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Let us recall the general regularities of perception: integrity, constancy, objectivity, meaningfulness, structuredness.
Integrity: the perceptual images are holistic, complete, object-oriented structures. The integrity
of an object is determined by its functional purpose in a person’s activity or life.
Constancy is the relative constancy of perceived shape, size and colour, regardless of significant
changes in the conditions of perception. Thanks to this property, we recognise objects in different environments.
Objectivity manifests itself in the relation of perceptual images to certain objects or phenomena
of objective reality. We perceive something or someone. Perception links the subject to the objective
world.
Perception makes sense; it connects it with thinking and with awareness of the object or phenomenon. The perception of the subjective world includes knowledge, past experience and the subject’s
thought operations.
Selectivity is the preferential allocation of some objects over others, determined by the characteristics of the perceiver: his experience, needs, motives and psychological attitudes.
Structurality is a property that allows perceiving objects in a set of their stable connections and relations. A person actually perceives a generalised structure abstracted from sensations.
Psychological features of perception make it possible to see the world as a coherent and interconnected whole. This sometimes prevents us from noticing the extraordinary in the familiar. It is only
artists and children, with their unique ability to see what is hidden to the eyes of the majority, that
force us to look again and again into the world. Human perception of the world is constantly expanding, enriched primarily by art, which teaches us to look at and see the world.
Man’s perception of the other is subject to the same laws. But there is always a bias in human
perception. This leads to a fusion of cognitive and emotional components, and gives an evaluative
and value-based colouring to the perceived subject. The psychological attitudes, motives, goals of the
perceiver all influence the perception of the perceiver.
In general terms, the process of social perception by one person (the observer) of another (the observed) unfolds as follows:
Perception
. Only external signs are available in a person. The most informative signs are a person’s external appearance (physical qualities, appearance) and behaviour (actions taken and expressive reactions).
Interpretation
. The observer evaluates the external signs seen and makes some inferences (often
unconsciously) about the internal psychological properties of the communication partner.
Comprehension. The sum of properties ascribed to the observed, in turn, allows a person to form
a certain attitude towards him. This attitude is most often emotional in nature and ranges between
“like and dislike”.
Of particular importance is the first impression of the person. It is the basis for “building up” the
image of the other person.
3.2. First impression
A first impression is a complex psychological phenomenon that includes sensory, logical and emotional components. Although forming a first impression is a complex process, it only lasts for 90 seconds. This is how long we need to assess a person and make an image of him, which in the future
would be very difficult to change. Evaluation are carried out on a value scale: “good — bad”, “beautiful — ugly”, “useful — harmful”.
The emotional way depends on the qualities of attractiveness of one person in relation to another.
Emotional and aesthetic stereotypes are formed under the influence of one’s own experience of experiences, developed sense of proportion and beauty. On a conscious level, visual perception is the leading one, through which up to 90 % of all information is received.
It is said that there is no such thing as taste or colour. Indeed, human preferences are rather individual, but not so much that one cannot see certain regularities behind them.
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So, what is the first thing a person pays attention to?
Body shape, silhouette shape, colour preference. High-stat us silhouettes in the form of an elongated rectangle with accentuated corners are considered “high status”. These figures are associated with
seriousness and solidity. It is not in vain that formal meetings imply strict suits. The ball and the figures approaching it are perceived with a smile. These silhouettes are referred to as “low status”. That
is why “soft”, rounded pieces are preferable at friendly meetings (“home atmosphere“).
М. Lusher called colour preferences personality signals. People consciously use colour, for example in clothing, to make others perceive them as either elegant or extravagant, modest or provocative.
‘Signallers’, consciously send signals, and thus achieve their intended goals more quickly. Psychologists in various countries have conducted numerous studies. Scientists believe that colour preference
hides a certain psychological type with its needs, attitudes towards life, problems and solutions.
