Deck 2: The Inner Experience of Conflict

Question 1

Parties in conflict sometimes continue to fight because being against someone else in a conflict supports the definition of their identity. They often do this even though they don't acknowledge or recognize that this is the reason for the conflict escalation. From a psychodynamic perspective, this type of conflict behavior is characterized as:

A) suppression
B) conscious reactivity
C) displacement
D) compulsiveness
E) collusion

Answer 1

E

Question 2

People use various frames to interpret conflict and to decide how to respond. Which type of frame captures how concerned a person is about maintaining a good relationship with the other person?

A) instrumentality frame
B) affect frame
C) face frame
D) affiliation frame
E) distributiveness frame

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Jay is a teacher in an inner city elementary school. He experiences a great deal of frustration in the classroom dealing with unmotivated and unruly students. Lately he has noticed that he is getting testy with his fellow teachers, even though they are not doing anything that would warrant such treatment. From a psychodynamic perspective, his behavior toward the teachers might be characterized as:

A) suppression of anxiety
B) emotional contagion
C) displacement
D) compulsiveness
E) collusion

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Bethany made an attribution about Sara's behavior in this interaction. Explain what the attribution is and why you see her attribution as being either dispositional or situational.

Question 5

As a conflict strategy, Bethany's response to Sara could be called:

A) an integrative strategy
B) a distributive strategy
C) an avoidant strategy
D) a self-serving bias strategy
E) a fundamental error strategy

Question 6

Energy is an emotion that can significantly affect an unfolding conflict. Which of the following statements is NOT an accurate characterization about the nature and role of energy in conflict?

A) high energy levels in conflict are associated with feelings of guilt
B) people's energy levels are correlated with keeping focused attention
C) feeling capable about meeting a challenge tends to increase energy
D) positive reinforcement and encouragement from others tends to increase energy
E) people tend to seek out situations or experiences that enhance and prolong energy

Question 7

Two cognitive processes are known to be involved in the generation of our emotional states. Explain the role of both primary and secondary appraisals in the generation of emotional states.

Question 8

If you work with someone who is low in argumentative skills, there are several different approaches to communicating with them to help them avoid becoming verbally aggressive. Describe two possible approaches you could try.

Question 9

Tamika says she avoids getting into discussions of differences with her friends about almost any issue. She feels she isn't good at building a case for her views and gets intimidated when others start debating with her. According to verbal aggressiveness theory, which of the following statements would be true?

A) Tamika is likely to score high on the verbal argumentativeness scale
B) Tamika is likely to become verbally aggressive in certain situations
C) Tamika is likely to join a debate club
D) Tamika is likely to improve her abilities to deliver her arguments
E) Tamika is likely to suppress her hidden desire to argue well

Question 10

Emotional contagion can best be described as:

A) the disease of being overly emotional in conflict
B) the power of emotions to de-escalate conflicts
C) the tendency for people to reciprocate emotional responses
D) the disabling effects of withholding emotions
E) the increase in emotion when settlements are near