Intrapersonal conflict - what is it? Types and causes

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

Intrapersonal, interpersonal and intergroup conflicts are all subjects of psychology and sociology at the same time. They affect the inner world of a person, slowing down or, on the contrary, accelerating the process of self-development and knowledge of the world around, strengthening or destroying ties with society. In this article, we will consider an intrapersonal conflict, its types, causes and methods of resolution.

What is this?

The phenomenon, which will be discussed in the article, is characteristic of people with conflicting views and desires. In psychology, there is a clear definition of it. Intrapersonal conflict is an acute and negative experience. It is due to the long-term opposition of the structures of the inner world (emotions, desires, goals) of a person. This is reflected in relationships with others and decision-making. In this state, it is difficult for a person to develop a certain style of behavior, to control his reaction to events in the outside world.

A common example of intrapersonal conflict ischoice between family and work. Very often it is difficult for a person to decide what should be focused on first of all: on creating a family or self-realization. In the modern world, this choice, as a rule, is characteristic of the female half in developing countries. But not every person can go into an uncontrolled personal conflict situation, which is the subject of study by specialists.

Types and types

There are two main types of intrapersonal conflict: constructive and destructive. The first is optimal, productive for a person. It contributes to the formation and development of useful qualities: decisiveness, independence, psychological stability, tempers character. An example here is the fight against bad habits. It trains willpower, determination, the ability to ignore personal desires for the benefit of others or yourself.

Destructive intrapersonal conflict is a negative, destructive phenomenon that exacerbates the duality of personality. Over time, it can develop into a life crisis, deprive a person of self-confidence, develop neurotic reactions. Prolonged dissatisfaction with life, self-conviction of one's own inferiority are examples of intrapersonal conflicts of a destructive type. They prevent adaptation to new situations, constantly exposing a person to stress.

In real life, examples of intrapersonal conflicts are many-sided. This prevents psychologists from constructing a general classification, citing allpersonality contradictions to a common denominator. However, numerous studies show that the internal conflict of a person is associated with the value-motivational sphere. The latter makes it possible to combine intrapersonal conflicts into groups with a common causal core.

These include:

• Adaptation conflicts are an imbalance between a person and society. They appear when a person is not ready or unwilling to accept the requirements or conditions of others (psychological, physical, professional). For example, when a recruit is not able to adapt to the army regime or an employee is unable to cope with the work functionality, intrapersonal contradictions between duty and opportunities are possible.
• Moral conflicts are the classic struggle of duty versus feeling, personal attachments versus moral principles. An example here is the situation when a man, being already married, feels sympathy for another woman and wants to build a personal relationship with her. But there are moral restrictions that prevent the realization of such desires.
• Motivational conflicts - often occurring contradictions of internal aspirations, a clash of motives. A typical situation showing this look would be a man's choice between meeting up with friends and dating the woman he loves.
• Role conflicts arise when a person cannot realize several roles at the same time, ignoring or overestimating the requirements for himself and others. Similarpersonality conflict can occur when a woman is, for example, both mother and teacher of her child.
• Conflicts of inadequate self-esteem are the opposition of personal aspirations and one's own potential. A person wants to become better and higher, to achieve something, but at the same time it is difficult for him to leave his comfort zone.
• Conflicts of unfulfilled desires - confrontation between personal "I want" and reality. A person wants to be rich and have a high status in society, but in reality things are different.

As you can see, any type of intrapersonal conflict is based on subjective experience. It has two levels of transition: from the external world to the internal and vice versa. The first includes adaptive and moral conflicts of the personality, and the last - all the others described above.

Forms of Manifestation

Internal experiences always find a way out in the form of polar emotions and behavior change. These could be:

• Depression and decreased performance, migraines and insomnia;
• euphoria (unjustified joy, ostentatious gaiety or tears with laughter);
• evasion of responsibility, manifestation of primitivism in behavior;
• excessive criticism of others, negative, evaluative attitude towards them;
• striving for changes in all spheres of life (professional, family), imminent change of residence, etc.;
• self-justification of actions and words.

The presence of these signs is a wake-up call. Being in such a situation,a person needs to understand the reasons for its nature, diagnose it, and then choose a way to resolve it.

Reasons

Specialists conditionally divide the causes of intrapersonal conflict into two types:

1. Domestic. This includes contradictions within the personality. They arise because of the many desires, attitudes and values of a person. Social norms and personal needs differ, but they stand on the same level for the individual. And intrapersonal conflict is therefore inevitable and continues until a choice is made.
2. External. Associated with the status of a person in a particular group of people or society as a whole. Certain factors (for example, the negative attitude of the team) can limit a person in the implementation of something meaningful, thereby causing both intrapersonal and interpersonal conflict.

In addition, the reasons for such contradictions include physiological pathologies, flaws that prevent a person from achieving a certain goal. And it can also be the lack of a partner to meet personal needs, or the presence of one, but an obstacle from social norms.

