Conflictology as a science - subject, methods, foundations of conflictology

A person living in the modern world is, of course, subject to various kinds of influences and influences from the reality around him. This can manifest itself in a person’s attitude towards life situations, circumstances and other people, and in the attitude of the people around him, and, of course, in a person’s attitude towards himself. But perhaps the greatest impact on the mood, worldview, mental manifestations and even the direction of actions and activities of each of us is exerted by our relationships with other people. This question is very deep and multifaceted, and it is not possible to consider it within the framework of one article or a small series of articles. Although, if you set such a goal, and break the question itself into several separate components, then the desired result can be achieved. That is why on the pages of our online resource “4Brain” we have already covered in detail such topics as human psychology, NLP, creative thinking, healthy lifestyle, time management and many others. Surely, each of these trainings, if you studied them, could teach you something new and useful. We devote this training to one of the most important and integral components of human life – conflicts.

Having information about conflicts and being able to manage them is a useful skill for every person. As you know, all people differ from each other not only physically, but also in character, temperament, mental organization, interests, tastes, morals, etc. And communication between people is not always friendly and constructive - for certain reasons, tense relationships and conflicts arise between people. Moreover, these can be not just disagreements, disputes, scandals and minor troubles, but also conflictual relationships on a larger scale, up to fights, strikes, pickets, uprisings and even world wars. To verify this, you can simply turn on the TV and watch morning or evening news programs.

Conflicts await a person literally at every step: at home and at work, in transport and public places, in our hometown, where we spent our whole lives, and in another country where we went on vacation. Conflicts cannot be avoided. And even if you, as they say now, are a mega-positive person, in life, one way or another, situations will arise when you need to prove your point of view, put yourself in the position of another person, listen to something unpleasant addressed to you, with something... then disagree and, quite possibly, even use force to defend their rights or protect themselves or loved ones.

Naturally, the likelihood that you and I will be able to influence the situation in the world is negligible. And the presented training on conflict management is not designed for this. Its task is to give you important, necessary and useful information that you can successfully apply in practice, and which can teach you to interact more effectively with people around you, find a common language with them, avoid “sharp corners”, prevent negativity and aggression, and also behave exactly as required by each individual tense situation, if it does arise.

From our training on conflict management, you will learn, firstly, what it is – conflicts and conflict management. Secondly, we will talk about what the subject of conflictology is, the tasks and functions of conflictology, and what are the foundations of conflictology. Thirdly, we will talk about what problems exist in conflictology today, and what goal modern conflictology pursues. But it is important to understand that theoretical conflictology and applied conflictology are two parts of one whole. For this reason, we will also give you practical information on how conflict prevention, conflict management, conflict prevention and resolution are carried out. Studying the course will be most productive if you use additional materials, so after you have studied the training lessons, pay attention to books and textbooks, as well as other auxiliary tools, which are dedicated to a separate section of the course.

What is conflictology?

Conflictology is a discipline that studies the patterns of processes such as the emergence, development, resolution and completion of conflict.

One of the people who laid the foundations of the general theory of conflict was Karl Marx. He developed the doctrine of contradiction and developed a model of social change. After him, the foundations of the doctrine of conflict were formulated by the American sociologist Jonathan Turner. In addition, the American sociologist Lewis Coser and the German sociologist and philosopher Georg Simmel made a huge contribution to the development of conflictology science. If we study other sources, we can conclude that mainly sociologists, psychologists and political scientists took part in the development of conflictology in general, both in our country and abroad.

However, several significant circumstances allow us to draw a line between domestic and foreign conflictology:

Abroad, attempts to create a theory of conflict were made back in the 19th century.
Abroad, more approaches are used to study conflicts
Abroad, conflictology is taught at the largest universities
Bachelor's and Master's degrees in conflict management are available abroad
Abroad, conflictology is a science, mainly of an applied nature.

As for domestic conflictology, the first publications on this topic appeared only in the 20s of the 20th century (the first work dates back to 1924; its authors are M. I. Mogilevsky and P. O. Griffin). In these works, the problem of conflicts was first identified as an independent one, and the term “conflict” already appears in the titles themselves. And as a separate science, conflictology took shape in Russia in the early 90s. At present, Russian researchers are paying more and more attention to conflictology and the problem of conflict.

Now the time has come to say a few words about the central concept of conflictology - conflict.

Conflict in its general understanding is the most acute way to resolve contradictions in views, goals, and interests that arise during social interaction. The essence of the conflict lies in the confrontation between its participants, accompanied by negative emotions. Often this confrontation goes beyond social norms and rules.