Voice modulation, intonation, volume, pauses. “Speak to me so that I may see you” is a Socratic
phrase. It conveys the great importance of a man’s voice, his intonation and dynamics. The man uttered one phrase and all the charm disappeared, or, conversely, appeared. It is not at all about what the
person said, but how he said it!
The acoustic spectrum of speech is very complex. The main features of speech dynamics that can
enhance the suggestiveness of speech are the softness and power of the voice, the richness of the intonation, the pauses, and the use of the effect of surprise. Deliberate speech dynamics can give any
message persuasiveness increase the power of suggestion. Tone of voice — is also one of the factors
of suggestion. According to psychologists, for advertising purposes, it is better to use a male voice:
baritone, especially low, “velvet”.
. Every person has a unique smell. This smell is as unique as fingerprints. A person’s sen-
Smell
sitivity to smells varies. For instance, a well-trained person can distinguish up to 10 000 different
shades of scent. An African who lives in the wild can smell his friend who walked along the forest
path a few hours ago. A city dweller cannot detect up to 70 % of urban smells. By the way, artificial
smells work differently from natural ones. Artificial smells are perceived associatively.
Whether a person is aware of an odour or not, they still perceive and evaluate it.
Research shows that sensory channels for receiving and processing information are represented differently in different people. The representational system is how a person encodes information
in their brain in one or more sensory systems, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, gustatory, and olfactory,
The vast majority of people have sight as their primary channel, others have hearing, and still others have touch. The predominance of olfactory and gustatory perception of the world is rare.
Each person has all kinds of sensory channels of information, but one of the three systems of information representation is usually better developed than the others, acting as a leader in relation
to the others.
There are the following types of people: visual (vision) — “visualists”; auditory (hear ing) — “audiologists”; kinesthetic (touch) — “kinestheticians”.
The predominance of one or another sensory channel has a significant impact both on a person’s
psychological features and on his or her specific perception of the other. This is of particular importance when making contact.
3.3. Ways of interpreting perceptual information
How is it possible that in 90 minutes, a person develops a perception of another which rarely
changes? Let us remember that social perception is not only perception, but also other mental processes: memory, thinking, imagination. A person interprets what he or she sees in a certain way.
Four main ways of interpretation have been experimentally discovered:
Analytical: each of the elements of appearance is associated with a specific psychological features
of the individual.
Emotional: personality traits are ascribed to a person based on the aesthetic appeal of their appearance.
Perceptual-associative
: a person is ascribed qualities of another person who looks like him or her.
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Social-associative: a person is ascribed qualities of the social type to which he or she is assigned
in the process of perceiving his or her appearance.
These ways are the result of thousands of years of human knowledge. They are valid, but only under the conditions in which man has grown up. Everything changes when a person enters a different
environment, where the outward signs of man do not coincide with the familiar ones. “Transference”
leads to serious mistakes and is sometimes the cause of tragic misunderstandings.
So. A person perceives external appearance and behaviour. Then he forms an idea of psychological peculiarities and state of the observed. He draws conclusions about causes and consequences
of the observed. A man chooses a strategy for his own behaviour.
Here are some examples.
Analytical ways
. Europeans were describing their first visit to Asia. Up to that point, neither had
seen each other. The Europeans’ eyes are wide open, while the Mongoloid race’s eyes are narrow with
an overhanging upper eyelid. What happens to the eyes of a person who gets angr y? Yes, the eyes widen. This is an indicator of aggression, expressed anger. Conclusion: wait for attack, defend yourself.
What could have been thought of the newly seen people — “they are so angry and aggressive,
that’s why their eyes are always open”. What usually happens when a person lies? The eyes naturally narrow. The person hides their eyes. What can one think in this case? “They lie all the time, they
cannot be trusted”.