So, intrapersonal conflicts are mechanisms that can be triggered everywhere, affecting absolutely all spheres of human life.

Consequences

Every phenomenon of reality has consequences. The same can be said about the intrapersonal psychological conflict, which affects not only the emotional, but also the social side. It inevitably leads toloss of balance. A person becomes less organized, his activity in any activity decreases. Suspiciousness, self-doubt, anxiety and loss of the meaning of life, goals are also the consequences of an internal struggle. In the form of protection from external demands, a person in this state uses aggression, or, on the contrary, humility in everything.

As a result, ties with society are destroyed, manifested in the desire to leave, isolate themselves from others, in silence, immersion in their own experiences and the inability to adequately respond to he althy criticism. Such destructive indicators eventually lead to a dead end in personal development, degradation begins. If during this period you do not seek help from a specialist, the psychological conflict of the personality can develop into a neurotic one and even cause suicidal behavior.

Are there any benefits?

However, one should not forget about the possible constructive nature of such internal contradictions. They can become for a person a kind of engine of self-knowledge and self-affirmation. In the process of psychological struggle, he is able to mobilize personal resources, gain useful experience and gain stability. Everything will depend on external circumstances, but most importantly - on one's own correct self-assessment and the readiness of the person himself to change the conflict situation.

Diagnosis

Having considered the forms of manifestation and the consequences of internal contradictions, we should proceed to the study of methods for diagnosing them. They help professionals accurately identifyhuman condition, identify the degree of complexity of the problem and, based on the results, draw up an algorithm of actions and measures to resolve the situation.

The analytical phase uses standard tests and the patient's self-report. All this affects the parameters of a person's attitude, his sphere of experiences and mental tension.

Similar diagnostics is also used in developmental psychology. It is especially important for teenagers. At this time, as is known, the whole organism is rebuilt, which for specialists is fertile ground for research. It is possible to clearly identify inner experiences and effectively correct the development of a young personality, develop psychological immunity to situations of this kind.

Warning

It is known that the best solution to any problem is its competent prevention. It is possible to avoid intrapersonal conflict. To do this, psychologists advise to actively engage in self-knowledge, that is, to study your strengths and weaknesses (fears, complexes), while trying to improve the first and correct or eradicate the second altogether. The list should also include the qualities that a person wants to possess, and then look for ways to develop them in oneself.

In order not to fall into the swamp of internal contradictions, it is necessary to maintain an optimistic attitude, train self-confidence and focus only on success. It is not recommended to take on several cases at once and accumulate problems. This will eliminate the occurrence of stressful situations and loss of mental balance. It is necessary to create an adequateself-esteem, that is, to be as honest and fair as possible in relation to yourself and others, without overestimating or underestimating the bar of requirements.

Methods of resolution

If the problem has no constructive indicators and develops for a long time, then you should get acquainted with the ways to resolve an intrapersonal conflict. Help here:

• Compromise. A person should ask himself a question about the choice (for example, between his own needs and social norms) and try to answer it honestly, giving sufficiently strong arguments. When the decision is made, you can begin to perform the necessary actions.
• Care. This method involves letting go of the situation for a while, abdicating responsibility for its urgent solution. This helps to bring thoughts and feelings into balance and take a different look at the state of affairs. Fantasizing, daydreaming can be used as distractions.
• Reorientation consists in changing the attitude of the subject to the situation that caused internal contradictions. For example, a person simply needs to change the angle of his views, perhaps, try to fulfill external requirements in good faith in order to correctly analyze the result.
• Sublimation is a switch of attention and activity to an area that brings positive emotions (for example, creativity or sports). It is especially effective in resolving a crisis in the personal sphere, helping to relieve tension, change the attitude towards the problem.
• Correction -this is the construction of an adequate relationship to one's own "I". It is required, as a rule, in case of a conflict of inadequate self-esteem. However, it is recommended to consider it together with a specialist or trusted person, so as not to violate the boundary of objectivity.
• Repression is perhaps the toughest way to resolve an intrapersonal conflict. It involves a deliberate influence on one's desires and aspirations, suppressing them in order to activate other internal qualities and resources.

Of course, the contradictions of each individual are individual. There is no universal method of "treatment" here. And sometimes a new (necessarily professional) look is required to find a safe way out of the situation. That is why, in case of protracted internal conflicts, the help of a specialist is needed.

Conclusion

Summarizing all of the above, it is important to summarize the main aspects and concepts.

Intrapersonal conflict is a psychological struggle. Here, a person’s own needs and social norms, or social norms that are different from each other, dominating a person, come into conflict here.

Such situations have two ways of development: positive (constructive) and negative (destructive). In the first case, a person is able to independently overcome the internal crisis, while gaining useful experience and an impetus for self-development, and in the second, outside help is needed. The resolution of an intrapersonal conflict, protracted and intense, is necessary, since ignoring it can provokeserious mental disorders and even cause tragic events. The methods used must be appropriate to the nature (i.e. type) of the conflict and the extent to which it has been neglected.