Week 5

I can occasionally be confronational, but it all depends on what the conflict is about. If the it is about something I don't necessarily care about I will choose to stay out of it, and not escalate the conflict. Though if the conflict is about something I have a passion for I have no problems escalating it. This can relate to the awareness and escalation parts of Kriesberg's conflict circle.

Journal 6 - Micro Theories

Within my conflicts, I do see some patterns. I'm a very nonconfrontational person so when a I sense a conflict with someone, I often let those feelings build within myself and prevent the other party involved from reaching the "awareness" stage in Kriesberg's model. As a result of my avoidance of conflict, "conflict conduct" doesn't often involve interaction between me and the other party. It's often me talking to someone else about my feelings toward the conflict. Escalation usually just involves becoming more frustrated at the situation and de-escalation is just the opposite. I either become less annoyed or just begin to feel better without interacting with the other party. In many ways my conflicts do resemble those in the models presented in class.

Journal 5

Theories can be complicated. What theory or theories did you find compelling? What questions do you have about the theories? Do you have a native theory of conflict? What is it?

I think that the Basic Human Needs theory is complicated. From what I assumed from the name, I immediately agreed with it. But then I discovered that they weren't talking about basic human needs like shelter, food, and water. No, the theory is more about basic human emotional needs like recognition, happiness, and social interaction. I don't think I completely agree with this theory, but I think it does have a lot to do with why conflicts happen.

My question is: do Basic Human Needs cause conflict, or does conflict cause Basic Human Needs? If a person were to be a hermit and never have contact with anyone else, would they really have conflict on a Basic Human Needs theory level? It seems to me that this theory only works in a social level. If that hermit gets a job at Kinkos and isn't getting enough positive feedback from his boss, that would cause his fight for recognition and happiness. A hermit might have trouble finding food and water, but that's not covered in the BHN theory. I don't think it makes sense to include basic human needs for survival into the BHN theory. Why does it leave out something so fundamental that does cause conflict all the time?

Journal 3

Reflect in this journal on your group. What are your expectations for group process? What are your hopes for your ability to accomplish the task? Can you identify different styles/personalities that you think might effect how the group functions?

I expect that our group will work together well, but there will most likely be conflicts that arise that are just a part of working in a group. i.e. late arrivals to meetings, disagreement on topic, etc. But I hope that none of these conflicts will be big enough to get in the way of finishing our project with a good grade.
I think that in any group project, there are always different personalities that contribute different things to the group dynamic. Of course, there are the lazy people who don't do anything and get credit for the work, there are the over-achievers who do all the work themselves, there are more organized vs. messy people, there are the know-it-alls who won't listen to other people's ideas, and there are leaders and followers. I think my group won't have too much of a problem with the spread of work and the dedication to that work. I hope that our ability to accomplish the task isn't hindered by any bad personality types, and that our task can be done without a problem. I also hope that we might even be able to have a little fun with it.

i find the theory that conflict is innate in human instict interesting. This theory says that it is innate in human instinct to have a sponateous, aggresive drive. It says that this is the root of all conflict. The aggressive drive was once so stonge that humans used to regularly kill each other. This is now socially unacceptable. With this theory in place, humans would be fighting each other all the time, and only the stongest would survive. This sets up a kind of survival of the fittest scenario. To control the conflict, we need some sort of sublimation or displacement; a way to take our feelings of conflict and channel them into something more useful, or into something else entirely.
This theory of conflict being innate would explain why it seems that some humans are always looking for a fight. Others are always looking to start drama within their groups of friends. These humans have no particular reason to be mad at anyone and they don't know why they would want to start a conflict, but because it is their instict, they do it.

Ben Lang

The Coercion theory is what I found most intriguing. The Coercion Theory says that conflicting interests within a society are not permanent and that a consensual model of a classless society comes from revolutionary conflict. In my mind this means that people or small groups can disagree within a society without it affecting the main process of things. Once people start calling for a complete overhaul of a particular belief or idea of the way something needs to be, is an example of a revolutionary social conflict. This is when I feel changes within a society become permanent.

Journal 5 - Compelling Macro Theories

One theory that I find intriguing is the Social Identity Theory which is considered a social process. The theory assumes that a portion of one's identity comes from the groups to which the individual belongs. According to this theory, conflict occurs when two groups compete for status within a particular system.

I am interested in looking at more conflicts through the lens of Social Identity Theory because I think it reevaluates a notion which many people assume as being accurate without any confirmation. We assume that our identity comes from the groups that we belong in, which is why, during high school students join certain clubs over others. They perceive that a particular club will bring the student more prestige ad status.

This conflict will look at why different groups of people engage in conflict based on their desire for belonging and status within groups, or of their groups within a system which I feel has a lot of practical use.

