Unit 5 Flashcards
What is behind the definition of a conflict?
When members of a group suffer differences and have the idea that the other person is an obstacle for one to get what he or she wants
Are conflicts always negative?
No. it depends on our perception of the conflict and the way we manage it
Can we avoid conflicts?
No. It is an inevitable part of our life
What are the positive outcomes of conflicts?
It can help societies evolve. Ex: a women’s march was needed for women to get a right to vote
4 types of conflict
- Internal:
- Interpersonal:
- Internal group conflicts
- Group conflicts
Conflict within the person’s mind
Internal conflict
a conflict between two or more individuals
Interpersonal
Conflicts between people from the same group
Internal group conflict
Conflicts between different groups
Group conflicts
Categorization is
We put cultures within boxes in order to make our meeting with reality easier
What are the problematic outcomes of categorization?
stereotypes, prejudices, and discrimination
What are stereotypes?
A mental generalization of a group of people. consists of incomplete and exaggerated thoughts about these people. These are general and passed through time
Can stereotypes be positive?
Yes
What is prejudice?
A previous judgment about a person.
A prejudice includes…
and idea and an attitude. It includes your idea about someone and the way you act out this idea towards the person. For example, being afraid of a person
prejudice is based on
stereotypes
Discrimination is based on
prejudice and stereotypes
Discrimination is
prejudice in action. It is putting your attitude into action. It is the unfair treatment of people due to their belonging to a specific group. It is both illegal and immoral.
Is race purely biological?
no. It refers to biological aspects, but it is socially constructed. It is imagined
What was the judgment of the 1964 UNESCO report by leading scientists and anthropologists on the issue of race?
There is only one race: the human species. It cannot be classified into categories
What is another word for race?
ethnic group
what is an ethnic group?
A group of people held together by both biological aspects and culture or religion
What is racism?
a theory, ideology that says that some biological aspects make some people superior to others
What are racial microaggressions?
acts that don’t appear to be bad, but that are racially motivated. Ex asking where people are really from
What is xenophobia?
the fear or hatred of strangers. It is a mixture of attitude, prejudice, and behavior on the perception of him or her being an outsider
6 causes of stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination
- personal experience
- Social learning and socialization
- the influence of mass media
- Illusory correlation
- conflict theory
- Social categorization: the division of groups
what is an illusory correlation?
your stereotypes form the way you interpret a relationship. Ex: believing that a mother with darker skin is the nanny of their whiter children
what is the conflict theory?
a direct competition due to scarcity of resources. In a crisis, immigrants are often blamed
Possible impacts of stereotypes/prejudice/discrimination
- Distortion of perceptions: incomplete and false judgments that can influence our environment
- Selective and biased information. Only looking towards the sources that proves our understanding of ourselves in comparison with other groups
- Self-fulfilling prophesies
- Sadness, stress, frustration, feeling invisible, an obligation to act based on peoples prejudices
- Misunderstanding based on confusion. Lead to conflict, racism exclusion and segregation.
Some causes of conflicts
- Misunderstandings due to lack of or no communication.
- Misconceptions or prejudices about each other
- Old and unresolved tensions
- Uneven distribution of power that excludes certain groups
- Different perceptions of values, beliefs, emotions, facts, and methods
- Having different personalities, goals, and interests
- Scarcity of resources or unfair distribution of needs
The implicit or explicit emotional struggle or frustration between people of different cultures over perceived incompatible values, norms, face orientations, goals, scarce resources, processes and/or outcomes in a communication situation
definition of a cultural conflict
Why are there cultural conflicts?
- Complex conflicts that involve historical, economic, political aspects
- Different cultural and social groups that don’t know each other are living in the same society
- Different status and roles assumed depending on the different cultures
- Different value systems
- Different rules when living together
- Different cultural dimensions
How to reduce possible barriers in communication
- be open and curious about other cultures. do research
- Ask when not understanding
- Be aware of the importance of mutual understanding
- Don’t generalize communication styles
- Be conscious of body language
- Avoid ambiguity: make your ideas clear
- Avoid slang and use simple and frequently used words
Personal skills to prevent and solve conflicts
- Be aware of your own prejudices and stereotypes. Don’t generalize
- Be thoughtful of the way you use language
- Be empathic
- Be curious. try to understand the other culture
- pose questions instead of making statements
- Coherence between verbal and non-verbal communication
- Be flexible and adaptive to different situations
- Observe, interpret, evaluate
- Active listening
- Be calm, patient, polite, respectful, and open-minded
- Rephrase/reformulate to understand the person better
- Find common ground
- Be creative and try to find alternative solutions to problems
