Iraq
Communication and Conflict: Analysis of a Conflict Situation
Social Order Perspective and a Conflict Perspective
Environmental, Social or Political Conflict in Buddhism
Developing States-World Trade Organization Conflict
Conflict Management Definition and Problem-Solving Approaches
“Lawrence and Aaronsohn: T.E. Lawrence, Aaron, Aaronsohn” by Ronald Florence: Arab-Israel Conflict
The Industrial Revolution and Class Conflict
Project Team: Definition, Principles of Function and Possible Conflicts
Mediation and Advocacy to Resolve Conflicts
The Conflicts of the Cold War in Latin America
The IRA and the Irish-English Conflict
The Ethics of Global Conflict: Violence vs. Morality
Mediation of Conflicts and Human Services
Acuscan Company’s Conflict About the New Product
Resolving Business Conflicts: Negotiation Strategies
The Israeli and the Palestinian People in Conflict
“The Role of the United Nations Development Programme in Post-conflict Peace-Building”: Article Analysis
Conflict Management Styles in Workplace
The Problem of Palestinian-Israeli Conflict and Viable Solution
Training vs. Patient Care Conflict in a Clinic
Conflict Management: Term Definition
Prioritizing Tasks: The Most Common Workplace Conflict
Attribution Bias in the Intergroup Conflict
Conflict Between Jews and Arabs in Palestine 1947-1948
Dealing with Conflict in Healthcare Settings
Workplace Conflict Management Strategies and Examples
The Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention
The Understanding of the Conflict Nature and Resolution in the Nursing Area
Addressing Ethical Conflict in Healthcare
Miami Hospital’s Nursing Conflict Resolution
Remote Sensing. Satellite Imagery of Conflict in Aleppo
Conflict Resolution in a Care Delivery Setting
Resolving Conflict in the Healthcare Setting
The Conflict Resolution and Moral Distress in Nursing
Conflict Handling in the Healthcare Environment
Organizational Communication and Conflict Management in the Healthcare
Conflict Management in the Healthcare Sector
Effective Communication and Conflict Resolution in Nursing
Healing and Autonomy: The Conflict Between Conventional Medical Treatment and Spiritual Beliefs
Nursing Conflicts, Their Types and Implications
Group Decision-Making and Conflict Management
Power & Conflict in Individual & Group Behavior
Conflict Resolution: The Nursing Context
Power & Conflict in Individual and Group Behavior
Professional Conflict Resolution Skills in Nurses
Document Conflict: Alternative Dispute Resolution
United States-Iran Relations and Future Conflict
United States-China Relations and Future Conflict
Conflicts and Development in Emerging States
Truth in Conflicts Management
Civil Conflict and Economic Policy in El Salvador
The History of Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Concept of Brotherhood: Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Israeli Settlement in Palestine: Conflict Nowadays
Peace & Global Security: Vietnam War & Israel-Palestine Conflict
Handling Difficult Conversations and Ways to Avoid Conflict Escalation
Moro Conflict in Mindanao: Why Men Rebel
Moro Conflict in Mindanao: In Pursuit of Federalism
Moro Conflict in Mindanao: Road to Peace
The Colombian Conflict Effects
European Union Mediation Directive for Conflict Resolution
Conflict Management Strategies
The Pattern of a Conflict: Tracing Your Own Life
Asian International Politics and Military Conflicts
Afghanistan’s Location as a Cause of Conflicts
Effective Conflict-Resolution Strategies in Healthcare
Conflict Resolution Skills in Nursing
Conflict in IT Project Teams
Conflict Resolution in Healthcare Workplace
Environmental Health and Social Conflicts
Ethical Conflicts of Obama and Trump Healthcare Reforms
Recurring Conflict between Two Nurses
Conflict and Social Technologies in the Workplace
What Factors Led to the Indian Pakistan Conflict?
Riverbend City Case: Conflict Management
Kendall Regional Medical Center: Conflict Management
Nursing Leadership: Isaac and Holiday Conflict
Ethics and the Affordable Care Act’s Conflicts
Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner in Conflict Resolution
Kendall Regional Medical Center’s Change and Conflicts
Colombian Armed Conflict and Social Proactiveness
Conflict Between Medical Professionals
Kendall Regional Medical Center’s Conflict Management Plan
University of Miami Hospital’s Nursing Conflicts
Conflict Resolution in Healthcare Establishments
Conflicts, Compromises, and Communication
Conflict Resolution Decision in Healthcare Institutions
Problem of Conflict Situations
Conflict Resolution by the African Union
Conflict Competence in the Workplace
Conflict Resolution in Professional Nurse Activity
Healthcare Facilities Conflict Management Plan
Miami Hospital’s Conflict in Healthcare Teams
Employee Conflicts Resolution and Ethical Dilemmas
Conflict Handling Style in Healthcare Setting
Work-Family Conflict Implications in Strain Levels
Hospital Setting Miami: Conflict Resolution
Negotiating Ethical Conflicts in Nursing
Quality Improvement and Conflict Management in Healthcare
Conflict Resolution in Hospital Setting Miami
Conflict Resolution in Libraries of St. Lucie County
The Nature of Conflicts in Nursing
Conflict in “Barn Burning” by William Faulkner
Conflict Resolution for Nurses in Acute Care Unit
Conflict Management Plan for a Regional Medical Center
Nursing Conflict and Cooperation
How Mexico Drug Cartels Are Supporting Conflicts?
Conflict Situations in Healthcare
Change and Conflict Theories in Healthcare Leadership
Conflict Resolution in the Miami Hospital
Nursing Conflict Resolution Strategies
Conflict Resolutions in Northern Ireland and Cyprus
Conflict among the Nurses at the Hospital
Conflict Resolution Strategies in Nursing Settings
Executing Change in Healthcare: Conflict Management Strategies
African Union Conflict Intervention Framework
Democratic Communities and Third-Party Conflict Management
Applying Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Knowledge
Gas Blowouts in Bangladesh and Conflicts That Prevail Due to Gas Blowouts
Governmental Social Movement: Class Conflicts
Syria’s Conflict: Putin’s vs. Obama’s Position
“Where the Conflict Really Lies?” – Philosophy
International Relations: Korean Conflict and US Economy
Social Movement Theory: An Analysis of the Class Conflict Social Movement Theory and Lenin’s Social Movement Theory
Are Trade Integration and the Environment in Conflict?
Does Ethnic Conflict Impede or Enable Employee Innovation Behavior?
Are Religion and Conflict Inherently Linked?
What Is Cultural Conflict in the Workplace?
Does Gender Difference Play a Role in Marital Conflict?
How Can Family Conflicts Lead to Deviant Behavior in Children?
Why Did the Major Twentieth Century Conflicts Affect So Many People?
Can Cultural Norms Reduce Conflicts?
Why Does the Bible Conflict With Science?
How Can Miscommunication and Misunderstanding Lead to Conflicts?
What Is Social Conflict According to Karl Marx?
Does Gender Diversity Help Teams Constructively Manage Status Conflict?
Why Doesn’t Class Conflict Dominate Politics in Advanced Industrial Societies?
How Does Conflict Relate to Social Inequalities?
Can the WTO Reconcile Environmental and Trade Conflicts?
What Are the Two Main Issues in the Current Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?
Does Higher Inequality Lead to Conflict?
How Can People Best Respond to Conflict?
Does Poor Communication Cause Conflict in the Workplace?
What Are the Major Conflicts Between Virtues and Utilitarianism?
How Can Team Conflict Be Reduced?
Does Social Media Influence Conflict?
How Does Conflict Manifest Itself in “Romeo and Juliet”?
Does Violent Conflict Make Chronic Poverty More Likely?
How Do Cultural Differences Influence Conflict Within an Organization?
What Were Some Conflicts Involved in the Iranian Revolution?
How Does Maslow’s Theory of Human Needs Explain Conflict in Human Society?
Why Are Intra State Conflicts So Difficult?
How Does Shakespeare Use Conflict in “Hamlet” as a Way of Exploring Ideas?
What Problems Are Caused by Conflict?

