Essence, classification and types of conflicts in psychology. The concept of conflict in psychology: stages, types and functions

History of the concept

There is a common idea that conflict is always a negative phenomenon, causing threats, hostility, resentment, misunderstanding, that is, it is something that should be avoided if possible. Representatives of the early scientific schools of management also believed that conflict is a sign of ineffective organizational performance and poor management. However, at present, management theorists and practitioners are increasingly inclined to the point of view that some conflicts, even in the most effective organization with the best employee relations, are not only possible, but also desirable. You just need to manage the conflict. Many different definitions of conflict can be found, but they all emphasize the presence of contradiction, which takes the form of disagreement when it comes to the interaction of people.

Types ↑

Considering the types of conflicts, we can distinguish the following:

the true ones, which arise “here and now”, are not artificially exaggerated;
symbolic, causes and circumstances that can be easily transformed;
shifted, in which the true cause is veiled, and the conflict is masked by other circumstances;
false, in which there are no objective reasons for the emergence of disagreements;
latent, characterized by the absence of conflict due to a number of reasons, but if they did not exist, it would have occurred;
incorrectly attributed, that is, those that occurred through no fault of the accused party (for example, parents scold a child for completing an order given by them).

Classification of conflicts

Classification sign	Types of conflicts
By effect on the functioning of the group/organization	Constructive (functional) Destructive (dysfunctional)
By content	Realistic (subject) Value conflicts when participants have incompatible values Unrealistic (pointless)
By the nature of the participants	Intrapersonal Interpersonal Between the individual and the group Intergroup Social

Constructive (functional) conflicts

lead to informed decision making and promote relationship development.

The following main functional

consequences of conflicts for the organization:

The problem is solved in a way that suits all parties, and everyone feels involved in its solution.
A jointly made decision is implemented faster and better.
The parties gain experience in cooperation in resolving controversial issues.
The practice of resolving conflicts between a manager and subordinates destroys the so-called “submission syndrome” - the fear of openly expressing one’s opinion that differs from the opinion of one’s seniors.
Relationships between people improve.
People stop viewing the presence of disagreements as an “evil” that always leads to bad consequences.

Destructive (dysfunctional) conflicts

hinder effective interaction and decision making.

Major dysfunctional

the consequences of conflicts are:

Unproductive, competitive relationships between people.
Lack of desire for cooperation and good relationships.
The idea of the opponent as an “enemy”, his position as only negative, and his position as exclusively positive.
Reducing or completely stopping interaction with the opposite party.
The belief that “winning” a conflict is more important than solving the real problem.
Feeling resentful, dissatisfied, bad mood.

Realistic conflicts

are caused by the failure to satisfy certain demands of the participants or the unfair, in the opinion of one or both parties, distribution of any advantages between them.

Unrealistic conflicts

have as their goal the open expression of accumulated negative emotions, grievances, and hostility, that is, acute conflict interaction here becomes not a means of achieving a specific result, but an end in itself.

Intrapersonal conflict

occurs when there is no agreement between various psychological factors of the individual’s inner world: needs, motives, values, feelings, etc. Such conflicts associated with work in an organization can take various forms, but most often it is a role conflict, when different A person's roles place different demands on him. For example, being a good family man (the role of father, mother, wife, husband, etc.), a person should spend evenings at home, and his position as a manager may oblige him to stay late at work. Here the cause of the conflict is the mismatch between personal needs and production requirements.

Interpersonal conflict

- This is the most common type of conflict. It manifests itself in different ways in organizations. However, the cause of the conflict is not only differences in the characters, views, and behavior patterns of people (that is, subjective reasons); most often, such conflicts are based on objective reasons. Most often, this is a struggle for limited resources (materials, equipment, production space, labor, etc.). Everyone believes that it is he, and not someone else, who needs resources. Conflicts also arise between a manager and a subordinate, for example, when a subordinate is convinced that the manager makes unreasonable demands on him, and the manager believes that the subordinate does not want to work to his full potential.

Conflict between individual and group

occurs when one of the members of the organization violates the norms of behavior or communication that have developed in informal groups. This type also includes conflicts between the group and the leader, which are most difficult with an authoritarian leadership style.

Intergroup conflict

is a conflict between the formal and (or) informal groups that make up the organization. For example, between the administration and ordinary employees, between employees of various departments, between the administration and the trade union.

Types and structure ↑

The types of conflicts are very diverse and wide; their classification can be presented as follows.

1. Depending on the area in which conflicts arise:

family (occurs in the sphere of family relationships, between parents, children, various relatives);
production (exist in teams and groups regarding work processes and discipline, between managers, subordinates, employees in general);
social (manifested in the intense interaction of various social groups and entities: government, people, public organizations).

