Victim and offender accounts of interpersonal conflict: Autobiographical narratives of forgiveness and unforgiveness.

Participants wrote 2 narratives that described an incident in which they angered or hurt someone (offender) or in which someone angered or hurt them (victim) and the offense was forgiven or not forgiven. Victims portrayed the offense as continuing (open), and offenders portrayed the offense as over (closed). Forgiveness narratives portrayed offenses as closed and with positive outcomes; however, for some victims, forgiveness coincided with continued anger, suggesting incomplete forgiveness. Dispositional empathy was associated with more benign interpretations of offenses, and situational empathy (e.g., for the offender) was associated with victims' forgiveness. In contrast, offenders' empathy for victims was associated with less self-forgiveness. Thus, both victim or offender role and forgiveness must be considered to understand narratives of interpersonal offenses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The differential effects of interpersonal conflict from customers and coworkers: Trait anger as a moderator.

Interpersonal conflict (IC) at work is a frequently experienced type of workplace mistreatment that has been linked to a host of negative workplace outcomes. Previous research has shown that IC can have differential effects based on source, but this has not yet been investigated in terms of customer IC versus coworker IC. To remedy this oversight in the literature, we used a multimethod, multitime point design to compare IC from customers and coworkers experienced by 75 call center employees. Primarily, we investigated burnout, physical health symptoms, and task performance. Results indicated that customer IC was more strongly related to both personal and organizational outcomes. Additionally, trait anger was investigated as a moderator of these relationships, and the results indicated that people who are easy to anger may be more likely to experience negative effects as a result of customer IC. Implications of these findings, limitations, and areas for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Repeated persuasion in interpersonal conflict.

In two studies, we examined the effects of repeating and rephrasing a statement of intent to act cooperatively in an interdependent relationship. In the first, 128 subjects in a Prisoner's Dilemma interaction opposed a simulated other who followed a constant pattern of choices from trial to trial but used one of four forms of communication of strategic intent: one general conciliatory statement, three statements involving rephrasing, three statements showing annoyance after the first, and no-communication control. All communication treatments prompted a more cooperative response than did the control; the rephrasing treatment was significantly more effective than the single statement. In the second study, 57 subjects were placed in either the standard statement condition or in a slightly revised rephrasing condition. Again, the response to rephrasing enhanced liking for the communicator and perceived trustworthiness and credibility. Rephrasing also made subjects alter their objective; they felt it less appropriate to try to gain more than the other person than did the subjects in the single-statement condition. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Expressing anger in conflict: When it helps and when it hurts.

Do expressions of anger in conflict elicit competition or cooperation? To reconcile inconsistent results obtained in previous research, the authors developed and tested a dual-process model that proposes that power and the appropriateness of the expressions of anger jointly determine whether an individual facing an angry antagonist competes by demanding value or cooperates by conceding value. In a scenario study and a computer-mediated negotiation simulation, (a) participants with lower power claimed less value from an angry adversary than from a nonemotional one, regardless of the appropriateness of the expressions of anger, and (b) participants with higher power demanded more value when the adversary's expressions of anger were inappropriate than when they were appropriate or when the adversary was nonemotional. The theoretical and practical implications of the model and findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social judgment theory and the analysis of interpersonal conflict.

Presents the general framework of social judgment theory as it applies to the analysis of interpersonal conflicts caused by cognitive differences, a general experimental paradigm for the study of cognitive conflicts, and the principal results of the experiments conducted so far. The experiments have been concerned with the structure of conflict, sources of cognitive change, and effects of the characteristics of the policy task as generated in a situation in which 2 persons with divergent thoughts about a given policy task are required to work out agreements for a series of policy decisions. Results show that (a) cognitive conflicts are not resolved; (b) Ss are able to reduce the systematic differences between their cognitive systems as they interact, but they are prevented from reaching agreement by inconsistency in their cognitive systems; (c) Ss change their cognitive systems to adapt to the task; and (d) the structure of the Ss' policies is affected by the characteristics of the policy task, and thus their agreement, as well as the structure of their agreement, is affected by the structure of the task. Results demonstrate that cognitive factors are sufficient to explain certain forms of conflict, as well as why the conflicts are not resolved, and that the analysis of conflict will have to take into account not only the persons in conflict, but also the nature of the task facing them. (61 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Socially relevant science: Reflections on some studies of interpersonal conflict.

