Interpersonal conflict can be defined as the form of struggle that involves two or more people. This type of conflict differs from intrapersonal conflict, which only involves a struggle within yourself. Sometimes, intrapersonal conflict is called internal conflict, and it can be classified as mild or severe (Shen et al.). Interpersonal conflict usually arises due to interaction between people, and it can be said that it is a natural product of human interaction. People always have different worldviews regarding the problem when it comes to problem-solving. People normally have different opinions, personalities, principles, expectations, and values. Thus, this may result in conflict since people do not always hold the same opinions towards issues or goals, making it easier for conflict to ascend. In other words, struggle usually arises when two or more people disagree.
The conflict between people takes various forms, which are not limited to argument and nonverbal conflict, which usually trigger the conflicting parties to turn their backs and walk away from one another. Understanding worldview is very important in understanding human nature, and worldview is a reality grounded on the unseen dimensions. It is deeply rooted in the unacknowledgeable patterns of thought; in dealing with an interpersonal worldview, one is expected to have conscious awareness of the components of our personal view. One is expected to be conscious about how their worldviews work when interacting with others. Worldview and conflicts are not two distinct entities both intra-personal and interpersonal conflict are connected to a worldview (Brandt et al. 20). To better understand the relationship between the conflict and worldview, let us consider the case of Jane and her parents. One morning Jane, a twelve-year-old girl, woke up early at about 8 am. Jane was able to spot her friend James and decided to cross a busy street in their neighborhood to go and play with her friend. While observing her, Jane’s parents were not impressed with Jane’s actions.
They had a feeling of panic, and many thoughts flooded their minds. Jane’s mother did not dare to hold back her tears, which prompted Jane’s father to cross the road and bring Jane back home. While they reached home, both parents began to reprimand Jane for lacking caution while crossing the busy road without taking any precautions. They explained to Jane the possible dangers she was exposing herself to. Jane looked confused, annoyed, hurt, and disappointed due to her parent’s actions. They even wanted to punish her for her action, and Jane was still wondering why her parents would do that, yet it was not wrong to meet her friend in silence. It was not the first-time Jane was being warned by her parents about crossing the busy street alone.
Every time Jane’s parents raise the issue, Jane usually keeps quiet and tries to avoid the discussion without uttering a word. This has always angered her parents, who were always trying to engage her in the issue. This narrative explains the difference in the worldview of both Jane and her parents. Jane viewed her action as the need for fun and companionship, while her parents viewed it from a health and safety point of view. This scenario represents the common occurrences in our daily lives. Whether your actions are related to Jane or your reaction to her parents, these characters represent how our worldviews, when supported with our values, are frameworks we can use to interact with others.
Jane and her parents had a different framework for interacting with others, which explains the existence of inter-personal conflicts between them. The conflict between Jane and her parents can be classified as both pseudo conflicts and value conflicts. The pseudo conflict usually occurs under the following conditions when there is a misunderstanding between people, resulting in different opinions. Thus, creating a volatile environment where interpersonal conflict occurs.
Another situation where pseudo conflict occurs is when people believe the different hold goals, but they have similar goals in reality. Finally, the pseudo conflict also occurs when one person involved in conflict with another person decides to mock the other party. Pseudo conflicts are very easy to solve, just like in the scenario above. Because Jane is still young, the family solves the conflict without much trouble. The parents clarified to their daughter what they meant by bringing her back home. Further explanation may help the other party that feels offended understand how the other parties’ goals align.
On the other hand, value conflict is an interpersonal conflict when different personal values lead to a disagreement. For instance, Jane has a different belief about the harm her actions may have on her, resulting in a value conflict between her and the parents. This conflict usually has a rough path towards finding a resolution since people usually have an arrangement of varying personal values and beliefs, so you may find it important to accept your opposing worldview about the situation and accepts that it’s is very difficult to change the other people’s worldview. Interaction with other people from family, friends, and colleagues has been challenging because of our different opinions and how we perceive the world.