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StudyCorgi. (2021, September 9). 429 Conflict Essay Topics. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/conflict-essay-topics/

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StudyCorgi . "429 Conflict Essay Topics." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/conflict-essay-topics/.

StudyCorgi . 2021. "429 Conflict Essay Topics." September 9, 2021. https://studycorgi.com/ideas/conflict-essay-topics/.

These essay examples and topics on Conflict were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you’re using them to write your assignment.

This essay topic collection was updated on January 5, 2024 .

65 Dispute Resolution Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 best dispute resolution topic ideas & essay examples, 👍 simple & easy dispute resolution essay titles, 💡 good research topics about dispute resolution.

Arbitration and Its Role in Dispute Resolution The factor is that the regulation of domestic arbitration has a distinguished enforcement mechanism, while international arbitration can be seen lacking where the implementation of the awards can be more than difficult in “cases where […]
Industrial Relations: Dispute Resolution in Organizations The pluralist industrial relations theory evaluates the work and the employment relationship based on the prevalence of disparities between the dealings of employers and employees in flawed labor markets.
Mediation as Method of Dispute Resolution The reason for that is that it is in the interest of both parties to resolve the issue in such a way that the other one remains satisfied.
Resolution of International Disputes Related to Environmental Practices Speaking of the economy, the growth of China and Australia could be linked to the increasing energy requirements that forced both countries to invest in energy sources and make sure fossil energy no longer remains […]
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Legal, Social-Ethical, and Biblical Aspects Medical errors are some of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in the US, which underscores the importance of the medical liability system in the country.
Alternative Dispute Resolution and Diversion Programs The practices are meant to be for first-time offenders or individuals that acted emotionally, instinctively, or because of their toxic environment.
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Types and Functions The alternative dispute resolution is a term that is being used to capture a wide range of dispute resolution systems that are alternative to, or short of the normal court processes, or simply minitrials. In […]
The Various Options for Dispute Resolution The contractual conflicts arising in the corporate world are usually solved in a variety of ways with the most common being courts of law, mediation, direct negation between the conflicting parties and arbitration.
Business Organization and Alternative Dispute Resolution Starting a Limited Liability Company will be easier for the researcher in raising the funds required to start it, unlike in the case of sole proprietorship form of business.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Benefits & Drawbacks As such, it can be argued that ADR processes are unable to correct systematic injustice, discrimination, or violations of rights among the parties involved.
The Effectiveness of Online Dispute Resolution to Resolve Internet Related Disputes Therefore, referring to the academic research in the field and to the analysis of the existing legislation, this paper will identify the types of Internet related disputes and critically argue whether Online Dispute Resolution can […]
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Types, Advantages and Disadvantages A mediator is a person who is trained to help dispute parties to come to a fair agreement, he/she must be of a character that is respectable by the parties.
The Ways of Disputes Resolution: Law Practice Management Flexibility of the law is a complex legal debate, but a large majority of scholars and potentially the Founding Fathers, believed that the law can and should adapt, thus the purpose of Constitutional amendments and […]
Dispute Resolution Policies of the US Government The main aim of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy is to make the participants of the dispute come to any agreement, and the policy is necessary in the cases of the governmental affair when all […]
Conflicts and Disputes at Workplace, and Their Resolution A conflict and a dispute might appear to be fully synonymous at first, yet the further analysis of the two notions will show that they are quite different.
Managerial Skills in Dispute Resolution The parties will also examine the facts surrounding the case. The decision “to have the conflict handled in court might be effective for the company”.
Alternative Dispute Resolution and Its Methods This paper identifies the key terms related to the concept of ADR, discusses the various methods of ADR used in the practice of conflict management, and addresses the case “John at the Bureau of Reclamation” […]
Dispute Review Boards and Alternative Resolution Having many advantages, such as the possibility to identify the main issues between the parties and test the strengths of an argument, there are a number of disadvantages. This is the less formal type of […]
