Perceived incompatibility of actions, goals, or ideas between individuals or groups

1. Conflict is an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources, and interference from the other party in achieving their goals.
   1. Expressed struggle captures the notion that conflict does not exist unless all the people involved know that the disagreement exists even if the expressed struggle is not verbalized.
   2. Perceived incompatible goals is a situation where it seems as if the goals of those involved are mutually exclusive, but that is not always the case, as mutually satisfying answers can be agreed upon.
   3. Perception of  scarce resources occurs when people believe there are not enough resources, such as time, money, affection and space to go around.
   4. Interdependence is another feature that captures the notion that people in a conflict are dependent upon each other.
   5. Inevitability addresses that fact that conflicts are impossible to avoid; the challenge is to handle them effectively when they occur.
2. In a functional conflict, participants achieve the best possible outcome, unlike a dysfunctional conflict, where the outcome falls short of what is possible.
   1. Integration versus polarization describes how participants in a dysfunctional conflict regard each other as polar opposites, while participants in a functional conflict recognize that they are integrated or in a difficult situation together.
   2. Cooperation versus opposition means that cooperation is possible in interpersonal conflicts, although participants in a dysfunctional conflict see each other as opponents.
   3. Confirmation versus disconfirmation occurs in functional conflicts, where participants disagree but are not disagreeable.
   4. Agreement versus coercion is described when, in destructive conflicts, participants use coercion to get what they want instead of finding ways to reach an agreement.
   5. De-escalation versus escalation addresses the fact that in functional conflicts the participants solve more problems than they create, while in dysfunctional conflicts the problems grow larger instead of smaller.
   6. Focusing versus drifting is the idea that, in dysfunctional conflicts, the participants drift away from the original problem and bring in other issues.
   7. Foresight versus shortsightedness occurs when foresight is a feature of functional conflicts, while shortsightedness can produce dysfunctional conflicts.
   8. Positive versus negative results describes the notion that functional conflicts have positive results, such as finding a solution that works, while a dysfunctional conflict has negative results, such as neither participant receiving what they want, and threatens the future of the relationship.
3. Conflict styles are the default styles people have for handing conflict.
   1. Avoidance (lose-lose) occurs when people ignore or stay away from conflict either physically or conversationally.
   2. Accommodation (lose-win) occurs when we allow others to have their own way rather than asserting our own point of view.
   3. Competition is a win/lose approach to conflict that involves high concern for self and low concern for others and can result in aggression.
      1. Passive aggression occurs when a communicator expresses dissatisfaction in a disguised manner.
      2. Direct aggression occurs when a communicator attacks the source of displeasure.
   4. Compromise (negotiated lose-lose) gives both people at least some of what they want, though both sacrifice part of their goals.
   5. Collaboration seeks to apply win/win problem solving to conflict and involves a high degree of concern for both self and others; the goal is to find a solution that satisfies the needs of everyone involved.
   6. The style to use depends upon several factors such as the situation, the other person, and your goals.
4. Conflict exists in relational systems as it is determined by the people who are involved; when two people are involved in a long-term relationship they develop their own relational conflict style, which is a pattern of managing disagreements that repeats itself over time.
   1. Complementary conflict style is when partners use different but mutually reinforcing behaviors, while symmetrical conflict style is when both people use the same tactics, and parallel conflict style shifts between complementary and symmetrical patterns from one issue to another.
      1. An escalatory spiral is when partners treat each other with matching hostility so that threats and insults lead to more threats and insults.
      2. A de-escalatory spiral results if the participants withdraw from one another instead of facing their problems.
   2. Some conflict is so destructive that it is toxic to the relationship, which is known as "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse."
      1. Criticism consists of attacks on a person's character.
      2. Defensiveness is protecting oneself by denying responsibility.
      3. Contempt demeans the other individuals.
      4. Stonewalling occurs when one person withdraws from the interaction, thus shutting down dialogue.
   3. Conflict rituals are unacknowledged but are real repeating patterns of interlocking behavior.
   4. Variables in conflict styles include gender and culture.
      1. There are small but measurable differences in the way women and men handle conflict, but the individual style of each communicator is more important than gender.
      2. The ways in which people resolve conflicts vary from one culture to another.
   5. Conflict management in practice has guidelines to best approach win-win problem solving.
      1. Define your needs by deciding what you want or need.
      2. Share your needs with the other person when the time and place is suitable and you are at your best.
      3. Listen to the other person's needs.
         1. Generate possible solutions by brainstorming.
         2. Evaluate the possible solutions and choose the best one once all possibilities have been exhausted.
         3. Implement the solution.
         4. Follow up the solution to review the effects of the solution.

What is a perceived incompatibility of actions or goals?

Does perceived as different or apart from one's in group are called?

When two groups of people are in conflict and have reciprocal views it is often referred to as image perception?

What is self serving bias group polarization?