Explores the phrase, "socially-relevant science," by comparing the social values of 2 earlier studies (a theoretical study of cooperation and competition, and a field study of interracial housing). The demanding intellectual work to get beyond cliches and slogans to a fundamental and usable understanding of the important social problems is stressed. Several experimental studies of interpersonal conflict, i.e., United States foreign policy, are considered. The nature of these ideas and the results of the experiments bearing on them are discussed. A rationale is offered for the view that the games people play as Ss in laboratory experiments are relevant to war and peace. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Seeing virtues in faults: Negativity and the transformation of interpersonal narratives in close relationships.

It is proposed that individuals develop story-like representations of their romantic partners that quell feelings of doubt engendered by their partners' faults. In Study 1, dating individuals were induced to depict their partners as rarely initiating disagreements over joint interests. Such conflict avoidance was then turned into a fault. In scaled questionnaires and open-ended narratives, low-conflict individuals then constructed images of conflict-engaging partners. These results suggest that storytelling depends on considerable flexibility in construal as low-conflict Ss possessed little evidence of conflict in their relationships. Study 2 further examined the construal processes underlying people's ability to transform the meaning of negativity in their stories (e.g., seeing virtues in faults). Paradoxically, positive representations of a partner may exist, not in spite of a partner's faults, but because of these imperfections. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceiving interpersonal conflict and reacting to it: the case for agreeableness

Two converging, multimethod studies probed the hypothesis that individual differences in Agreeableness are related to patterns of interpersonal conflict. In Study 1, participants (N = 263) evaluated the efficacy of 11 modes of conflict resolution within the context of 5 different interpersonal relationships. Across all relationships, high- and low-agreeable participants rated negotiation and disengagement tactics as better choices that power assertion tactics. However, low-agreeable participants rated power assertion as a better choice than did high-agreeable participants. In Study 2, participants (N = 124) were assigned partners and were asked to resolve jointly 2 social conflict problems. Partners were videotaped, and observers coded behaviors. Participants also completed ratings of perceived conflict, partner perception, and liking of their partner. Agreeableness differences, sex of participant, and type of dyad partner were related to patterns of interpersonal conflict. Results were discussed in terms of personality and social influences during interpersonal conflict.     

Gender differences in anger/anxiety reactions to witnessing dyadic family conflict.

Investigated whether gender influences affective and cognitive reactions to witnessing dyadic family conflicts. Ss were 30 male and 30 female undergraduates. Ss' affective reactions to audiotaped family conflicts were obtained by having Ss complete affect self-ratings before and after listening to audiotapes. A consistent affective reaction was observed across tapes. This was characterized by a strong and significant pre–post increase on anger scores by the women (163%) and men (70%) that was disproportionately greater than any other affect increase. Further, when the men's increases in anger-anxiety are considered as a ratio of their overall affect increase (a Specific Affect Ratio), they are actually greater than increases in the women's anger-anxiety. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sex-related strategies for coping with interpersonal conflict in children aged five and seven.

Explored differences in conflict situation coping strategies in 2 groups of 6 5-yr-olds and 2 groups of 6 7-yr-olds who were videotaped in 12 1-hr long playgroups. Both direct persuasion attempts and conflict mitigation attempts were coded from the videotapes. Results show that boys were involved in conflict more often than girls. Once within a conflict situation, boys tended to use threat and physical force significantly more often, whereas girls tended to attempt to mitigate the conflict significantly more often, especially when interacting with other girls. However, there was considerable overlap in the behavior of the boys and the girls. It is concluded that the bulk of all the Ss' responses to conflict could be described as moderate persuasion. It is suggested that the gender differences described may involve a difference in emphasis rather than a qualitative discontinuity. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental beliefs about managing sibling conflict.