Dispute Resolution Between Management and Union From the standpoint of the Management side, it is important to point out that our major interest, in the given situation, is to organize the working process of the employees in such a way that […]
Alternative Dispute Resolution in the U.S. Historically, legal dispute resolution and protection of rights of citizens and enterprises have always been the responsibility of the strong and independent branch of the judicial system.
Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms This is one of the problems that should not be overlooked. Thus, this trend is likely to persist in the future.
Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Therefore, the article gives the contractor the power to communicate in writing to the engineers and inform him of any proposed changes that will ensure adverse impacts of various situations are minimised or eliminated.
Dispute Resolution for Victorian Desalination Project To resolve the problems, the following measures should be taken: Portfolio and Program management programs should be developed to ensure that activities go in line with the set condition; within the needs of the Victorian […]
Alternative Dispute Resolution in the Construction Industry: UAE Situation The reason for studying Alternative Dispute Resolution methods in construction industry is to get information about the number of construction projects, the related contracts and whether they have increased largely in the United Arab Emirates […]
Dispute Resolution Among Different Business Cultures
Overview of Advanced Procurement and Dispute Resolution
Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management in Construction
Dispute Resolution and Self-Selection in the Public Service
Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution in India: Issues and Challenges
Dispute Resolution: Growing Trend of Mediation in the Oil and Gas Industry
Alternate Dispute Resolution vs. Traditional Litigation: Comparative Analysis
Dispute Resolution: Use of Arbitration in the Credit Card Industry
Arguments for and Against Alternative Dispute Resolution in Civil Justice
Alternative Commercial Dispute Resolution: A Critical Assessment
Business and Corporation Law: Contract Law and Dispute Resolution
Alternative Dispute Resolution Clause for Learning Teams
Linking Business Issues and Alternative Dispute Resolution
Alternative Dispute Resolution: Mediation and Conciliation
Analysis of Alternate Dispute Resolution and Conflict Resolution
Relations Between Business Negotiation and Alternative Dispute Resolution
Alternative Dispute Resolution and Some of Its Processes
Overview of Dispute Resolution in the Construction Industry
Alternative Dispute Resolution and the Different Types of It
Conflict Handling and Dispute Resolution in Business
Alternative Dispute Resolution Clause for Learning Team
Relationships Between Construction Procurement and Dispute Resolution
Alternative Dispute Resolution Knowledge and Skills
Contract Flexibility and Dispute Resolution in African Manufacturing
Alternative Dispute Resolution Methods and Procurement
Cross-Cultural Conflicts Dispute Resolution: Brockton Neighborhood Health Center
Different Methods of Alternative Dispute Resolution Available to Deal With Civil Cases
Alternative Dispute Resolution: The National Arbitration Forum
The Processes Available in Alternative Dispute Resolution
Alternative Dispute Resolution: When Is It Appropriate
Dispute Resolution Advantages and Biblical Approaches
Overview of Dispute Resolution and Employment Discrimination
The Link Between Dispute Resolution and Non-adjudicative Processes
Dispute Resolution, Bargaining, and the Selection of Cases for Trial
Establishing and Growing Alternative Dispute Resolution Practices
Governments and Private Actors: Dispute Resolution of Japan’s Harbour Practices
Dispute Resolution Mechanisms/Bodies in International Business
International Construction Contracts and Dispute Resolution
Key People, Structure, and Dispute Resolution in a Healthcare Organization
Legal Dispute Resolution Process and Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanisms
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Home — Essay Samples — Sociology — Interpersonal Relationship — Conflict Resolution

Essays on Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is a crucial skill in both personal and professional relationships. Writing an essay on conflict resolution can help you understand the importance of effective communication and problem-solving in resolving conflicts. It can also help you develop critical thinking and analytical skills as you explore different aspects of conflict resolution.

When choosing a topic for your conflict resolution essay, consider the different types of essays you can write, such as argumentative, cause and effect, opinion, and informative essays. For an argumentative essay, you might explore the effectiveness of different conflict resolution strategies. For a cause and effect essay, you could examine the impact of unresolved conflicts on relationships or organizations. An opinion essay could allow you to share your personal experiences with conflict resolution, while an informative essay could delve into the various theories and approaches to resolving conflicts.