Journal 4

When I look at conflict in my life, I usually just feel extreme stress and confusion. One of the biggest things I've been in conflict with the last few weeks has been balancing classwork, work, and trying to maintain a level of sanity. Perhaps it's too difficult while I'm in the middle of this conflict to be able to look at it clearly and analyze it like a pro, but I certainly do try.

When I look closely at my conflicts I notice that it is really easy to get caught up in the emotions of a situation and overlook the facts or realistic options/choices. I suppose a lot of what has been going on with me has dealt with my views of relative deprivation. It just seems so unfair to me that all of my professors don't seem to think that I have other classes and just as much work to do in those classes as they are assigning me each day. Though if I think a bit more clearly about my situation, time management skills (though I swear they are not working for me) are the best way to deal with these things, and perhaps even talking with professors directly. I also feel, like I think many students do, that students do not have as much power at "the table" as professors do, so they seldom try communicating with their professors. This perceived unequal level of power can really get in the way of resolving conflicts, not only because someone can perceive that they have more power than another, but because those who perceive themselves to have less power don't bother to try to change things.

Conflict Analysis in My Life

Not being able to eat gluten is one of the most complicated conflicts in my life. It involves so many people, maybe even more now that i moved to college, and now that i know the teminology, i can analyze the different levels of conflict it invloves. Especially when i frist discovered i could't eat gluten, and all of my favorite foods that incorporated the ingredient my body processes as poision, the conflict contained mostly internal conflict. Then, my family had to learn to adjust. My mom had to learn to cook gluten-free and my family had to remember to keep away from my food, and not eat my former favorite foods in front of me. That was an interpersonal conflict. When i came to the college, I found I had nothing to eat but salad on a daily basis. I had to work my way into a meeting with the Sodexo head chef to get him to order gluten-free versions of the typical food they make. My conflict with Sodexo is an ongoing intragroup conflict. Most days they have to make me my own meal, but I can't always guarantee that i will show up to that meal. Sometimes they have something waiting for me anyway, but other times I find myself waiting for the food. We are still working things out, but I am confident it will work out smoothly over time.

Group Process Analysis

From the beginning the overfishing group experienced conflict. It was a large group, so we were having touble finding a common meeting time. We were able to solve that problem by splitting our group into two groups. I am now in a group with two other people and we function great. Each time we meet we discuss our topic and work on our project together. Before we part, we decide on what we want to have done before our next meeting. Our group works well because we communicate what we want from each other.

Being a student athlete at Juniata my biggest conflict that I face is having enough time in my day. Looking at this conflict from an outside perspective not only does this effect me but my proffessors, coaches, friends, and family are all effected as well. When I unsuccessfully manage my time such as putting my down time with my friends before my school work I not only let my professors down but my coaches as well. My coaches rely on me to make a good grade so I can play soccer. Professors in my opinion like to know there work is appreciated and see their students preform well. One of the biggest things I've learned to do is to put my priorities in order. Based on who will forgive me the easiest for not making time to spend with them or spending time on what they would like me to do.

For the environmental conflict group we only have two members. I feel that having a smaller group we will be able to make our ideas flow better. I believe that both group members have the right mindset and will preform there best to recieve a high mark. I believe we both have good personalities and will have no problems with working together.

Journal 4 - Terms of Analysis

In College Writing Seminar (CWS) last week, our facilitator shared a photo with us from the Juniata Archives. The photo was of the dining hall in approximately the 1950s. She asked us to take a couple moments to write about the photo, sharing any ideas or thoughts we might have about it.

I looked at it for a few seconds and began writing and I noticed the words on my paper included “gender stratification”, “gender roles”, etc. I couldn’t help but think of the possible conflicts and underlying messages in place in the photo. I thought about the romantic notions of the roles being displayed and what conflicts they would cause in modern society.

Without learning the basics of conflict, I never would have thought in these terms to simply describe the photo I was looking at.

Journal 3 - Group Impression

I am excited to focus on women’s rights for the conflict analysis group project. I expect that we will work well together as a group and that we will not have too many conflicts. We are all very different and have different backgrounds that may effect how our group functions though I’m not certain it will mean a negative impact. Instead I think it will provide some interesting debate and discussion about the topic we have chosen.

Mazes

Conflict to me is like a maze. It seems that whenever I am envolved in a conflict the path to solve it may seem obvious but there always is underlying reasons for why the conflict came to be, making the path to solving it not as clear. Also each conflict to me has its own terrain or surroundings. Some mazes can be easy to solve at first glance while others require more time.

