Deck 3: Conflict Interaction

Question 1

Consider the following exchange between an intimate couple who has been together for five years: Brian: Every time we talk about going on a trip together, you end up having the final say about where we go.
Jermaine: Well, I have been able to cover more of the costs, so isn't that fair?
Which level in the coordinated management of meaning framework best describes the the source of conflict for this couple in this interaction?

A) the content level
B) the speech acts level
C) the episodes level
D) the contracts level
E) the life scripts level

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Which of the following statements does NOT characterizes the nature of triggering events in conflict?

A) a triggering event helps to keep conflict latent for a longer time
B) a triggering event may not be significant in itself
C) a triggering event tends to occur at a critical point in the evolution of a conflict
D) a triggering event tends to clarify latent conflict issues
E) a triggering event usually occurs in an initiation phase of conflict

Answer 2

A

Question 3

After reading the following conflict scenario closely, describe the evolution of this conflict in terms of Rummel's phase analysis. Be sure to discuss every phase in the theory and explain how this conflict seemed to go through all of Rummel's conflict evolution phases. (Feel free to add details to the scenario if it helps you to better illustrate the phases.)

Answer 3

"My husband, Barry, and I have been married for five years. Barry was brought up in a family that considered hunting to be a family tradition. He has been involved in this "sport" since he was an 8 year old boy to be exact. He and his brothers and father look forward to their hunting trips, especially in the fall. As for myself, I cannot comprehend the idea that hunting is a "sport." I grew up with three older brothers and a father who never even mentioned going on a hunting trip. The idea of hunting always puts a knot in my stomach. I have always loved animals of all kinds and have had many pets. I see hunting as cruel and I doubt whether my feelings on this will ever change. It doesn't really help me understand it when Barry tells me that the animals killed in the hunt die during the winter months anyway. Most of the time Barry and I never talk about hunting. Except when the official fall hunting season starts. Each year the Thanksgiving holiday marks Barry's family trip to the mountains to pursue a weekend of "sports hunting." As soon as the preparations for the trip begin, the tension mounts and one of us usually says or does something which tips things off. This year I simply said, " Why not use bow and arrows instead of guns -- at least the animals would have a running chance." This was enough to launch a pretty rough argument between us. I did not want him to go on the trip and I asked if he could skip it for just this year. There were a lot of holiday preparations to do and this would be great weekend to get a head start on this work. Barry refused my request and instead said that he really wanted me to go on the hunting trip with him this year. He said that it was unfair to be against something I had never seen first hand. I refused to go and said that if he went on this trip this year, I would lose all interest in getting started on the holiday shopping and preparations. Of course, he ended up going with his male siblings and returned on Sunday night saying that while they did not hit anything, they had an invigorating weekend in the great outdoors together. I tried to forget the whole thing and simply pre-occupied myself with plans for the December holidays. Neither one of our views on the matter changed -- they just slid beneath the surface. At least for a while. On New Year's eve, Barry's brother was sitting at our table and brought up the hunting trip. Barry tried to change the subject quickly because I was sitting there, but the tension that arose reminded us both that the issue was pretty raw. In March, before the second opening of deer season, I heard Barry talking to his father about the plans for a possible winter hunting trip. As soon as he got off the phone, I asked him whether the Thanksgiving trip was not enough "fun" for one year. This question led to a fairly intense argument between us that is still going on right now. At this point I don't know whether Barry will actually go on this second trip of the season. Or whether this issue will every leave our marriage alone. Chapter Four: Conflict Styles and Strategic Conflict Interaction

Question 4

The coordinated management of meaning offers an approach to understanding how the history of a relationship is drawn upon when parties interact with each other. Which of the following statements is inconsistent with insights from the coordinated management of meaning framework?

A) similarity of interpretation results from shared worldviews, self-concepts and expectations
B) people organize meanings and interpretations hierarchically
C) cultural patterns are the broadest level of interpretation used by people
D) coordination of meaning is often the key to successful conflict management
E) mis-interpretations always result from different contractual expectations for a relationship

Question 5

People use a range of critiera in assessing whether a person's conflict behavior is seen as competent. An employee was recently heard saying the following about her manager: "When she disagrees, she just gets loud. No one else in this organization shouts the way she does. It always amazes me." Which criterion is this person relying upon in making this judgment about the competence of her manager's conflict behavior?

A) fairness
B) justice
C) effectiveness
D) appropriateness
E) goal attainment

Question 6

Consider the following exchange between the same intimate couple: Jermaine: I think I need to accept the job offer in California. Brian: I don't really get it. You know I can't leave New York. Jermaine: Well, my job has to come first at this point.
Brian: I thought we were integrating job stuff with our relationship plans.
Which level in the coordinated management of meaning framework best describes the clash of interpretations in this interaction?

A) the content level
B) the speech acts level
C) the contracts level
D) the life scripts level
E) the cultural patterns level

Question 7

What move might the tenant have made if he had decided to offer a compensation response rather than a reciprocity response right after the tenant sent the eviction notice? Give an example of a compensation move that would replace Move #6 in the sequence above.

Question 8

Explain why, from the tenant's point of view, this unfolding conflict is a good illustration of carrying out the tit-for-tat strategy.

Question 9

Consider the following exchange between the same intimate couple: Brian: I had a good time when we went to Jamaica. Jermaine: Oh, so you want to go there again.
Brian: That is not what I said. I just commented on how much fun it was to be there.
Which level in the coordinated management of meaning framework would best describe the clash of interpretations in this interaction?

A) the content level
B) the speech acts level
C) the contracts level
D) the life scripts level
E) the cultural patterns level

Question 10

Issue expansion is an approach to reframing a conflict for strategic purpose. Which of the following is NOT a likely effect of using the strategy of issue expansion?

A) it expands the perception of difference between the parties
B) it is a way to use a smaller issue to address a broader concern
C) it can be a way for a party to save face by pointing to criticism of the other party
D) it ensures that the other side does not raise additional issues
E) it encourages people to see each other's interests as more incompatible

Question 11

The interactional perspective on conflict provides an important way of viewing and thinking about conflict. Which of the following insights about conflict would NOT be derived from an interactional perspective?

A) conflict tends to evolve through recognizable stages
B) patterns of conflict tend to help explain how conflict moves constructively or destructively
C) there are identifiable regularities in the way conflict evolves
D) they way people explain each other's behavior to themselves impacts the nature of the conflict
E) conflict can be seen as the series of moves and countermoves that parties make

Question 12

In Rummel's stage model of conflict, the stage in which parties are most likely to "test the waters" in order to gauge the other parties capabilities, likely responses, and moves is:

A) the latent stage
B) the initiation stage
C) the open conflict stage
D) the balance of power stage
E) the disruption stage