The Nature of Emotion
• Emotion is a complex phenomenon
• Cognitive Component
- the appraisal of an event, object or person
• Physiological Component
- the “felt” conflict
• Expressive Component
- the behavioral manifestation of emotion
Previous Treatment of Emotion
in Conflict
• Conflict Literature has largely ignored the
function of emotion in conflict
• Emotion is usually considered as something
separable from conflict and conflict process
• Emotion has been treated as something to
be “repressed”, “avoided”, “handled”
• Emotion has been largely restricted to issues
of anger and anger management
Relationship Between Emotion
and Conflict
• Conflict is emotionally defined (although
intensity of emotion may vary throughout
conflict process)
• Emotional communication morally frames
conflict
• Emotional communication is strongly
linked to individual and group identity
issues in conflict
Conflict is Emotionally Defined
Traditional theory sees emotion as
separate from realization of conflict
Latent
Perceived
Felt
Conflict Management
• Events that trigger
emotion are the same as
the events that
trigger/define conflict
– perceived interruption of plans
– differences between goals/desires
and reality
• To recognize that we are
in conflict is to
acknowledge that we have
been triggered emotionally
Emotional Communication
Morally Frames Conflict
• Values impact our emotions and our
emotions reveal what we value
• We have conflict and try to manage conflict
in ways that maximize the morality (“our
morality”) of the process and the outcome
• Emotional communication reveals our view
of the “rightness” of issues, relationships,
actions, outcomes
Emotional Communication in
Conflict is Linked to Identity
• Emotion AND conflict result from a
perception that something personally
important is at stake
• Threats to identity produce emotions (e.g.,
shame, pride, guilt, anger) which are very
strongly linked to conflict escalation
• Emotional response to identity threat
demands attention in conflict