The aesthetic ways. A beautiful person attracts attention and is attractive. But. What are the criteria for evaluating beauty, for example, a woman’s beauty? Firstly, these criteria differ from one nation to another. Secondly, the criteria are constantly changing. Obese woman was the ideal of beauty
for several centuries. Fullness was perceived as good naturedness, tranquillity, health. A thin woman
was perceived as irritable, angry and ill. Today, the trend is just the opposite.
Perceptual-associative ways. A person’s appearance certainly reflects who they are, but not absolutely. Externally similar people may belong to the same type and exhibit similar psychological features. However, even twins who look like each other can be completely different in their personality traits.
The social-associative ways
. This way is basis of social stereotypes. The underlying social characteristics are usually profession and social status, material security (poor — rich), religious or political group. Of course, stereotypes do not appear by accident. Profession has its own mark. A man, as
psychologists write, is being “professionalized”, a certain type of perception, memory and thinking
is being formed. Social status, indeed, is fixed in appearance and behaviour. Participation in a particular social group will require a person to conform to relevant norms and rules, which may extend
to a person’s behaviour, manners and ways of communicating. However, characteristics such as benevolence, honesty, intelligence, courage — what is truly valued among people is not “allocated”
to professions, status, etc.
The ways in which a person uses social perception are not highly reliable. Another fact to consider is that there may be distortions in the process of perception. Among them, three have been the most
studied: the halo effect, the novelty and primacy effect, and the stereotyping effect or phenomenon.
The halo effect is the formation of a specific attitude towards the person being observed.
If the first impression of the person is favourable, then later on their behaviour, traits and actions
begin to be reassessed in a positive direction.
It is often the case that before interactions begin, people already have a certain image-attitude towards their communication partners. This attitude may be related to experiences or information received. This pre-existing image serves as a “halo”. It prevents us from seeing other features and manifestations of the object of perception. The halo effect, in the formation of a first impression, is that an
overall favorable impression leads to positive evaluations and new qualities. An overall unfavorable
impression multiplies negative evaluations. This effect is particularly pronounced when the perceiver
has minimal information about the object of perception.
The “primacy” and “novelty” effects relate to the significance of the order in which information
about a person is presented in order to create an image of him or her. In situations in which a stranger
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is perceived, the primacy effect prevails. Information received earlier is perceived as more significant. This information influences the overall impression if new, contradictory information about that
person becomes available.
The novelty effect is the opposite of the primary effect. In situations of perceiving a familiar person, the latter information determines. The projection effect — we tend to attribute our own merits to the person we are pleasant to be with, and our shortcomings to the person we are unpleasant to
be with. In other words, those traits in others that are most clearly present in us are revealed.
Stereotyping is, in psychology, the process of forming a stable image or representation of certain
events, phenomena and people. A person then follows their beliefs, personal experience and does not
want to change anything. All of the effects discussed above can be seen as a manifestation of a special process of stereotyping.
Establishing contacts is a condition of human life in all its manifestations, not only in the professional sphere. A person cannot be guided by his or her first impression and communicate only with
those who make a good impression on him or her.
Firstly, a first impression is often wrong. It necessarily needs to be corrected.
Secondly, a negative emotional evaluation limits the ability to see and evaluate the qualities of the
person as, for example, a highly skilled professional. At the same time, a positive emotional evaluation can “cover up” the really negative features.
3.4. Favorable conditions for making contact
A person needs to solve two tasks when making contact in an interpersonal interaction: to show
off his or her best side and to “consider” the partner as best as possible. Both tasks are very difficult.
It is practically impossible to hide one’s antipathy towards a person as we feel emotional attitudes on
an unconscious level, almost as animals and small children do.
The first condition is a psychological setting. There are three basic types of psychological attitudes towards the communication partner: positive, negative, adequate.
A positive attitude is a good attitude. Attitudes can breed unconscious gullibility. It contributes
to overestimating positive attributes, and ignoring others.
A negative attitude is the worst kind. It makes a person distrustful and suspicious. He perceives
mainly only the negative qualities of the other person, purposely “ferreting out”, ignoring the positive ones.