Conflict is very difficult to prevent, but it can be managed; the different worldviews always result in various opinions due to dissimilar values and attitudes that different people possess. This usually provides a perfect opportunity for people to understand better how other people feel about a certain issue and relate to them on a deeper level (Brandt et al. 32). When interpersonal conflict occurs since its inventible in an environment where people interact daily, respectful communication is vital. Understandably, we as humans cannot always agree on all the issues. It is commendable that we have communicated with one another with a lot of respect, and this is very effective in resolving the problem. Various methods exist that humans can use to solve the problem between adults and adults and adults and children. They are healthy mechanisms that, when applied, can result in a productive way to solve an interpersonal conflict.
Conflict resolution is categorized into various categories; withdrawal is one of the methods which can be used to resolve a conflict. When one withdraws from a conflict, they choose the easier to avoid the problem that may arise due to the conflict. The avoidance or withdrawal from the conflict may take the following forms; one may choose to complete the other person they are involved in conflict with. The person may also choose not to provide an opportunity to discuss the issue. Another way avoidance of conflict occurs is when the person involved in the interpersonal chooses to keep entirely silent throughout the discussion of the issue.
Jane’s silence about the issue is worrying because Jane failed to engage her parents and chose to keep quiet throughout the discussion. This is not a good sign of conflict resolution; conflict avoidance or withdrawal is not a good method of conflict resolution since it can cause more problems in the relationship when it occurs frequently. This has worsened the situation and made it seem more significant. Jane’s methods of trying to avoid the conflict have worsened the situation. Still, it seems to her she chooses to raise it indirectly after avoidance by showing her interest in doing it again, and that’s why she continuously repeats what frustrates her parents, thus making the situation worsen.
Withdrawing from conflict or avoidance is not a bad method of resolving conflict, especially where people hold different worldviews. It is therefore very important to determine when to withdraw from the conflict. When the conflict is too intense where emotions are high, it is very wise for one to withdraw from the conflict temporarily to help you and the other party to cool off and collect yourselves. Temporary withdrawal is very important since it can help where the people involved do not want to damage their relationship.
Emotional reactions are one of the methods which can be used to determine whether a situation is going well or not. Emotional reactions can trigger future reactions; for instance, in the scenario above, Jane’s mother’s emotions trigger the father’s reaction towards Jane’s actions of crossing the busy street to meet her friend to have fun. Conflicting worldviews cause negative emotions towards Jane’s actions of crossing the busy street. A conflicting worldview can result in actions such as anger, hostility, and disgust (Hwang et al. 21). This contradicts the positivity in emotions that comes with a conflicting worldview that elicits emotions such as enthusiasm, hope, and pride.
In conclusion, it can be said that interpersonal conflict is a natural product of human interaction. Interpersonal conflict usually arises due to interaction between people, and human always has different worldviews when it comes to problem-solving. People normally have different opinions, personalities, values, expectations, and values that constitute the worldview. Thus, this may result in conflict since people do not always hold the same opinions towards issues or goals, making it easier for conflict to arise. Conflict usually arises when two or more people disagree with each other’s opinions.
The different worldviews always result in various opinions due to dissimilar values and attitudes that different people possess. This usually provides a perfect opportunity for people to understand better how other people feel about a certain issue and relate to them on a deeper level. When interpersonal conflict occurs since its inventible in an environment where people interact daily, respectful communication is vital. Understandably, we as humans cannot always agree on all the issues. It is commendable that we communicate with one another with a lot of respect, and this is very effective in resolving the problem.
Understanding the emotional reactions of one another is an important method that can be used to determine whether a situation is going well or not. Emotional reactions always trigger future human reactions. Conflicting worldviews cause negative emotions towards each other in everyday interactions. A conflicting worldview can condemn actions such as anger, hostility, and disgust. This contradicts the positivity in emotions that comes with a conflicting worldview that elicits emotions such as enthusiasm, hope, and pride.
Work Cited
Brandt, Mark J., and Jarret Crawford. “Worldview conflict and prejudice.” Advances in experimental social psychology. Vol. 61, 2020. pp. 1-66.
Brandt, Mark J., et al. “Worldview conflict in daily life.” Social Psychological and Personality Science 10.1, 2019. pp. 35-43.
Hwang, Hyisung., and David Matsumoto. “Functions of emotions.” Noba textbook series: Psychology, 2019, pp. 1-24.
Shen, Solace., et al. ” Stop. I See a Conflict Happening. A Robot Mediator for Young Children’s Interpersonal Conflict Resolution.” Proceedings of the 2018 ACM/IEEE international conference on human-robot interaction. 2018.