2. According to the sources of occurrence, conflicts manifest themselves as:

business – arise in the structure of various institutions and organizations due to shortcomings in the structure and distribution of responsibilities;
emotional - appear due to the individual psychological characteristics of each person, when people are incompatible in types of temperament or character, manifestations of the emotional-volitional sphere.

3. Depending on how exactly a person perceives conflicts at a subjective level, they can be:

erroneous - there are no real reasons for confrontation, but the person subjectively perceives the situation as a conflict;
potential – when the prerequisites for a conflict have already emerged, but the conflict itself has not yet arisen;
true (real) - a “classical” conflict with open confrontation between its participants.

4. Based on the subjects who take part in the conflict, conflicts are divided into:

intrapersonal (conflicts with oneself);
interpersonal (between two individuals);
intragroup (between spheres of influence in a particular group);
intergroup (between different groups with conflicting positions and goals).

The structural elements of the conflict process look like this:

parties (subjects, participants) of the conflict - all those who are directly or indirectly involved in conflict interaction;
conditions of the conflict – acute and painful, quiet and sluggish;
images of a conflict situation (the subject of the conflict) - the participants’ ideas about what exactly caused the confrontation;
the results of a conflict situation - how the conflict ended, what its consequences are for each of the participants.

Causes of conflicts

Conflicts in organizations

General and private. There are several main causes of conflict in organizations.

Resource distribution. In any organization, even the largest and richest, resources are always limited. The need to distribute them almost always leads to conflicts, since people always want to receive more, not less, and their own needs always seem more justified.
Task interdependence. If one person (or group) depends on another person (or group) to complete a task, then there is always an opportunity for conflict. For example, the head of a department explains the low productivity of his subordinates by the inability of the repair service to quickly and efficiently repair equipment. Repairmen, in turn, complain about the lack of specialists and blame the human resources department, which cannot hire new workers.
Differences in goals. The likelihood of such a cause increases as the organization grows larger and is divided into specialized units. For example, the sales department may insist on expanding the range of products, focusing on market needs, and production departments are interested in increasing the volume of production of the existing range of products, since the development of new types is associated with objective difficulties.
Differences in ways to achieve goals. Very often, managers and direct executors may have different views on the ways and means of achieving common goals, even in the absence of conflicting interests. At the same time, everyone believes that his decision is the best, and this is the basis for the conflict.
Poor communications. Incomplete or inaccurate information or lack of necessary information is often not only the cause, but also the destructive consequence of conflict.
Differences in psychological characteristics are another reason for conflicts. It is by no means the main thing, but the role of psychological characteristics cannot be ignored either. Each person has certain personal characteristics: temperament, character, needs, attitudes, habits, etc. Each person is original and unique. However, sometimes the psychological differences between participants in joint activities are so great that they interfere with its implementation and increase the likelihood of all types of conflicts. In this case, we can talk about the psychological incompatibility of people.

Some psychologists believe that there are conflicting personality types...

Examples from life

So, a permanent localized civil war, a conflict, is developing in your home. Everyone is fighting against everyone, the mother comes home from work exhausted and immediately from the doorway loudly rages about what she saw in the house, her teenage son gets paid for scattered shoes, unfinished homework, a mess in the room - this is an open tough confrontation.

In turn, the teenager is silent, frowning, quietly retreating to his territory, but fundamentally disagrees with his mother, he has his own understanding of the order, the place of shoes/socks/books, and he is not going to change anything - this is a hidden confrontation.

At the moment when the confrontation reaches a dead end, the husband appears in the arena of hostilities, he does not go wild, because he has already managed to relieve tension before coming home: “Darling, my colleagues and I only have a glass of beer...”. The wife abruptly switches from the teenager to the husband, continuing to openly confront the next enemy, the husband gently and affectionately persuades her to stop screaming, promises that if the outcome he desires, this will not happen again, he will come home from work on time and bring the entire salary - this is soft confrontation.

The same can apply to work or relationships with neighbors. Have you ever looked into the eyes of your immediate supervisor when you are late for work or miss a deadline, even if he is silent, his eyes promise you hell on earth during your lifetime. But try turning on your favorite music at full volume on a beautiful Sunday morning at 7 o’clock and you will get all kinds of confrontations depending on the character of your neighbors.

Conflict Management

The presence of multiple causes of conflicts increases the likelihood of their occurrence, but does not necessarily lead to conflict interactions. Sometimes the potential benefits of participating in a conflict are not worth the costs. However, having entered into a conflict, each party, as a rule, begins to do everything to ensure that its point of view is accepted, and prevents the other party from doing the same. Therefore, in such cases, conflict management is necessary to make their consequences functional (constructive) and reduce the number of dysfunctional (destructive) consequences, which, in turn, will affect the likelihood of subsequent conflicts.