This study examined the correspondence between parents' beliefs about the most effective ways to manage sibling conflict and their responses to their children's spontaneous sibling conflicts. Eighty-eight 2-child, 2-parent families participated in 3 home sessions. Second-born children were 3–5 years old, and firstborn children were 2–4 years older. Parents' use of a particular conflict management strategy was based, in part, on their perception of how effective the strategy was and how well they could carry out the strategy. For example, mothers' use of child-centered strategies was predicted by their belief that parental control strategies were ineffective. Fathers' use of control strategies was predicted by their low confidence in enacting child-centered techniques. Although both mothers and fathers perceived child-centered and control strategies as more effective than passive nonintervention, parents engaged in passive nonintervention most often. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Implicit theories about interrelations of anger components in 25 countries.

We were interested in the cross-cultural comparison of implicit theories of the interrelations of eight anger components (antecedents, body sensations, cognitive reactions, verbal expressions, nonverbal expressions, interpersonal responses, and primary and secondary self-control). Self-report scales of each of these components were administered to a total of 5,006 college students in 25 countries. Equivalence of the scales was supported in that scales showed acceptable congruence coefficients in almost all comparisons. A multigroup confirmatory factor model with three latent variables (labeled internal processes, behavioral outcomes, and self-control mechanisms) could well account for the interrelations of the eight observed variables; measurement and structural weights were invariant. Behavioral outcomes and self-control mechanisms were only associated through their common dependence on internal processes. Verbal expressions and cognitive reactions showed the largest cross-cultural differences in means, whereas self-control mechanisms scales showed the smallest differences. Yet, cultural differences between the countries were small. It is concluded that anger, as measured by these scales, shows more pronounced cross-cultural similarities than differences in terms of both interrelations and mean score levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parental history of hypertension and hostility moderate cardiovascular responses to interpersonal conflict

A parental history of hypertension has been implicated in the development of hypertension, perhaps by virtue of an elevated cardiovascular response to stress. Similarly, hostility has been hypothesized to be linked to cardiovascular disease through cardiovascular hyperreactivity. The interaction of parental history and hostility in moderating cardiovascular response has been infrequently examined, though research suggests the two may be linked through familial factors. The present study examined the cardiovascular response of 98 healthy young adult males categorized as offspring of hypertensive subjects (PH+) or offspring of normotensive subjects (PH-) and as high or low hostile, based on Cook-Medley Hostility scores (HiHo vs. LoHo). Subjects were exposed to either an harassment or non-harassment stressor. Results indicated elevated cardiac output and forearm blood flow responses in PH+/HiHo subjects who were harassed as compared to any other harassed subject and all non-harassed individuals. This hemodynamic response pattern of elevated blood flow suggests a mechanism of hypertensive disease development.     

Autobiographical memory: Reports in adolescence.

A prompt word technique was used to investigate the processes of autobiographical memory in 40 adolescents (aged 12–15 yrs) and 40 undergraduates. Three types of prompts were used: object, action, and affect. Prompt type was found to interact with age for both response time and the reported event age of the memories. Results indicate that affect prompts were responded to differentially by college students but not by adolescents. Affective terms were responded to more slowly and with more recent memories by college students. Changes in the nature of conceptual systems, e.g., levels of abstraction, are suggested as a possible explanation for changes in episodic memory performance. (French abstract) (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confirmatory factor analysis of the styles of handling interpersonal conflict: First-order factor model and its invariance across groups.

Confirmatory factor analysis of data (from 5 samples, n?=?484 full-time employed management students; n?=?550 public administrators; n?=?214 university administrators; n?=?250 bank managers and employees in Bangladesh; and n?=?578 managers and employees) on the 28 items of the Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory—II were performed with LISREL 7. The results provided support for the convergent and discriminant validities of the subscales measuring the 5 styles of handling interpersonal conflict (integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding, and compromising) and general support for the invariance of the 5-factor model across referent roles (i.e., superiors, subordinates, and peers), organizational levels (top, middle, lower, and nonmanagement), and 4 of the 5 samples. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Supplication and appeasement in conflict and negotiation: The interpersonal effects of disappointment, worry, guilt, and regret.