Both of these attitudes are at the root of typical distortions in the perception of the other person.
Every person has both positive and negative attributes. The main thing is how they are balanced
and evaluated by the person him/herself.
The second condition is eye contact. Human eyes, are said, to have special power and authority, just as animal eyes do. A straight, directed gaze in the animal world serves as a signal of danger
in the animal world. Ethnic characteristics of the eyes that play a role in the process of communication should also be taken into account. Superstition and religion have left their mark on human behavior by predetermining the position of the eyes during a conversation. Many peoples have bans on
explicitly looking at a person. Therefore, in one case, lack of eye contact is seen as ignoring the interlocutor, in another as a sign of respect.
Eye contact can be long or fleeting. It may be direct, like a frank, unceremonious staring, or it may
be superficial, shallow. Eye contact may also be intermittent. It may be necessary to make sure that
the person we are talking to is following our thoughts.
Staring (staring) is uncomfortable for most people. Staring is at the very least perceived as familiar. The incessant stare is a sure way to provoke a person or knock them out of their equilibrium.
Most expressive eye expressions are determined by the immediate context in which eye contact
occurs. However, there are and are equally perceived almost everywhere in the world:
1. Eyes that are too wide open and “goggle” are a sure sign that their owner is trying, sometimes
unconsciously, to get as much information as possible so that not even small things can escape.
2. Squinted eyes — close attention; observation; strong willingness to carry out some action.
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3. Closed eyes: concentration on himself; thinking carefully; brief covering of eyes may mean un-
conscious expression of agreement, understanding.
4. Sharp and irregular blinking (“slamming eyes”): difficulty, nervousness.
5. Straight look, face turned fully towards the partner — recognition of the interlocutor, interest
in him/her.
6. Insufficient eye contact is regarded as evidence of inattention, unwillingness to show respect,
insincerity, impure thoughts, or shyness. A glance over your shoulder indicates contempt, disdain,
or caution.
7. Fixed, firm, straightforward stare, simultaneously narrowed, “piercing” — considered as a critical challenge, based on distrust, impudence, up to aggressiveness.
The third condition is a smile. A smile most often expresses friendliness, desire to please and es-
tablish communication. However, it is possible to smile in different ways.
Researchers of L.N. Tolstoy’s work have estimated that he described 97 shades of a smile.
One perceives the other as a whole. A man is able to unconsciously “read” a smile correctly in the
process of perception. Psychologists believe that:
Excessive smiling indicates a need for approval.
A crooked smile is a sign of controlled nervousness.
A smile with raised eyebrows demonstrates a willingness to comply.
A smile with lowered eyebrows is a way of showing superiority.
A smile without lifting the lower eyelids hides insincerity.
A smile with the eyes permanently dilated without closing them is a way of threatening.
So, what makes a person attractive when communicating. Numerous surveys show the same an-
swers regardless of nationality. Attractive people are defined as those who are:
– are optimistic, cheerful, upbeat;
– smile often and willingly;
– have a good sense of tact and humour; know how to laugh at themselves;
– behave naturally and smoothly in various situations;
– are self-confident, friendly and approachable.
The ability to be pleasant and sociable is much more valuable in communication than natural external beauty with undeveloped attractiveness. The inf luence of outward attractiveness
is usually higher at the beginning of acquaintance and decreases as we learn about the other traits
of that person.
3.5. Non-verbal means of language
Non-verbal signs in communication are much more important than normal language. Why? According to studies, in terms of influence on the interlocutor or the audience, the gesture-mimic means
of expression are in the lead, accounting for 55 % of the impact, while natural language accounts for
only 7 %. Paralanguage (intonation, pauses, sighs, etc.) has 38 % of the impact. The nonverbal media
are not an independent, but an auxiliary means of communication. They prepare, accompany, comment on, clarify the speech and uncover its deeper essence.