There are structural (organizational) and interpersonal methods of conflict management.

Towards structural methods

include:

A clear formulation of requirements, that is, an explanation of the requirements for the work results of both each individual employee and the department as a whole, the presence of clearly and unambiguously formulated rights and responsibilities, rules and performance of work.
The use of coordinating mechanisms, that is, strict adherence to the principle of unity of command, when the subordinate knows whose requirements he must fulfill, as well as the creation of special integration services that should link the goals of various units.
Establishing common goals and developing common values, that is, informing all employees about the policies, strategies and prospects of the organization, as well as the state of affairs in various departments.
Using a reward system that is based on performance criteria, eliminating conflicts of interests between various departments and employees.

Consequences

Based on their consequences, conflicts are divided into two large groups:

constructive - involve rational transformations, positive changes;
destructive - destroying an organization, group, personality.

Some authors give the following classification:

functional , which involves the search for promising alternatives, making it possible to effectively resolve disagreements, which has a positive effect on the development of an individual;
destructive - goals are not achieved, the needs of the individual are not satisfied.

Based on its impact, conflict can be divided into negative and positive.

W. Lincoln highlighted the following positive consequences of a conflict situation:

bringing together people with the same focus - like-minded people;
accelerating the process of self-awareness;
relaxation, stress relief, unimportant matters fade into the background;
sets priorities;
helps release emotions;
attention is drawn to proposals that need discussion;
helps to establish working contacts;
under the influence of the situation, a certain set of values is affirmed;
there is a search for the most optimal ways to prevent conflicts.

Negative consequences include:

threatens the social system;
undermines the trust of the parties;
tends to deepen, expand;
changes priorities, jeopardizes interests;
prevents rapid change;
people become dependent on statements made in public.

When assessing a particular conflict, one must proceed from the need to obtain a certain result and try to transform it into a positive direction as quickly as possible.

Behavior strategies in conflict situations

Kenneth Thomas, together with Ralph Killman, identify five main strategies for behavior in conflict situations:

Behavioral strategies of conflict participants

Fight (coercion)
, when a participant in a conflict tries to force him to accept his point of view at any cost, he is not interested in the opinions and interests of others. Typically, such a strategy leads to a deterioration in relations between the conflicting parties. This strategy can be effective if it is used in a situation that threatens the existence of the organization or prevents it from achieving its goals.
Withdrawal (evasion)
is when a person seeks to escape a conflict. This behavior may be appropriate if the point of disagreement is of little value or if the conditions for a productive resolution of the conflict are not currently available, or when the conflict is not realistic.
Adaptation (compliance)
, when a person renounces his own interests, is ready to sacrifice them to another, to meet him halfway. This strategy may be appropriate when the subject of disagreement is of less value to a person than the relationship with the opposite party. However, if this strategy becomes dominant for a manager, then he most likely will not be able to effectively lead his subordinates.
Compromise
. When one side accepts the other's point of view, but only to a certain extent. At the same time, the search for an acceptable solution is carried out through mutual concessions.

The ability to compromise in management situations is highly valued, as it reduces ill will and allows conflict to be resolved relatively quickly. However, a compromise solution can subsequently lead to dissatisfaction due to its half-heartedness and cause new conflicts.

Cooperation
, when participants recognize each other’s right to their own opinion and are ready to understand it, which gives them the opportunity to analyze the causes of disagreements and find a solution acceptable to everyone. At the same time, the attitude towards cooperation is usually formulated as follows: “It’s not you against me, but we are together against the problem.”

Structural elements

The conflict has a certain structure , which allows us to more fully determine its significance, severity and methods of resolution.

An object. It includes material, spiritual, social value, regarding which the interests of both parties intersect. Each of the opposing entities seeks to take possession of it.
The subject is, in fact, what caused the disagreement, problem, source, contradiction.
The image of a situation is its reflection in the mind of the subject.
Motives are forces that encourage action.
Positions of the parties.
Subjects are participants; these can be individuals or groups.
Strategy and tactics of conduct.
The outcome of the situation - what consequences and results emerged, how much the participants understand and accept them.

The conditions of the conflict are taken into account :

space - where it unfolds;
time - duration;
socio-psychological - characteristics of the participants, their involvement, motives, methods of interaction, degree of confrontation;
social - whether different social groups are involved - professional, family, gender.

In a conflict situation, stages of development are distinguished :