Basic concepts of conflictology

Conflictology

Conflictology is a science that studies the prerequisites and principles of the emergence, course, resolution and completion of conflicts.

The specificity of conflictology is that it is associated with a number of sciences: psychology, sociology, ethics, political science, law, philosophy, history.

Subject of conflictology

The subject of conflictology is the interaction of participants in a conflict situation, the causes and methods of conflict resolution.

Tasks of conflictology:

• conflict research;
• popularization of knowledge about conflict management;
• fostering a high culture of interpersonal and business communication.

Methods of conflictology

1. Personality research (testing, in-depth interview).
2. Study and assessment of socio-psychological phenomena in a group (survey, observation, sociometry).
3. Diagnostics and analysis of conflicts (observation, survey, activity analysis, expert interview).
4. Conflict resolution.

History of conflictology

Conflictology is one of the youngest sciences, but the prerequisites for its emergence arose in ancient Chinese and ancient philosophy.

Ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius in the 6th century BC. argued that the source of conflicts is the differences between people in social status, character, appearance, as well as their vices.

In Ancient Greece, Heraclides, Epicurus, Aristotle, and Plato thought about conflicts. They came to the conclusion that conflicts are an integral part of life and that someday people will come to realize the need to live in peace and harmony.

Until the Middle Ages, conflicts were considered by Christian philosophy. In accordance with its tenets, they are presented as tests sent down from above that must be passed with dignity.

During the Renaissance (XVI-XVII centuries), the ideas of humanism and individualism appeared. E. Rotterdamsky, T. Mohr, F. Bacon spoke sharply negatively about social conflicts, including armed ones. However, there were those who did not support this opinion. J. Locke and T. Hobbes believed that “war of all against all” is a natural state of affairs.

During the Age of Enlightenment, J.J. Rousseau, Voltaire, D. Diderot spoke about conflicts as relics of a barbaric past. They were of the opinion that the abolition of the feudal system would lead to eternal peace. I. Kant believed that neighboring states are in a state of readiness for war, which forces them to strive for peace.

From the second half of the 19th century, conflictology began to become a separate science. G. Hegel presents war as a positive phenomenon of social life. Charles Darwin and his followers (G. Spencer, W. Samper, L. Gumplowicz) highlight confrontation as a universal tool that balances relationships in nature, society and contributes to the development of society. O. Comte studied social inequality. K. Marx, F. Engels, V.I. Lenin viewed the conflict from the point of view of class struggle.

G. Semmel introduced the concept of social conflict. M. Weber, based on the position of the individual, tried to create an ideal model of a conflict-free bureaucratic society. E. Durkheim came to the conclusion that conflict gives an idea of ​​the problems in society, and its resolution leads to balance. P. Sorokin believed that conflict helps to cope with unmet needs.

Z. Freud identified the inconsistency of the psyche as a source of conflict. A. Adler believed that a “neurotic lifestyle” pushes a person towards conflicts. K. Jung proposed a classification of characters based on different ways of resolving conflicts.

R. Dahrendorf and L. Coser are considered the founders of modern conflictology.

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Conflictology is a theoretical and applied discipline about the nature of conflicts, the patterns of their occurrence, development, completion, as well as the principles, methods and techniques of managing them.

Conflict is a manifestation of contradictions, expressed in the confrontation of the parties.

German sociologist Ralf Dahrendorf believes that conflicts, in principle, cannot be eliminated from public life; they are omnipresent. However, people have the opportunity to regulate conflicts and prevent “social upheavals.” Three conditions are important for this:

1. the presence of value systems, recognition of differences and opposition to conflicting ones;
2. level of organization - the higher the degree of organization, the easier it is to achieve agreement and fulfill agreements;
3. mutual acceptance of certain rules, the observance of which makes it possible to maintain or maintain relations between the parties involved in the conflict.

Types of conflicts:

1. intrapersonal
2. interpersonal
3. between an individual and the group to which he belongs
4. between different groups of people (including social)

THERE ARE CONSTRUCTIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE CONFLICTS.

Constructive conflicts are characterized by disagreements that affect fundamental parties, problems of the life of the organization and its members, and the resolution of which takes the organization to a new, higher and more effective level of development. These conflicts can be beneficial.

Destructive conflicts lead to negative, often destructive actions, which sometimes develop into squabbles and other negative phenomena, which leads to a sharp decrease in the effectiveness of the group or organization. This type of conflict is definitely harmful.

Conflicts, despite their specificity and diversity, generally have common stages :

1. formation (or identification) of contradictions in interests, values, norms;
2. voltage rise
3. active phase of conflict, conflict actions
4. removing or resolving a conflict

It is believed that constructive conflict resolution depends on the following factors:

1. adequacy of the perception of the conflict, i.e. a sufficiently accurate assessment of the actions and intentions of both the enemy and one’s own, not distorted by personal biases;
2. openness and effectiveness of communication, readiness for a comprehensive discussion of problems, when participants honestly express their understanding of what is happening and ways out of a conflict situation;
3. creating an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation.

