Chapter 11 Flashcards
conflict is inevitable
t
the less interdependent the more conflict
f more interdependent
Interpersonal conflict can result whenever one person’s motives, goals, beliefs, opinions, or behavior interfere with, or are incompatible with, those of another. what is at the heart of conflict then
dissimilarity
which may be passing in the form of moods, or lasting in the form of beliefs and personality
Conflict occurs when …
one’s wishes or actions actually obstruct or impede those of someone else.
conflicts are always overt and hostile
f
Conflict is inescapable for two reasons. …
First, the moods and preferences of any two people will occasionally differ.
conflict is unavoidable because there are certain tensions that are woven into the fabric of close relationships that will, sooner or later, always cause some strain
T: people often experience opposing motivations
dialects
For instance, one potent dialectic in close relationships is the continual tension between personal … to others.
autonomy and connection
Maintaining an equilibrium between indep and interdependance is a tricky balancing act, because
and we can’t simultaneously maintain high independence from a romantic partner and high interdependence with him or her, so something’s got to give (strive to fulfill opposing motives at different rates and at different times.
4 important dialects
autonomy and connection
openness and closedness
stability and change
integration and seperation
what is the stability change dialect opposing forces
People with pleasant partnerships will want to maintain and protect them, keeping things the way they are. But people also relish novelty and excitement
integration and seperation dialect forces?
our motives to stay involved with other people are sometimes at odds with the wish to devote ourselves to a romantic partnership
the 4 dialects accounted for more than … of the recent fights and arguments reported by married couples in one study
one-third
one study determined that some conflict occurred every … in conversations between 4-year-olds and their mothers
3.6 minutes
Dating couples report …conflicts per week when they keep diaries of their interactions, and spouses report … memorable “differences of opinion” every 2 weeks
2.3
seven
spouses also experience one or .. “unpleasant disagreements” each month
.two
are conflicts always brought up
f students didn’t mention to their partners 40 percent of the conflicts and irritations they identified in their dating relationships= happens more often than we think
Various influences are correlated with the amount of conflict we encounter:
personality attachment style stage of life similarity stress alcohol sleep
how does personality influence disagreements
neuroticism = more
high A= less
attachment style influence on conflict
secure= less and manage better anxious= perceive dissension and difficulty where it does not exist, and then respond with greater hurt and distress than others would
which attachment style combo worst for conflict
A married couple comprising an anxious wife and an avoidant husband is especially combustible: Her exaggerated fears chase him away, and his withdrawal then further fuels her worries (both members of such couples evidence elevated levels of stress before a discussion of a disagreement even begins )
stage of life influence on conflict
young adult= more due to changes of passage into adulthood
old= fewer disagreements
similarity and conflict?
spouses who share similar tastes and expectations encounter less conflict and enjoy happier marriages than do those who have less in common
Dissimilarity fuels friction, not smooth sailing.
stress and conflict?
People who have had hard, stressful days tend to be irritable and ornery when they get home, and the greater the combined stress two partners have experienced during the day, the more likely they are to encounter conflict that evening
sleep and conflict
less sleep = more conflict
Partners tend to sleep poorly after they quarrel, and that leaves them grumpy and irritable the next day
alcohol and conflict
Drunkenness made the men more sour and surly; in response to events of the same average intensity, intoxicated men were more hostile and blaming than sober men were.
what triggers conflict
disagree about any issue
specify things that men do that upset women (and vice versa), he grouped their answers into … distinct sources of conflict.
147
what do parents disagree about most (3)
- more about how to manage, discipline, and care for their children—and when—than about anything else
- division of chores
- communication is third
It’s down in sixth place, but the most enduring, contentious, and sometimes surly disagreements revolve around …= especially potent impact on satisfaction
money
these topics of conflict are present around the world and are stable
t they don’t stop being points of contention; the rates with which they cause frustrating disagreements remain remarkably stable over time
classified the events that instigate conflicts into four common categories: …
criticism, illegitimate demands, rebuffs, and cumulative annoyances
T: verbal or nonverbal acts that are judged to communicate unfair dissatisfaction with a partner’s behavior, attitude, or trait
criticism
what is said is what deems something criticism
f how it is perceived
T: involve requests that seem unjust because they exceed the normal expectations that the partners hold for each other
illegitimate demands
T: involve situations in which “one person appeals to another for a desired reaction, and the other person fails to respond as expected”
rebuffs
T: relatively trivial events that become irritating with repetition.
cumulative annoyances
cumulative annoyances often taketh form of … Through repeated exposure to small recurring nuisances, people may develop hypersensitive reactions of disgust and exasperation that seem out of proportion to any particular provocation
social allergies
what are common cumulative annoyance for men vs women
Women are especially likely to become annoyed with men’s uncouth habits, such as belching at the dinner table, and men are likely to grow irritated with women’s lack of consideration, such as being late for appointments and shopping too long
evolutionary perspective on conflict
some conflict in heterosexual relationships flows naturally from differences in the partners’ reproductive interests.
evolutionary perspective on conflict is true for what aspect on conflict for men and women n
“Women, far more than men, become angry and upset by those who want sex sooner, more frequently, and more persistently than they want. Men, far more than women, become angry and upset by those who delay sex or thwart their sexual advances
The question of whether to have sex is usually answered when people settle into established relationships, but the question of … may persist for decades and often the whole relationship
how often to have sex
how do conflict points differ for gay couples
Gay men are more likely than anyone else to disagree about the rules regarding extradyadic sex, but otherwise, gays and lesbians are just as likely as their straight brothers and sisters1 to fuss about chores, communication, money
T: guarantee that partners will have slightly different explanations for their actions than anyone else does
actor observer effects
T: lead them to judge their own actions more favorably than others do
self serving biases
2 ways different attributions cause conflict
frustrating misunderstandings can result if people fail to appreciate that their partners always have their own individual points of view. And second, if those differing views come to light, the partners may engage in attributional conflict
T: fighting over whose explanation is right and whose account is wrong
attributional conflict
why are attribution conflicts hard to solve
Attributional arguments are often hard to resolve because when people disagree with us, we tend to think they’re biased, and that’s annoying
there may not be any single explanation for an event that is objectively and conclusively correct
how do happy couples attribute their partners misdeeds
Benevolent attributions paint a partner in a favorable light and make it seem likely that conflicts can be resolved, and that’s one reason such attributions promote continued satisfaction with a relationship
when we get angry, it’s dangerous to bottle it up
f anger is not inevitable
problem with thinking anger must be expressed
they promote behavior that may actually cause higher stress that lasts for longer periods of time
When you ‘let out’ an emotion it usually lands on somebody else, and how you feel—relieved, angrier, depressed—is going to depend on …
what the other person does
in close relationships, where people expect generous and tolerant treatment from each other, aggressive displays of anger often get you what in return
just get our partners angry in return.
expressing anger while you feel angry nearly always makes you feel angrier
t
how is expressing anger dangerous
80 percent of the men who got visibly angry at their wives during a conflict discussion in a lab study reported at least one cardiovascular symptom of poor health 20 years later, whereas men who stayed cool and calm had a much lower rate (50 percent)
we should ignore our anger instead
f telling you something is wrong
how to manage anger
- think differently (change attributions)
- if you get angry chill out
- and humour