For example, you could write an essay on the importance of active listening in conflict resolution, or the role of empathy in understanding different perspectives. You could also explore the impact of unresolved conflicts on mental health, or the benefits of mediation in resolving disputes.

In an argumentative essay on conflict resolution, you could argue that compromise is the key to resolving conflicts, or that conflict can be a catalyst for positive change. For a cause and effect essay, you could examine the long-term effects of unresolved conflicts on individuals or organizations. In an opinion essay, you could express your views on the best conflict resolution strategies, or share your personal experiences with resolving conflicts. An informative essay could cover topics such as the history of conflict resolution, different conflict resolution models, or the psychology of conflict.

For example, a thesis statement for a conflict resolution essay could be: " Effective communication is essential in resolving conflicts and maintaining healthy relationships. " Another thesis statement could be: " The use of mediation can lead to more sustainable solutions in conflict resolution. "

In the to a conflict resolution essay, you could start by defining what conflict resolution is and why it is important. You could then provide an overview of the topics you will cover in your essay, and end with a strong thesis statement that outlines your main argument.

In the of a conflict resolution essay, you could summarize the key points you have made in your essay and reiterate the importance of effective conflict resolution. You could also suggest possible areas for further research or practical applications of the ideas you have discussed.

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Taking Action - a Superior Way to Solve Conflict

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Intergenerational nursing conflicts and strategies to overcome them, an overview of negotiation as a solution to a conflict, the role of facilitators in management strategies in conflict resolution and strategic management, hostilities chasing in san jacinto, masbate, workplace conflict in the us and brazil: analysis of cultural differences, personal negotiation experience: role of emotions in negotiation, genogram and other tools to use in the family art therapy, personal negotiation experience: strategies and concession making, exploring how conflict leads to transformation, managing conflict in organizational change, conflicts in relationships, global actors: roles in the resolution of israeli palestinian conflict, educating students on their rights in encounters with law enforcement, relevant topics.

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4 Common Types of Team Conflict — and How to Resolve Them

Randall S. Peterson,
Priti Pradhan Shah,
Amanda J. Ferguson,
Stephen L. Jones

Advice backed by three decades of research into thousands of team conflicts around the world.

Managers spend 20% of their time on average managing team conflict. Over the past three decades, the authors have studied thousands of team conflicts around the world and have identified four common patterns of team conflict. The first occurs when conflict revolves around a single member of a team (20-25% of team conflicts). The second is when two members of a team disagree (the most common team conflict at 35%). The third is when two subgroups in a team are at odds (20-25%). The fourth is when all members of a team are disagreeing in a whole-team conflict (less than 15%). The authors suggest strategies to tailor a conflict resolution approach for each type, so that managers can address conflict as close to its origin as possible.

If you have ever managed a team or worked on one, you know that conflict within a team is as inevitable as it is distracting. Many managers avoid dealing with conflict in their team where possible, hoping reasonable people can work it out. Despite this, research shows that managers spend upwards of 20% of their time on average managing conflict.

Randall S. Peterson is the academic director of the Leadership Institute and a professor of organizational behavior at London Business School. He teaches leadership on the School’s Senior Executive and Accelerated Development Program.
PS Priti Pradhan Shah is a professor in the Department of Work and Organization at the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota. She teaches negotiation in the School’s Executive Education and MBA Programs.
AF Amanda J. Ferguson is an associate professor of Management at Northern Illinois University. She teaches Organizational Behavior and Leading Teams in the School’s MBA programs.
SJ Stephen L. Jones is an associate professor of Management at the University of Washington Bothell. He teaches Organizational and Strategic Management at the MBA level.

