Do the popular media approve of certain types of relationships and not others?
? How do the media "define" friendship, love, and family?
? What do the media say about the rules for relationships?
? How do the media deal with the dark side of interpersonal relationships,
such as relationship violence and spousal abuse?different conflict styles are described. Using the questions provided in Table , write a concise reflection about which style describes you best. Consider how adopting a different style may be positive or negative for you.
Both Parts I & II should be included in the same Word (.docx) file and should total about one double-spaced page in length.
TABLE Five Conflict Styles and Their Consequences
Here are the five conflict styles and their likely consequences or outcomes (Blake & Mouton (1984). Do you have a general conflict style or does your conflict style vary with your relationship to the other person? For example, are you likely to engage in conflict differently depending on the other person, whether friend, romantic partner, work colleague, and so on?
|
You
|
Other
|
|
Competing: great concern for your needs; little concern for other's
|
Win
|
Lose
|
|
Avoiding: little concern for your own or other's needs
|
Lose
|
Lose
|
|
Compromising: some concern for your own and other's needs
|
Win and lose
|
Win and lose
|
|
Accommodating: great concern for other's needs; little concern for your own
|
Lose
|
Win
|
|
Collaborating: great concern for your own and other's needs
|
Win
|
Win
|
As you can appreciate, the avoiding style does little to resolve any conflicts and may be viewed as an "I lose, you lose" philosophy. If a couple can't agree about where to spend their vacation, but each person refuses to negotiate a resolution to the disagreement, the pair may not take any vacation at all; both sides lose. Interpersonal problems rarely go away of their own accord; rather, if they exist, they need to be faced and dealt with effectively. Avoidance merely allows the conflict to fester and probably grow, only to resurface in another guise.