Relational Influences Flashcards
conflict
occurs when there is a perception that two parties have incompatible goals, ideas or behaviours, or when an individual’s needs aren’t met
mirror-image perceptions
− occurs when each party tends to form reciprocal and distorted perceptions of the other that are remarkably a like
−tend to refer to ‘them’ as incompetent or untrustworthy, evil or immoral
−tend to refer to ‘us’ as a model of competence, integrity, virtue, have high moral values
−‘our’ motives are positive, ‘their’ motives are negative
−e.g. mother is convinced her son leaves his room messy to her, son is convinced that his mum tidies his room to irritate him
imposed solutions
-dictated solutions
-one party is stronger – imposes solution
-third party may be an imposed solution; e.g. mother settling dispute between siblings
-usually lead to one party winning and one party being dissatisfied
∴ underlying conflict may be unresolved
distributive solutions
−involve compromise or mutual concessions
−e.g. wages are set at a level somewhere between that desired by employers and employees
integrative solutions
−often called win-win solutions
−both sides benefit
−more difficult than reaching compromise as it involves understanding both parties’ motives, values, goals
−ensures motives of each party is addressed rather than focusing on explicit demands
Follet (1940, cited in Thompson & Hastie, 1990)
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DISTRIBUTIVE AND INTEGRATIVE
−showed difference between distributive and integrative
−dispute over orange
−compromise by cutting in half - distributive
−however, one drank juice threw away peel, other used peel and threw away juice
−integrative would have been one sister have all the peel, other have all the juice
Counselling
−one or both parties may choose to work with counsellor to develop skills to deal with conflict or to solve conflict directly
−counsellors often help clients to solve their own problems, rather than providing the solutions
−often help improve listening skills so they actually ‘hear’ the other party
−also improve their assertiveness – so they can express opinions and concerns in a non-aggressive manner
Negotiation
−involved parties who have some shared and some opposing interests coming together to try to reach agreement
−successful negotiation is an integrative solution – though at times negotiation may break down bc party fails to understand positions and goals
Mediation and arbitration
−involve bring third parties to help settle conflict
−mediators help parties to focus on issues and reach voluntary solution
−in arbitration, third party has right to impose a solution after hearing both sides
−advantages; improve relationship, help them see common ground, bring new ieas
Divorce Mediation
−mediation and other forms of dispute resolution have been used to deal with conflict of parting parents
−used to reduce burden on family law courts and reduce negative impact of ongoing litigation on children and family relationships
Robert Emery (2005) Effectiveness of mediation
−longitudinal study evaluated effectiveness of mediation as opposed to adversarial settlement
−12 years long
−followed progress of parting couples who had been randomly allocated to a mediation or a court settlement group
−mediation was found it can:
settle a large % of cases otherwise headed to court
possibly speed settlement, save money and increase compliance with agreements
increase party satisfaction
improve relationships between non-residential parents and children
improve relationships between divorced parents
−helped parents see that for commitment to ongoing, long-term parenting cooperation; providing an opportunity to address emotional issues; help parents establish businesslike relationship
socialisation
acquiring the beliefs, values and behaviours that are thought to be important and appropriate to function effectively as a member of society
agents of socialisation
factors that affect socialisation e.g. families, schools, mass media, religion
Attachment
−formation of a strong emotional tie between a mother and her baby
−claimed there is a sensitive period this can occur; failure can lead to harmful effects later in life e.g. poor social and emotional development
attachment in monkeys harry harlow (1959)
−studied role of nursing in attachment in 8 monkeys that had been separated from their mother’s at birth
−reared in a cage w/ 2 surrogate mothers made of mesh wire (similar in shape and size to own mother)
−1 covered in cloth, other uncovered
−bottle attached to one of the mothers; half was attached to wire, half attached to cloth
−predicted that attachment was based on feeding and monkey would prefer the bottle mother
−found that regardless of whether cloth mother had the bottle or not, the infant would spend more time there
−preference of mothers was tested through introduction of stressful situation; all infants went to cloth mother
−concluded that ‘contact comfort’ was more important in attachment
−IMPORTANT that generalisation from animals to humans should be treated cautiously
attachment in humans john bowlby (1907-1990)
−According to bowlby’s evolutionary perspective, children who are always close to their mothers would have avoided predators and grown up to have children of their own
−Believed there is sensitive period where infants imprinted by early contanct w/ mothers
−Did not rule out possibility of other attachment figures
−Believed there should be a primary bond (more important than any other) – monotropy
−Failure or breakdown of this lead to negative consequences
−Maternal deprivation; separation from, or loss of, the mother, as well as to the failure to develop a attachment
−Long-term consequences of maternal deprivation;
Delinquency
Reduced intelligence
Increased aggression
Depression
An inability to show affection/concern for others
−Primary caregiver acts as a prototype for future relationships via internal working model
Model of others as being trustworthy
Model of the self as valuable
A model of the self as effective when interacting with other