The degree of influence on the interlocutor or audience, according to research, is distributed as
follows:
Means of natural language — 7 % influence.
Gestures and facial expressions — 55 % influence.
“Para-language” (intonation, pauses, sighs, etc.) — 38 % influence.
Nonverbal media are auxiliary means of communication. They prepare, accompany, comment on
and explain the speech, and uncover its deeper meaning.
Paralinguistic (near-language) means of communication are characterized by duality. On the one
hand, they allow saving the means of speech. When we address, for example, to a shop assistant, we
point at an object and say: “Show me, please, this cup”, and we do not spend extra words on its description. On the other hand, they compensate for much that is not said in words, they reveal the sub-
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text, the multivalence of speech, its stylistic nuances, feelings, attitudes, etc. Indeed, the essence
of such, for example, an unfinished phrase like, “Well, you know!” can be understood only through
the intonation, facial expressions, gestures of the speaker.
Eyes, hands, body torso are the first to be included. The phrase is born later.
According to the law of anticipation, the body prepares, preempts the word: first your head is turned
towards the interlocutor and then you address a question or a request to him or her. Of course, there
are speech situations in which we do not use head movements or gestures to accompany our speech,
but then the intonation comes in.
Para-language is divided into two large types: kinesics and phonation.
3.5.1. Kinesics: gestures, facial expressions, body movements
Gesticulation vividly reflects the essence of human character. The intensity of gesticulation depends on nationality, upbringing, profession, general culture, temperament. The complex
and varied arsenal of gestures helps reveal the essence of speech or, conversely, can significantly hinder and even harm it. The gesture can be made by hand, foot, head and torso. A person gestures with their hands, more often, of course. It is the hand that most actively expresses the inner
life of the person.
The intensity and variety of gesticulation directly depends on nationality. So, according to M. Argyle, on average, per hour, Mexicans have up to 180 gesticulations, Italians up to 80, Frenchmen up
to 20, and Englishmen none.
Intense gesticulation with two hands, acting in parallel, is characteristic of Southern Europeans.
The Russians act with one, right hand, accompanying speech with gesticulation, “backing up” speech.
If the left hand comes into action, the amplitude of its movements is smaller, the intensity is weaker,
it simply “helps” the right hand.
Gestures can be conditional: international, national, narrowly social. Unconditional: pointing,
transmitting, representing, emotional, emphasising, rhythmic.
Mimicry (expressive movements of facial muscles) reflects a person’s feelings. It is of great importance.
Very fluid facial expressions indicate lively and quickly replaced the perception of impressions
and internal feelings, of easy excitability from external stimuli.
Low-mobile facial expressions reflect the constancy of mental processes. It indicates a rarely
changing steady mood, characterizes people as calm, stable, balanced.
Monotonous facial expressions and rare changes in their forms with slow behavior and little tension indicates mental monotony and weak impulsiveness. This may be due to boredom, sadness, indifference, stupor, emotional poverty or a depressive stupor.
Phonation studies the intonations of live speech, which are regarded as an “additional paralinguistic channel of communication” in speech interaction: intonations correspond to certain gestures, facial expressions, movements, postures. This is why we say: “Intonation is a gesture; a gesture is an
intonation”.
3.5.2. Means of language: the presentational system
Research in recent decades has shown that the representational system has a strong influence
when making contact. Human beings think using inner images: visual, auditory, kinesthetic. A
person’s thinking process is reflected in eyes movements.
People with different leading representational systems differ from one another in the way they
breathe, the tone of voice, the tempo and rhythm of speech, gestures, body tension. People prefer
to use different words: verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
Differences in partners’ representational systems complicate communication, and similarities
in systems, on the contrary, simplify it.
Here is a brief description of the main types.
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The visual type receives information and presents it in the form of visual images, vivid pictures. The principle of listening to the visual type is “I must see in order to hear”. When telling
something, these people gesture with their hands, as if reproducing in the air what they are seeing. Visuals usually look straight ahead, lift their eyes, and move them left to right as they recall.