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106 Conflict Resolution Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
Writing an essay on conflict resolution can provide a deeper understanding of this skill and its significance. To help you get started, here are 106 conflict resolution essay topic ideas and examples: The importance of conflict resolution in personal relationships. Conflict resolution techniques used in international diplomacy.
168 Conflict Resolution Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
Conflict Analysis and Resolution Procedures. This essay explores the conflict phenomenon with a specific focus on the analysis and application of the conflict resolution procedures that exist in the conflict ethos to real life. Donaldson's Type 1 Conflict and Its Resolution.
Conflict & Resolution: Articles, Research, & Case Studies on Conflict
Topics. COVID-19; Entrepreneurship; Finance; Gender; Globalization; Leadership; Management; Negotiation; ... New research on conflict and resolution from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including conflict management, navigating conflicts of interest, and dealing with the "irrational" negotiator. ... This paper finds that the internal ...
A Systematic Approach to Effective Conflict Management for Program
This research takes a systematic view on the organizational structure of a complex construction program to explore the effective approach to manage conflict in program. The objectives of the research include (a) examining the involvement of key stakeholders in program conflicts, the types of conflicts in program, and their causes and impacts ...
Journal of Conflict Resolution: Sage Journals
Journal of Conflict Resolution (JCR), peer-reviewed and published eight times a year, for more than fifty years has provided scholars and researchers with the latest studies and theories on the causes of and solutions to the full range of human conflict.JCR focuses on conflict between and within states, but also explores a variety of inter-group and interpersonal conflicts that may help in ...
Conflict Analysis and Resolution as a Field: Core Concepts and Issues
Created by a team of more than 400 distinguished scholars and practitioners from around the world, the Beyond Intractability/CRInfo Knowledge Base is built around an online "encyclopedia" with easy-to-understand essays on almost 400 topics. The essays explain the many dynamics that determine the course of conflict along with the available ...
128 Conflict Management Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
Transformative Mediation: Conflict Management. Consequently, the role of a transformative mediator is to support parties in shifting toward the recognition of the causes of their conflict and empower them to take action toward change. Interpersonal Conflict: Management, Economics and Industrial Organization.
Conflict Management
The most popular conflict resolution processes are: negotiation, mediation, conflict coaching, and arbitration (Rahim, 2002). Conflict resolution can also be accomplished by ruling by authorities. Integration of the different techniques sequentially or simultaneously has been shown to support optimal conflict resolution (Jones, 2016).
Conflict Resolution Quarterly
Conflict Resolution Quarterly is an interdisciplinary social sciences journal focused on relationships between theory, research, and practice in the human conflict management, dispute resolution, and peace studies fields. Conflict Resolution Quarterly promotes effective professional applications and addresses the implications of theory for practice and for research directions.
131 Conflict Resolution Essay Topics
👍 Good Conflict Resolution Research Topics & Essay Examples. On-time delivery! Get your 100% customized paper done in as little as 1 hour. Let's start. Workplace Conflict Resolution and Team Building. This paper provides several recommendations for resolving a number of conflict situations in the workplace and creating an effective team.
(PDF) Conflict Resolution in Team: Analyzing the Cause ...
The findings of this research study provide valuable insights into the diverse array of conflict resolution skills applicable to managing and resolving conflicts within the team. Discover the ...
622 Conflict Topics & Essay Samples
Racial and Ethnic Conflicts in "The Help" Film. The theories developed by the researchers help individuals to better understand the complex nature of the environment they live in. The phenomena will be analyzed in the context of the movie "The Help". Peace and Conflict Resolution: External Intervention.
An Analysis of Conflict Resolution Techniques:
In recent years, researchers investigating conflict resolution processes have developed various problem-solving workshops. These workshops serve two functions: research of the participant-observer variety, allowing researchers to observe real-world conflict behavior; and service, providing insight and training to the conflict participants regarding peaceful resolution of their conflict.
Improved conflict resolution in romantic couples in mediation ...
In spite of the research on conflict dynamics within romantic couples ("couple conflicts") (Gottman and Levenson, 1992; Driver and Gottman, 2004; Bloch et al., 2014; Shaw, 2014), there is so ...
Understanding mechanisms of conflict resolution beyond ...
Conflicts over land use and their resolution are one of the core challenges in reaching sustainable development today. The aim of this paper is to better understand the mechanisms that underlie conflict resolution. To do so we focus on the use and integration of different knowledge types for conflict resolution in three fields: natural resource management, transdisciplinary research and urban ...
Workplace Conflicts, Causes, and Intervention
conflict resolution training, it was found that the activity decreased the number of reported disputes by 41% and resulted in savings of $9000 per person over the course of one year (Adeoye & Hope ...
104 Conflict Management Essay Topics
These essay examples and topics on Conflict Management were carefully selected by the StudyCorgi editorial team. They meet our highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, and fact accuracy. Please ensure you properly reference the materials if you're using them to write your assignment.
Conflict Management: Difficult Conversations with Difficult People
Research demonstrates that training in conflict resolution skills can result in improved teamwork, productivity, and patient and employee satisfaction. Strategies to address a disruptive physician, a particularly difficult conflict situation in healthcare, are addressed.
An emerging conversation between action research and conflict
This understanding of conflict transformation resonates closely with action research as a participatory process, combining action and research, concerned with developing a variety of ways of knowing in the pursuit of worthwhile human purposes (Bradbury, 2015; Reason & Bradbury, 2008).Action research emphasizes participation - research "with" people, rather than "on" people - as ...
429 Conflict Essay Topics
Media and Functionalism, Conflict, and Interactionism. Hamlet's Internal Conflict in Shakespeare's Play. Role of Religion in Functionalism and Conflict Perspectives. Power, Politics and Conflict in an Organization. We will write a custom essay on your topic tailored to your instructions! 308 experts online.
65 Dispute Resolution Essay Topic Ideas & Examples
Conflicts and Disputes at Workplace, and Their Resolution. A conflict and a dispute might appear to be fully synonymous at first, yet the further analysis of the two notions will show that they are quite different. Managerial Skills in Dispute Resolution. The parties will also examine the facts surrounding the case.
≡Essays on Conflict Resolution. Free Examples of Research Paper Topics
An informative essay could cover topics such as the history of conflict resolution, different conflict resolution models, or the psychology of conflict. For example, a thesis statement for a conflict resolution essay could be: "Effective communication is essential in resolving conflicts and maintaining healthy relationships.
4 Common Types of Team Conflict
The first occurs when conflict revolves around a single member of a team (20-25% of team conflicts). The second is when two members of a team disagree (the most common team conflict at 35%). The ...
Conflict, Peace and Security: An International Relations Perspective
Conflict, peace and security are some of the enduring concerns of the Peace Research Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. They have become integrated in the dominant disciplines of international relations and political science and now are also part of most of the social science disciplines, such as economics, sociology, public policy, gender studies, international law and so on.

