Chapter #9
 In
psychology conflict occurs within the
individuals mind.
 At the root of many conflicts is the fact that
life is complicated and many goals have both
attractive and unattractive features.
 Things that most students and adults struggle
with in a psychological way:




Independence vs. Dependence
Intimacy vs. Isolation
Co-operation vs. Competition
Impulse expression vs. principles
 During
times of change and stress,
overwhelmed individuals often are attracted
to the prospect of being cared for and
protected.
 At the same time they are reminded
constantly that every adult should strive for
individual independence.
 Teens, young adults, and older people often
face great internal conflict over
independence and dependence
 Individuals
often want to be close to
someone they can trust with their innermost
feelings and thoughts.
 This desire for intimacy is often countered by
the fear that they will be hurt if that trust is
betrayed.
 Schools
often create this conflict.
 On one hand students are encouraged to
participate in co-operative learning, to
become “ team players” on the other hand
they are continually being graded and
compared with other students
 This
form of conflict occurs when people
have the desire to get what they want
quickly but their standards or principles
come into play.
 For example, you might pride yourself on
being a truthful person, but while preparing
to write a difficult exam, you see the answer
sheet on the teacher’s desk. Do you cheat
and give up your principles for a good mark?
 Technology
has made it seem that the world
is getting smaller, we appear to be living in a
“ global village”
 Conflict and aggression are common in the
globalized world.
 One of the forces that leads to conflict is
ethnocentrism ( a feeling that the lifestyle
and values of one’s own group are superior to
those of other groups)
 Anthropologists study the forces that
produce ethnocentrism and those that can
soften it.
 Supporters
of the conflict perspective see
society as composed of groups involved in
struggles to gain control over social resources
 They see society in a constant state of
tension and change
 Functionalists argue that conflict is necessary
that differences are essential for any society
to survive.
 Global
breakdown
 If the population of the world were reduced
to just 100 people but all the current ratios
remained the same, here is what those 100
people would be like:
 Continental Breakdown





57 asians
21 europeans
8 south americans
8 africans
6 north americans
 Gender


Split
52 female
48 male
 Colour


Split:
70 non-white
30 white
 Other
demographic info:
6 would own 59% of the wealth
80 would have sub-standard housing
70 would be illiterate
50 would be starving
1 would have a college degree
1 would own a computer.