The tempo of the visual’s speech is quickened; the intonation of the voice is raised.
In speech utterances, people of this type use verbs, adverbs and adjectives of predominantly visual modality. For example, “imagine, look at, notice, outline, illuminate, clarify ... cloudy,
visual, point of view, etc.”
The visual person needs distance in order to keep their partner in their field of perception.
The auditory type, presents the information he/she receives in the form of auditory images. The
principle of listening is “I don’t look to hear”. It is as if audials are listening to what is being said
in their ear at the moment of recollection. Their gaze is therefore downwards, with their head tilted
to the left or right. Speech tempo is steady, measured; voice intonation is monotone.
They use verbs, adverbs and adjectives of predominantly auditory modality in their utterances. For example, listen, talk, declare, mute, silent, boisterous, loud, tone, logical.
The kinesthetic type receives information and presents it in the form of images of sensations
and movements. Their principle of listening is to “feel in order to hear”. In the process of communication, the kinesthetic person needs to get close to their partner. When remembering, these
people recreate, repeat the movements and sensations of the body. Their gaze is directed downwards or right downwards. The speech tempo of the kinesthetic is slow and the intonation of the
voice is low.
They use verbs, adverbs and adjectives in speech, mostly in the kinesthetic modality. For example, “spread out, active, painful, smooth, scrambling, nimble, stiff, pushing, difficult, dull, etc.”
A person’s leading sensory system has a great influence on compatibility and the effectiveness of communication with others. In order to find a common language with a person, to establish
a good rapport with him/her, one must be able to speak the “same language” with him/her.
Every speech language is richer, and beyond the words favoured by visual, auditory and kinesthetic people. There are non-modal words. Literary scholars argue that those works in which the author uses non-modal words become classics. Thus this text is easily perceived by anyone.
Summary
1. Social perception is subject to general regularities of perception. Bias, the fusion of cognitive
and emotional components, and the giving of an evaluative and value-based coloring to the perceived
subject are added in social perception.
2. The first impression of the person is formed within 90 seconds, but is very stable.
3. There are four basic ways of interpreting the information received: analytical, emotional, perceptual-associative, and social-associative.
4. Perceptual errors include three effects: halo, novelty and primacy, stereotyping.
5. Conditions for establishing interpersonal contact — an appropriately positive attitude, eye contact, a friendly smile.
6. Non-verbal means of communication (kinesics, phonation) play a decisive role in the perception
and understanding of communication partners.
7. The representational system as a way of receiving and storing information has three pronounced
types: visual, auditory, kinesthetic.
Think about and answer these questions
1. How social perception differs from general perception?
2. What types of perceptual errors do you encounter most often?
3. What are the non-verbal means of communication?
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4. INTERPERSONAL CONFLICTS AND WAYS TO RESOLVE THEM
As a result of studying this material, you will learn:
– causes and types of interpersonal conflicts;
– ways of resolving conflicts;
– elements of a conflict situation;
– ways of resolving interpersonal conflicts.
Keywords: interpersonal conf lict, classification of conflicts, resource conflicts, value conflicts,
methods of conflict resolution, strategies (styles) of behaviour in conflict situations.
4.1. Interpersonal conflict and its causes
Interpersonal conflicts arise between people in the process of joint communication and social-psychological interaction. The causes of such conflicts are both social-psychological
and personal.
The appearance of each conflict is caused by objective factors in social interaction that lead
to a clash of attitudes, values, interests of the participants, etc.
Social-psychological causes of conflict can include:
– different approaches in the way they evaluate each other’s performance;
– a lack of understanding by the parties of the fact that when discussing problems, differences
in attitudes may not be due to divergent views, but to approaches to problems from different sides;
– distortion and loss of information in inter-group and inter-personal communication;
– unbalanced role interaction between personalities;
– problematic interpersonal relationships;
– intragroup favouritism, i.e. favouring members of one’s group over members of other social
groups;
– desire for power;
– limited ability of the individual to decentralise, i.e. to put oneself in the place of another and un-
derstand his or her range of interests;
– competitive nature of cooperation with other groups and individuals;
– psychological incompatibility.
