Conflict plays a significant role in the way we communicate with other and can have detrimental and even positive effects on our relationships. Experiencing Intercultural Communication: An Introduction describes conflict as “involving a perceived or real incompatibility of goals, values, expectation processes, or outcomes between two or more independent individuals and groups.” In addition, there are numerous forms of conflict and can be processed differently.
Conflict is caused by various occurrences such as language issues, which “…can also be the primary vehicle for solving intercultural conflict” (Martin, Nakayama, 232) or ambiguity in which “we may be unsure of how to handle the conflict or of whether the conflict is seen …show more content…
Affective conflict is defined as “when individuals become aware that their feelings and emotions are incompatible” (Martin, Nakayama 233).
According to Martin and Nakayama, value conflict “occurs when people have differing ideologies.” My maternal grandmother and her sister, for instance, share different beliefs regarding the role of women. My grandmother believes that a woman’s role goes beyond that of the household while her sister, believes women should take care of the household and children.
In addition, my brother and I often argue because we have dissimilar views and opinions on certain situations. For example, we decided to invite our uncle to join us for lunch and he seemed frustrated. I thought he was angry or irritated while, my brother believed he was tired and sleepy. At the end we were both incorrect; it turns out he was worried about “Cognitive conflict describes a situation in which two or more people become aware that their thought processes or perceptions are in conflict” (Martin, Nakayama …show more content…
When approaching a conflict directly, a person will directly speak and contribute their opinion. “The goal in this approach is to articulate the issues carefully and select the “best” solution based on an agreed-upon set of criteria” (Martin Nakayama 236). This approach would have worked the best when my brother and I got lost because we would have chosen the best solution as opposed to sticking to our own ideas. The indirect approach deals, however, “emphasizes vagueness and ambiguity in language and often rely on third parties to help resolve disagreements” (Martin, Nakayama 239).
Furthermore, the emotional expressive/restraint conflict style is another manner in which conflict have be resolved. The emotional expressive style is suited for people who used prefer to demonstrate their emotions and feeling while with the restraint style is used by people who would rather control their emotions as opposed to expressed