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Article contents

Definition of Conflict

Characteristics of Conflict

Type of Conflict: Task, Process, and Relationship Conflict

Conflict Behavior, Conflict Management, and Conflict Resolution

Conflict Behavior

Dual-Concern Model

Accommodating

Compromising

Problem Solving or Integrating

Conglomerate Conflict Behavior (CCB)

How to Explore Your Tendency in Conflict

Table 1. Characteristics of Cooperative and Competitive Climates

How to Manage Conflicts Constructively

Constructive Controversy

Conflict Resolution

Negotiation

Conflict Coaching

Arbitration

Decision Making by Authorities

Further Reading

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Understanding mechanisms of conflict resolution beyond collaboration: an interdisciplinary typology of knowledge types and their integration in practice

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Conceptual base

Materials and methods

Knowledge use and conflict resolution in natural resource management (NRM)

Knowledge types and knowledge integration in transdisciplinary research (TDR) and their contributions to conflict resolution

Knowledge use and conflict resolution in urban planning (UP)

Comparing knowledge use practices for conflict resolution in NRM, TDR and UP

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Conflict Management: Difficult Conversations with Difficult People

Ann C. Lowry

Response to Conflict

Conflict Management Skills

429 Conflict Essay Topics

65 Dispute Resolution Essay Topic Ideas & Examples