The appearance of interpersonal conflict is related to the individual psychological characteristics
of the participants. It is important to take into account the specific processes that occur in a person’s
psyche during interaction with others.
The main personal causes of conflicts are:
– low level of social and psychological competence;
– character accentuations: excitable, rigid, demonstrative, pedantic;
– perception of the other person’s behaviour as unacceptable;
– an underdeveloped capacity for empathy;
– an insufficient level of psychological stability;
– underor overestimation of the level of ambition.
4.1.1. Approaches for understanding interpersonal conflict
Problems of interpersonal conflict are studied by various sciences, and representatives of the psychological branch in conflictology pay a great deal of attention to them.
The following basic concepts of interpersonal conflicts are distinguished:
– psychoanalytic interpretation (K. Horney);
– the concept of satisfaction of needs (K. Lewin);
– the concept of dependence on the situation (M. Deutsch).
K. Horney saw interpersonal conflict as a result of intrapersonal conf lict, i.e. intrapersonal conflict provokes interpersonal conflict. The characteristics of a person’s interpersonal relationships are
largely determined by the success of his or her resolution of intrapersonal conflicts.
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Conflict resolution involves a choice between different possibilities, aspirations, beliefs, etc.
By making a choice the person resolves the conflict. Neurotic conflict is always unconscious: internal contradictions consume an individual, leave him or her no choice, make him or her helpless.
A person with neurotic disorder not only loses the ability to understand himself or herself and his
desires, this person becomes unable to solve internal problems, which turns out to be the main
source of conflict. Neurotic persons act in two incompatible directions: they are driven by an aggressive desire for dominance “no one but me” and at the same time they have a desire to be loved
by everyone. In this situation, the person is caught between ambition and love, one of the central
conflicts in neurosis.
K. Lewin sees the causes of interpersonal conflict in the presence of contradictions between human needs and external objective reality. The degree of interpersonal conflict can be explained by the
subjective importance of the needs involved.
K. Lewin described three types of motivational conflict:
1) from two or more equally attractive and mutually exclusive objects, only one should be chosen;
2) from two unattractive objects, only one should be chosen (the first two types of conflicts are re-
solved by compromise, and by choosing one of the options);
3) сhoosing an object that has both attractive and unattractive features (this conflict can be re-
duced by reconciling with the unattractive side).
М. Deutsch studied cooperative and competitive relations both within and between groups. As
a result, he created the theory of cooperation and competition. Cooperative (facilitative) behaviour
is characterised by a significant interdependence of the parties, such behaviour encourages the person
to facilitate the realisation of the opponent’s intentions and thus one’s own. An individual displaying
a cooperative type of behaviour is inclined to positively assess the success of the other, to facilitate
the performance of his or her actions, and to meet him or her halfway. Competitive (antagonistic) behaviour is expressed through a negative attitude towards the opponent, his achievements and actions,
and the rejection of all forms of interaction with the opponent. Such behaviour is appropriate, when
the probabilities of achieving the goals of the participants in the conflict are Success for the participant means defeat for the opponent.
Understanding the true causes of conflict requires a comprehensive analysis of the positions, actions and psychological characteristics of the participants, as well as situational variables that arise
in the course of conflict interaction.
When basic human needs cannot or are difficult to meet, tensions, disagreements and conflicts between people arise. In such cases, the person identifies those who interfere with the satisfaction of basic needs, perceives their behavior as aggressive, unkind, selfish, arrogant.
Interpersonal conflicts are often influenced by irrational motivation, it is intensified in modern
urban life, periods of crisis. E. Berne in his theory of transactional analysis described the complexity of human relationships that generate conflicts, the causes of which often seem illogical, irrational.