This study examined the social effects of emotions related to supplication and appeasement in conflict and negotiation. In a computer-simulated negotiation, participants in Experiment 1 were confronted with a disappointed or worried opponent (supplication), with a guilty or regretful opponent (appeasement), or with a nonemotional opponent (control). Compared with controls, participants conceded more when the other experienced supplication emotions and conceded less when the other experienced appeasement emotions (especially guilt). Experiment 2 replicated the effects of disappointment and guilt and showed that they are moderated by the perceiver's dispositional trust: Negotiators high in trust conceded more to a disappointed counterpart than to a happy one, but those with low trust were unaffected. In Experiment 3, trust was manipulated through information about the other's personality (cooperative vs. competitive), and a similar moderation was obtained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autobiographical memory and mood: Effects of electroconvulsive therapy.

An Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI) was administered to 75 depressed inpatients and 16 nondepressed controls. Patients were randomized to 1 of 4 forms of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) that varied in electrode placement and stimulus intensity. Short-term retrograde amnesia was assessed during the week following the randomized phase. Bilateral ECT produced more marked deficits than right unilateral ECT. At a 2-mo follow-up, persistent amnesic deficits were related to having received a second ECT course and, to a lesser extent, bilateral ECT during the randomized phase. The magnitude of clinical improvement was not associated with amnesia scores at either time point. There were no differential amnesic effects as a function of the affective valence of memories. It appears that retrograde amnesia for autobiographical information after ECT and mood congruence effects on recall are independent phenomena. The magnitude and persistence of retrograde amnesia is related to how ECT is performed and not to changes in clinical state or the affective valence of memories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences in anger, hostility, and interpersonal aggressiveness in Type A and Type B adolescents

In this article, new measures obtained from color Doppler images are introduced and a pilot study is described, in which these and previously published indices are evaluated for use in future work. Twenty women with breast masses observed on mammography and going to surgical biopsy were studied. Of the masses, 11 proved to be benign and 9 were malignant. Both 3-D mean frequency shift (f-CDI) and power mode Doppler (p-CDI) imaging were performed. To identify the mass and other regions of interest, vessels were displayed as rotatable 3-D color volumes, superimposed on selectable grey-scale/color flow slices. Doppler signals were recorded in each of 6 ellipsoidal regions of interest in and around the mass and 2 in normal tissues. Seven measures were computed in each region, three from power mode, two from mean frequency and two from combinations of both. Radiologists rated the grey-scale appearances of the masses on a scale of 1 to 5 (5=most suspicious) for each of 6 conventional grey-scale criteria. Of the individual vascularity measures in individual ROIs, the log speed-weighted pixel density and log power-weighted pixel density in the lesion internal periphery showed the greatest discrimination of malignancy, although neither was statistically significant nor as good as the peak variables described below. The mean visual grey-scale rating was the best discriminator overall, but two peak vascularity measures each made promising scatterplots in conjunction with the average visual grey-scale rating. These two vascularity measures were the log peak normalized power-weighted pixel density (peak NPD) and log of peak mean Doppler frequency times the peak NPD (vM x NPD(M)). Each of these two values was the maximum in any one of the five chosen ROIs closely associated with the mass. A possible rationale for the relative success of these peak values is the blood signal's normalization and the inhomogeneity of most breast cancers and the expectation that the highest velocities (shunting) and largest collections of blood are not necessarily in the same region in and around the tumor. Peak NPD of cancers varied with age, decreasing by a factor of 45 from 33 to 77 y.     

Interpersonal complementarity: Integrating interpersonal measurement with interpersonal models.

Research on interpersonal complementarity has been beset by various methodological problems, including the lack of a consistent and theoretically coherent measurement approach for quantifying and statistically evaluating effects. The purpose of this article is to propose and demonstrate such a method, one that is integrative with interpersonal circumplex models of behavior and that also provides a means for establishing statistical significance levels in relation to an appropriate base-rate model. Two demonstrations of the method are reported. The first study involves an analysis of mother-self relationship data and is based on L. S. Benjamin's (1994) Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (SASB) system; the second study, which is based on the Interpersonal Circle Model (IPC), is a reanalysis of peer interaction data originally presented by S. R. Strong et al. (1988). The results were supportive of theoretical predictions for both the SASB and IPC models. The present method has advantages for testing and refining theory and, with its tie to the circumplex model, makes salient several problematic issues for complementarity research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)