Deck 13: Talking Through Differences: Persuasion in Social Conflicts

Question 1

The Public Conversations Project:

A) Set out to provide a controlled but supportive setting for a persuasion dialogue
B) Brought pro-life and pro-choice adversaries together
C) Sought to soften attitudes held on controversial issues
D) All of the above

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Social conflicts:

A) Contain incompatible interests
B) Resemble closely semantic confusions
C) Differ from labor disputes
D) All of the above

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Symmetrical conflicts occur between:

A) Rank and file members of the system
B) Bosses and workers
C) Parents and children
D) None of the above

Answer 3

A

Question 4

An individual with an actor orientation would most likely:

A) Downplay the need for conflict
B) Ignore conflict
C) Label conflicts as misunderstandings
D) Embrace conflict as necessary

Question 5

Which is not a principle to consider if you are seeking productive conflict?

A) Why to fight
B) What to fight
C) When to fight
D) Whether to fight
E) All of the above

Question 6

Which does not reduce defensiveness in conflict situations?

A) Neutral descriptions of the situation
B) A problem orientation
C) Minimization of differences
D) A changing of the subject to provide a time-out

Question 7

Reardon says that, when negotiating, we should:

A) Work to give as much as we can
B) Have a planned script to help maintain our focus
C) Work toward rapid closure to prevent escalation
D) Think ahead several moves, anticipating what the opponent will say and do

Question 8

"Focused interactions" are:

A) Established so that certain actions become required, others prohibited, and others irrelevant
B) Similar in style and form to the concept of pre-persuasion
C) Employed so that framing is not left to chance
D) All of the above

Question 9

Ethics in negotiations:

A) Should be defined somewhat loosely
B) Should be defined quite precisely
C) Should be defined as absolutely as possible
D) Should be defined philosophically

Question 10

Persuasion dialogue is:

A) Monologic
B) Not about winning
C) About winning
D) A and B

Question 11

Social conflicts closely resemble communication breakdowns.

Question 12

When a buyer and a seller disagree about the market value of a house, they have a "social conflict".

Question 13

Real-life conflicts contain paradoxical features.

Question 14

Asymmetrical conflict involves persons or groups with relatively equal power.

Question 15

Actor-oriented individuals see conflict as necessary, natural, and inevitable.

Question 16

Deciding "what to fight" is a cardinal rule for productive conflict.

Question 17

Often, the size and severity of a conflict can be reframed to make it easier to deal with.

Question 18

A "problem orientation" increases defensiveness.

Question 19

With productive conflict, people take care to avoid premature agreement.

Question 20

Kathleen Reardon writes primarily about the impact of destructive conflict.

Question 21

BATNA involves having a back-up goal in negotiations.

Question 22

Being "context-sensitive" involves adjusting strategies as the negotiations proceed over time.

Question 23

Conditional questions should be employed early on in the negotiation process.

Question 24

Focused interaction is similar to pre-persuasion.

Question 25

Leading a persuasion dialogue, one can help opponents in the abortion debate find a way to communicate.

Question 26

List and discuss Deutsch's elements of recurrent patterns of destructive conflict, and contrast those with his description of productive conflict.

Question 27

What are the four cardinal rules of self-management in conflict situations, according to Cynthia Shar? List and explain them.

Question 28

Discuss "power" as applied to social conflicts. What forms does it take? How does it impact conflict? How should it be used appropriately in negotiation situations?

Question 29

What is a persuasion dialogue? Describe and explain its components, and provide an example.

Question 30

Why is conflict paradoxical? Explain this concept and provide examples.