E. Berne calls games such forms of social contacts in which one of the participants is guided by an ulterior or unconscious motive to obtain a certain psychological or social “benefit”.
4.1.2. Subjects, objects, spheres of manifestation of interpersonal conflicts
The participants of interpersonal conf lict are specific individuals with a mismatched system
of claims.
The object of an interpersonal conflict is a human need (social, material, ethical, aesthetic), and the
main cause of the conf lict is the way in which that need is met. In the interpersonal conflict manifest
personal characteristics, such as: needs, values, leading motives, basic attitudes, interests, conflict
participants manifest abilities, volitional effort.
Interpersonal conflicts manifest themselves in three main areas: 1) a team (organization); 2) family; 3) society (contacts in institutions of the social sphere, in state institutions, in transport, etc.).
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4.1.3. Types of interpersonal conflicts
Resource conflicts can be seen as a type of conflict of interest. Participants have a claim
to the same resource: an object, finances, property, position, etc. Due to the singularity or scarcity of the resources, the interests of the participants conflict with each other. Examples are all
conflict situations involving resource allocation issues or struggles over the possession of an indivisible resource.
People have value conflicts because of conflicting or incompatible perceptions and values, especially those that are meaningful and meaning-forming for the participants. For example, in the case
of work, the value would be what the individual sees as the purpose of the work (whether it is a source
of livelihood, an opportunity for self-realisation, etc.).
М. Deutsch classified conflicts according to the criterion of the truth-value of understanding the
nature of the conflict or the reality of its causes:
– “genuine” conflict exists objectively and its causes and motives of the parties are adequately un-
derstood;
– an “accidental or contingent” conf lict depends on easily changeable circumstances, but this
is not recognised by the parties to the conflict;
– the dislocated conflict hides another conflict, invisible from the side, which is at the heart of the
dislocated conflict;
– “misattributed” conflict arises between parties who have misunderstood each other’s intentions
and, as a result, over spurious or misinterpreted issues;
– “latent” conflict should have occurred, there are objective reasons for the conflict, but this is not
the case because the parties are not aware of the conflictual nature of the relationship;
– a “false” conflict occurs when the parties perceive the relationship to be in conflict only because
of errors of perception and understanding, in the absence of objective grounds for conflict.
Violation of the rules of communication. In this case, interpersonal conflict arises from an unwillingness to abide by the general rules and regulations of communication accepted by the two parties. If
one of them violates some points of these rules, the inaccurate or unacceptable behaviour may be interpreted as a reason for a confrontation. In families, such conflicts occur because of inappropriate attitudes towards each other, which are to be expected under the circumstances.
By the nature of the interaction is differentiated:
– constructive conflicts, where opponents interact within the framework of ethical norms and rea-
sonable arguments, which leads to the development of relations between the participants;
– destructive conflicts take place when one party strongly insists on its position and ignores the interests of the other, resorts to reprehensible methods of struggle, seeks to cause damage to the opponent. According to the subjects of the interaction, conflicts are classified into intergroup, intragroup,
interpersonal and intrapersonal.
When considering the causes of interpersonal conflict, attention should be paid to the main groups
of causes (factors) of interpersonal conflict proposed by W. Lincoln:
1. Behavioural, the parties use conf lictogens, show rudeness, arrogance, selfishness, ignoring the
needs and demands of the opponent.
2. Factors of personal relationships: mutual distrust, avoidance of communication, general dissat-
isfaction with the interaction between the parties.
3. Values factors: considerable discrepancy in values, basic attitudes, methods and interests of the
conflicting parties.
4. Structural factors: relatively stable objective causes that are difficult to change or level their
impact. They require a significant investment of time, money, physical and intellectual resources
to overcome.
5. Informational: a distortion of the perception of information by one or both parties to the conflict.
Interpersonal conflict can have both constructive and destructive functions.
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