Ch. 13 Managing Interpersonal Conflict – Blog 2
Conflict patterns are discussed on pages 414 through 417. “Everything in moderation” is a rather common saying that people use to promote balance. Dealing with conflict is no different. The authors of our text state on p. 414 that moderation in each of these conflict patterns is key to managing conflict effectively. Something that was repetitive in a couple of the conflict styles was the idea that couples can start to compete with each other rather than cooperate. The consensus seems to be that competition between couples is not a healthy way to communicate or resolve conflict. Couples should be on each others’ side and realize they’re on the same team.
Something else I found intriguing about this section is that it suggests people should validate one another before offering a counterproposal. This concept is vital to healthy interpersonal relationships. Validation shows the other party that you were not only listening but are legitimizing what they’ve said. It’s much easier to deal with conflict rationally when both members validate each others views.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
I agree that validation is key when maintaining a healthy relationship. I learned this concept in an interpersonal communications class that I took at a junior college about 5 years ago. It has made me change the way I communicate with people. You really do have a better outcome when you listen, show the other person that you actually listened, and tell the other person what they said to prove that you were listening. Somehow that approach keeps everyone calm.
I like the points that you made about moderation in each conflict pattern and how couples compete with each other & it is unhealthy. I think that attribution also plays a role in listening. If we can understand the accurate reason behind a certain behavior, we would be able to manage the conflict better. Validating one another requires looking at attributes I feel. It seems that couples need to give and take and not win every battle every time.
Post a Comment