preview

Conflict Systems Theory

Good Essays

UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY

GROUP MEMBERS REGISTRATION NUMBER
KIARIE NJUGUNA C01/44463/2012
SOSPETER NJUE MUNYI C01/44968/2012
JACINTA WAMBUI NDEGWA
PAMELA ASIGI
ABDINASIR ROBLE
SARAH MUTHONI NDUNGU
FLORENCE CHEPNGETICH C01/44645/2012
KIMATHI MUNYAMBU C01/45623/2012
BENSON MAINA
VICORIA NDINDA 2013
CONFLICT SYSTEM THEORY
What is Conflict?
Conflicts are generally defined as relational disputes between two or more parties, in which those involved perceive a threat to their interests coming from those on the other side of the disagreement. While this can describe a variety of conflict, it does not explain the full range of possibilities with this term. There are …show more content…

We should also consider that when relationships are close and intense, triangles can form and bring in another person to hold the low power position. Triangles can begin to interlock as more and more people become involved and it can lead to destructive behavior (Wilmot and Hocker, 2007). If we consider the new parents from the previous paragraph, the father may confide in his mother which brings in a third party. She may confide in her husband or friend, and that person may confide in another person.
Just as people develop individual characteristics, an entire system can also develop its own characteristics (Wilmot and Hocker, 2007). In the systems theory analyses attention should be focused on the relationships instead of the individual characteristics. The conflict and the way the parties act within it can be different depending on the relational type of the individuals involved. A complete assessment of a conflict can help the parties bring in new rules, understand and acknowledge micro-events, and have difficult conversations.
Rules used in the context of a conflict means the underlying communication structure of the interaction (Wilmot and Hocker, 2007). Generally no one person makes the rules. If the new parents know each other's backgrounds well, they will know what is and is not acceptable to say during an argument (whether or not they follow

Get Access