Journal 1

Currently, my life is filled with conflict. As a new college freshman, I just moved 4 hours away from home and every day i am faced with conflicts that are completely new to me. Internal conflicts could include weighing the decision to study or take a nap. Social conflicts include every interaction with my roommate, or better yet weather to go out and see that movie when you know you should be writing that paper for German class.
Fortunately, these are the types of conflict that make life interesting. Without my parents around to tell me what to do, I will be able to fully discover just how responsible how I am. How much homework i try to get done early, or how clean i try to keep my room.
There are other types of conflict though, that are far less interesting and enjoyable than the self-discovery type. While it is connected to self-discovery, I find all social conflicts in which you have to interact with another person far more stressful than deciding weather or not you want to make your bed every day.

To me right now it seems that the smallest conflicts are the ones that matter most. You can't solve the world hunger problem without providing a few small areas the means to attain their own food first.
The thing i would like to know most about conflicts is why they are started in the first place.

Conflict Metaphor

Conflict for me is like getting up in the morning. At first, when my alarm goes off and wakes me from sleep, i am unsure of my surroundings; then when i come around, I just want to go back to sleep. As i slowly reaize i must take responsibility, I reluctantly get out of bed and start getting ready for the day, hoping it will be a good one, but not regretting if it turns out bad.

Journal Entry 2

How do I feel about conflict in my life. What factors impact how I feel about conflict? What conflicts matter? Why? What do I want to learn about conflict this semester?

I feel pretty comfortable in my life and relationships right now and I don't feel like I have a large amount of conflict in my life at the moment. I feel some normal internal conflict brought about by the stress of beginning the school year, but all in all I don't feel like there is a lot of conflict for me to address right now. I like to think that I handle conflict pretty well (maturely at least), but I try to avoid conflict when I can. I try to make friends that aren't too touchy or drama/attention grabbers. I just find that it makes my life a lot easier.

There are many factors that impact how I feel about and deal with conflict. I'm sure there are many that I don't even realize. I think some of the main factors that impact how I feel about conflict are; who the other person is, my relationship with that person (respect/power), what the situation is/how serious, and how much I care about that person and the outcome of the conflict.

If a conflict really matters to me, that is usually when it effects me personally, or another person, subject, or object that I care about. It seems to me that people choose their causes based on what effects their lives directly. For instance, a person who's sibling has cancer is more likely to donate or run fundraisers for cancer research.

I want to learn how others deal with conflict so that I may better prevent and mediate conflict within my own experience.

Journal 2 - Conflict Metaphor

Conflict for me is like a water balloon about to burst. If I’m holding the balloon I have a feeling of power because I can control what direction the balloon goes. There are times when I am not holding the balloon though and I feel powerless. Sometimes the water balloon gets thrown at me when I’m not expecting it and it takes me by surprise. I am often able to recover but remain soaked by the balloon. Some days when it’s hot out it is refreshing to engage in a water balloon fight but other times I’m just not in the mood. Often times the water balloon is so full that it only takes a small amount of pressure to burst and impact everyone in close proximity.

Journal 1 - Impacting Conflict

There are a lot of factors that impact the way I respond to conflict and the way I feel about it. The people I’m around often have a big impact on my feelings towards conflict because if I’m around people like my brother who avoid conflict, I am more likely to choose not to engage it in myself. If I’m around people who thrive on conflict, I am more likely to engage in conflict. My mood/emotions on any given day also impact my response to a conflict situation.

This semester I would like to learn about more about why some people thrive on conflict and how it can be used as a tool for accomplishing positive objectives.

Journal 1

Conflict for me is like being in a boat adrift at sea. I'm floating and doing okay, but have little direction. There are things that influence which way I float, like the wind and currents. Sometimes the waters are calm, and sometimes they are dangerous and wild. Every once in a while I have to take out the oars and fight back against what is pushing me.

I like nature, it is neither good nor evil, and I have a lot of faith in it and myself.

Journal 1

Conflict for me is like a game of soccer. I used to detest it when I was younger and try to avoid it like the plague. But then I got older, saw positive things, and started to appreciate the enjoyment (benefits) that can come out of it. Also like soccer, I feel conflict doesn’t have time outs. The clock just keeps going at all times and you really can’t stop it because you need a break. When soccer is being played by people who don’t know what they’re doing, it really isn’t enjoyable to watch or be a part of, but when played by someone who is well prepared and skilled, it can be a great thing to see or participate in. When a game isn’t that important, it can end in a draw, but then there are really important matches. In these, sometimes it comes down to a point where you can’t keep playing the game anymore, no more extra time could be added, and it’s on to penalty kicks. It’s just one on one and taking shots at each other where one side is going to prevail eventually and one side is going to lose regardless of how the other side feels. But all in all, you are going to win some, you are going to draw some, and definitely going to lose some.