It is necessary to know what character traits and features of human behavior are characteristic of a conflict personality . Summarizing the research of psychologists, we can say that such qualities may include:

1. Inadequate self-esteem of one’s capabilities and abilities, which can be either overestimated or underestimated. In both cases, it may contradict the adequate assessment of others - and the ground is ready for a conflict to arise.
2. The desire to dominate at all costs where it is possible and impossible.
3. Conservatism of thinking, views, beliefs, unwillingness to overcome outdated traditions.
4. Excessive integrity and straightforwardness in statements and judgments, the desire to tell the truth in any situation.
5. A certain set of emotional personality traits: anxiety, aggressiveness, stubbornness, irritability.

Studying the relationships of many people, American social psychologists Kenneth W. Thomas and Ralph H. Kilmann found that there are five styles of behavior in conflict situations : competition, withdrawal, accommodation, cooperation and compromise (1972). Each strategy for behavior in a conflict situation has its own advantages and limitations. Avoiding conflict (avoidance) is the desire to get out of a conflict situation without resolving it. Used when:

• the source of disagreement is trivial and insignificant compared to more important tasks,
• it takes time to restore calm (high passions),
• fear of the other side,
• bad timing of the impending conflict,
• when the conflict is unrealistic.

Adaptation – smoothing out contradictions to the detriment of one’s interests, changing one’s position, is used when:

• the task is to restore calm and stability, and not to resolve the conflict,
• the subject of disagreement involves more complex issues than those currently being considered,
• you are not particularly interested in what is happening,
• it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort to defend your point of view,
• you feel that it is more important to maintain a good relationship with your opponent than to defend your interests.

Compromise is the settlement of disagreements through mutual concessions, effective in the following cases:

• when the parties have equally convincing arguments,
• it is necessary to make an urgent decision when there is a shortage of time,
• when both parties have equal power and have mutually exclusive interests,
• a compromise will allow you to maintain your relationship with your opponent, and you would rather gain at least something than lose everything.

Rivalry, competition - an open struggle for one’s interests, persistent defense of one’s position, is used when:

• quick, decisive action is required in emergency situations,
• the result is very important to you and you place a big bet on your decision,
• you feel like you have no choice and nothing to lose,
• when you have sufficient authority to make a decision and it is obvious that your decision is the best,
• when interacting with subordinates who prefer an authoritarian style.

Cooperation – joint development of a solution that maximally satisfies the interests of all parties is effective:

• it is necessary to find a common solution when each approach to the problem is important and does not allow compromise solutions,
• you have time to work on the problem,
• you have a close, long-term and interdependent relationship with the other party.

Just as no leadership style can be effective in all situations without exception, none of the conflict resolution styles discussed can be singled out as the best. We must learn to use each of them effectively and consciously make one or another choice, taking into account specific circumstances.

Concept and general characteristics of social conflictology

Definition 1
Social conflictology is a section of general conflictology, as a complex scientific discipline, the objectives of which are to study the nature, content, causes and patterns of the emergence and development of conflicts, as well as ways to resolve them, specializing in the study of conflicts between social actors, communities and institutions .

The most important essential characteristics of any scientific discipline are the object and subject of research. Thus, the object of social conflictology is the social contradictions and conflicts existing in all spheres of public life.

In turn, the subject of social conflictology is the study of the nature, causes and mechanisms of social conflicts. In more detail, it can be noted that social conflictology studies:

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• Conflicts themselves, as a form of external expression of the contradictions existing in society;
• Elements of the structure and subject composition of social conflicts, including ideas and values ​​shared by participants in social conflicts with opposing interests;
• The dynamics of social conflicts, i.e. the process and conditions of social contradictions, including the stages of formation, development and resolution of the conflict, as well as preventing its recurrence in the future;
• Various types of conflict situations and the social tensions and contradictions that precede them, etc.

Speaking about the subject composition of conflicts studied within the framework of social conflictology, it should be noted that within the framework of the designated discipline, conflicts that arise between social groups, classes, as well as within specific social institutions - family, state, political parties, etc. are analyzed.

Contents of social conflictology

In the process of characterizing any area of ​​scientific knowledge, special attention is paid to considering its content. In relation to the area under consideration - social conflictology, the analysis shows that its content consists of the following levels of knowledge:

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1. Fundamental (general theoretical) level of social conflictology: in this case, conflict is analyzed as a social phenomenon, which is characterized by its own nature, development dynamics, as well as its own set of functions and tasks resolved through conflict in the sphere of social interaction;
2. Specific conflict theories, within the framework of which a detailed study of certain types of conflicts that arise in certain spheres of public life (in the sphere of politics, culture, labor relations, etc.) is carried out, or between specific subjects of social interaction (within the work collective, between family members, etc.);
3. The applied level of social conflictology, the content of which is represented by a set of specific concepts for the settlement and resolution of social conflicts. In other words, in addition to the general theoretical and sectoral study of conflicts emerging in society, within the framework of social conflictology, practical methods are being actively developed to be used in managing society.

Continuing the description of social conflictology, we also note that it is based on a number of fundamental categories, the definition of which can be formulated as follows:

Definition 2

Categories of social conflictology are fundamental concepts and ideas that reflect the subject of knowledge of social conflictology, that is, they describe and define the objective properties of social conflicts and their accompanying prerequisites and consequences.

So, for example, among the categories of social conflictology, the actual concept of conflict, social contradiction and social tension, elements of the structure of social conflict - their object and subject, subject composition can be highlighted. In turn, to characterize a social conflict in its dynamics, categories are used that characterize the individual stages of the corresponding contradiction, including: formation, development, settlement and resolution of a social conflict.