Intragroup conflicts: classification, specificity, causes and methods of solution

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Man is a social being. He is constantly in some kind of relationship with other people. People unite in groups according to different criteria: buyers, sellers, officials, fans, work team, etc. Since all people are different, and everyone has their own point of view, misunderstanding inevitably arises within the group, which leads to an outbreak of conflicts. But they should not be feared, as social psychology recognizes - this is a great opportunity for development.

Conflict concept

A conflict is a clash of interests, reaching a strong emotional intensity, as a result of which it becomes impossible to resolve conflicts peacefully. Conflicts differ in motives and the number of people involved in them: they can be between individuals, between groups, etc. In addition, misunderstandings arise between people within the groups themselves, such collisions are calledintragroup conflicts.

Most of his life an adult is at work, where he interacts with colleagues and superiors. Therefore, most often a person is involved in proceedings within the work team. Sometimes personal animosity goes to extremes: litigation, ruined careers, broken families, and so on. To get out of conflicts with the least losses, you need to know the specifics of intragroup conflicts.

Where there is harmony, there is treasure

This Russian proverb reflects a very important aspect of the functioning of any group. If translated into the language of psychology, then the socio-psychological climate that has developed within it is important for the good work of the team. The more comfortable it is for employees to work with each other, the better the result of the work performed will be. The specifics of intra-group conflicts also depend on the psychological state of employees.

The working atmosphere is made up of many components. In social psychology, this is a common goal, solidarity in achieving results, the ambitions of individuals and the group as a whole. Formal and informal roles of group members, intra-group norms and requirements, moral and ethical security. The degree of close relationships within the team, the degree of satisfaction with their position. Personal or impersonal approach to leadership and much more. It is unlikely that anyone succeeds in taking into account all possible variations in the relationship between people and avoiding conflict, therefore, knowledge of the causesthe emergence of contradictions lead to an understanding of the methods of their solution.

You won't be the sunshine

There are two main causes of intragroup conflict. The first is a violation of the norms adopted in the team. A person needs society in order to realize himself, but at the same time he must obey the rules established by this society. A person is not always able to meet expectations: due to the nature and goals pursued, due to incompetence and ignorance of the existence of restrictions.

The second main reason is the struggle for leadership. Despite the existence of a formal leader (boss), a person seeks to realize his ambitions either by taking the place of an informal leader whose opinion is taken into account, or by taking the place of a formal leader by removing a person from his position. In addition, there are many other reasons: disagreement with the distribution of benefits (bonuses, thanks, etc.), disagreement, envy or personal hostility, psychological incompatibility, erroneous actions, etc. It is clear that you will not be the sun, a priori a person, due to his imperfection, cannot please everyone, the question arises: “How to find a compromise?” However, most conflicts can be avoided.

Don't be afraid of them…

Classification of intra-group conflicts shows that any relationship can be resolved if the position is taken correctly. Conflicts differ in the degree of influence on the change in the activities and composition of the team: constructive, destructive, stabilizing.

Constructive conflict makes you think about the correctness of your decisions, your actions, etc. It contributes to a reassessment of values and gives a positive impetus to solving the problem at a qualitatively new level.

Destructive conflict destroys established relationships and norms, exacerbating the problem. It takes a lot of strength and energy, promotes the growth of people involved in the conflict, which leads to an increase in negative emotions, actions and statements.

The stabilizing conflict, on the one hand, eliminates the deviation from the norm, relieving emotional stress, on the other hand, it preserves established norms.

Conditions and Strategies

There are various methods and conditions for resolving intragroup conflicts. One of the most important conditions for getting out of a tense situation is the awareness of one or both parties of the contradiction that has arisen and the desire to resolve it. In addition, material, legal, moral, political and spiritual resources are needed. However, if the parties cannot agree, a neutral third party is invited to assist.

Methods for resolving intra-group conflicts include: reconciliation, cooperation, compliance, evasion, confrontation and competition, compromise. In addition, there are suppression strategies that are applied to potentially destructive and pointless conflicts: reducing the number of conflicting parties, establishing rules and regulations for the interaction of conflicting parties. Postponement strategy: temporary measures designed to weakenconflict. Later, when the time is right, the opportunity arises to resolve the conflict "with little bloodshed." Examples of conflicts and their resolution allow you to visually see the strategies in action.

Neighbours

Among the residents of an apartment building, the issue of parking cars in the local area is acute. The residents were divided into two camps. Some are for putting cars in a free style. Others are for marking and strict adherence to parking rules. If you do markup, then the question affects financial, time and human resources: who, when and with what money will markup.

Decision. It is necessary to convene a meeting of residents and, on the basis of dialogue, make a compromise decision. Part of the yard will be marked out, and part will be left for arbitrary parking. Among those who are for orderly parking, choose volunteers who will carry out the marking. The financial issue is also decided by pooling with the release of those who spend their time working in the yard.

Staff

The situation is such that a team is needed to achieve the goal. But employees with the necessary qualifications have hostile feelings towards each other. Instead of fruitful work, quarrels break out of the blue every day for the slightest reason.

It's better to use suppression strategy here. Allocate separate jobs for employees, set a separate task for each employee. Appoint a curator who will regulate the work of everyone, and combine the results of separately solved tasks. Interactionto minimize conflict parties: workshops where intermediate results are summed up and new tasks are distributed. The curator should be impartial to both parties, not advertise the mistakes of the parties, but encourage employees for successful decisions.

Family

Young family. The mother-in-law is unhappy with the way the young wife runs the household and raises a small child, and constantly expresses her displeasure to her daughter-in-law and son. The conflict grows, leading to two destructive outcomes: either the young people consolidate against a common enemy (mother-in-law), or it will come to a divorce. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the young girl has not yet fully mastered worldly wisdom, and the jealousy of her mother-in-law does not allow her to look at the situation from the other side.

If both parties fail to resolve the conflict, a third party must be involved. It could be a psychologist. Family conflicts are the most difficult, and it takes a long time and patience to resolve them. But there is one plus here: it is enough for only one side to go for rapprochement. If a young wife appreciates her husband, she will appreciate everything connected with him and, stepping over her pride, can go to reconciliation. If this fails, apply a delay strategy.

As you know, there are at least two ways out of any hopeless situation, and if you wish, you can find a way out of any conflict situation if you do not follow your own selfishness and pride.