Wilmot-Hocker Conflict Assessment Guide: Summary Notes
Chapter 6-Emotions in Conflict
Emotions are states of feeling. Emotions set actions “into motion”. They change and transform. Feelings are facts, not right or wrong, they just exist. Individuals experience emotions in conflict. Self protective emotions are associated with the right hemispheres of the brain while pro-social are left brain ruled; conflict resolution depends on overcoming raw emotion and developing left-brain functions. Relationships are defined by the kinds of emotions expressed. One emotion regulates other emotions. People develop emotion-behavior patterns early in life and build on them.
– Verbal communication
– Nonverbal communication
– Physiological response
– Thinking
• Emotions
– Both intrapersonal & interpersonal phenomena. Layers of emotion may be felt at one time. Intensity varies throughout the conflict process. Experienced as good or bad (positive or negative). We are emotional when something is at stake for us (identity).
– Emotional events trigger responses
– Feelings
• Open, broaden, help people come toward each other for problem solving
• Shut us down, close us off, lead us to withdraw from the person or problem that arouses our feelings. Avoidance seems an easy option
Negative Emotions (Disgust, contempt, and revulsion emotions move to expel something noxious or repulsive). (Shame and guilt play an important role in that when people break from socially accepted norms we lose face.)
• Anger – feeling connected to a perceived unfairness or injustice. Remains or grows rather than lessens with unbounded expression.
– Can mobilize & energize (motivate)
– Self responsibility calls for understanding anger to prevent harmful behavior
• Fear – key emotion in anxiety
– Sometimes disables us
• Anger-fear sequence – fear makes people experience vulnerability which turns into anger
• Sadness and depression
Emotions are states of feeling. Emotions set actions “into motion”. They change and transform. Feelings are facts, not right or wrong, they just exist. Individuals experience emotions in conflict. Self protective emotions are associated with the right hemispheres of the brain while pro-social are left brain ruled; conflict resolution depends on overcoming raw emotion and developing left-brain functions. Relationships are defined by the kinds of emotions expressed. One emotion regulates other emotions. People develop emotion-behavior patterns early in life and build on them.
– Verbal communication
– Nonverbal communication
– Physiological response
– Thinking
• Emotions
– Both intrapersonal & interpersonal phenomena. Layers of emotion may be felt at one time. Intensity varies throughout the conflict process. Experienced as good or bad (positive or negative). We are emotional when something is at stake for us (identity).
– Emotional events trigger responses
– Feelings
• Open, broaden, help people come toward each other for problem solving
• Shut us down, close us off, lead us to withdraw from the person or problem that arouses our feelings. Avoidance seems an easy option
Negative Emotions (Disgust, contempt, and revulsion emotions move to expel something noxious or repulsive). (Shame and guilt play an important role in that when people break from socially accepted norms we lose face.)
• Anger – feeling connected to a perceived unfairness or injustice. Remains or grows rather than lessens with unbounded expression.
– Can mobilize & energize (motivate)
– Self responsibility calls for understanding anger to prevent harmful behavior
• Fear – key emotion in anxiety
– Sometimes disables us
• Anger-fear sequence – fear makes people experience vulnerability which turns into anger
• Sadness and depression