But conflictology distinguishes between two main types of conflicts - social conflict and intrapersonal conflict.

Social conflict is the most acute way of developing and resolving contradictions that are important for people that arise during their interaction. The essence of such a conflict is similar to the essence expressed in the above definition of conflict.

Intrapersonal conflict is an acute negative experience caused by a long-term struggle of the internal psychological structures of the individual, reflecting the contradictory connections of a person with the social environment, and also complicating and delaying decision-making.

The ability to recognize and prevent the occurrence of conflict, as well as to manage and neutralize it, opens up enormous opportunities for a person. It allows any person not only to effectively resolve problematic situations and successfully get out of difficult situations associated with conflicts, but also to anticipate potentially dangerous situations and take appropriate actions to suppress them. By and large, such a skill can make a person’s life more harmonious, painted in brighter colors and filled with predominantly positive emotions. Of course, we should not idealize, but if all people on the planet applied the principles of effective conflict prevention and resolution in their lives, then, for sure, there would be less disagreement, hatred, and wars in the world.

Here is a simple example at the everyday level: if, for example, two family members do not know conflict resolution skills, then if a dispute, misunderstanding, or disagreement arises, the situation with a high degree of probability can develop into a serious family scandal, the result of which can simply be negative emotions of people towards to each other, and complete discord and even a break in family relationships. But when at least one person has the skills of conflict management, he is able, firstly, to prevent the situation from getting out of control and leading to devastating consequences, and secondly, to make sure that it does not appear at all, because he can recognize it before it even appears. And this can be applied not only to the area of family relationships, but also to any other.

Conflictology in modern Russia

The science of conflictology, which is part of the educational program, has significantly increased its potential during practical activities in recent years. This is primarily due to the increase in the political and legal field of conflictology, as well as the popularity and relevance of this topic and its problems in modern scientific activity. This increased interest is explained by the fact that the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation included this science in the Federal State Educational Standard of Higher Professional Education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. And this is an unconditional triumph of conflictology in Russia, predetermining the path of its further development.

Training specialists in the field of conflictology is a step towards the development of conflictology as a special field of knowledge, the subject of which is conflict. This means that conflict plays a significant role in social life at the present stage of social development, being a factor contributing to the development of society.

At the same time, the further development of conflictology in Russia can be positioned as recognition of the need for a theoretical understanding of the essence of conflict as a phenomenon, its patterns and course in various social areas. In addition, it is important to develop new methods for solving or preventing it, as well as tools to minimize negative consequences. Consequently, there is a recognition of the need for theoretical justification and practical use of tools that transform the destructive impact of conflict into a creative one.

Conflictology is a relatively new phenomenon in the Russian socio-philosophical field of scientific knowledge. The process of development of theory in this direction within the framework of domestic science was slowed down due to a number of theoretical provisions of Soviet social science about the conflict-free functioning of society under socialist conditions [5]. The study of such a social phenomenon as conflict contained only isolated works carried out in order to solve problems in practice, in particular in the field of teaching and improving the efficiency of work teams.

Only since the late 1980s has a growing interest in the problems of social conflictology begun to be seen in domestic practice, which is expressed in the growing number of publications that explore the nature and essence of conflict [3].

The existing demands of society in modern Russia have led to the formation of many socio-humanitarian disciplines, which are a kind of branches of standard social disciplines, for example, ethnopsychology, extreme psychology, social anthropology, extremology and others. Also, among the relatively new, independently created branches of social knowledge, conflictology can be identified [2].

Conflictology in Russia at the present stage is based, on the one hand, on the works of Russian and foreign socio-philosophical thought, and on the other, on a significantly deep set of theoretical and methodological studies in the field of the origin and essence of social conflict, formed mainly in foreign sociology of the twentieth century .

Among the scientists contributing to the formation of conflictology as a relatively independent field of scientific knowledge, foreign researchers can be distinguished (G. Simmel, L. Coser, R. Dahrendorf, K. Heipel, K. Marx, L. Coran, K. Mitchell, F. Bacon, Z. Freud, K. Jung, M. Sherif, D. Rapoport, L. Thompson, K. Thomas, etc.), and domestic (A. Zdravomyslov, A. Antsupov, V. A. Svetlov, B. S. Volkov, E. N. Bogdanov, N. V. Grishina, V. G. Zazykin, A. Zaitsev, N. I. Leonov, A. Shipilov, etc.).

In the course of the development of the scientific direction under study, the subject of conflictology is increasingly positioned as an integral multidimensional phenomenon that requires a comprehensive and systematic analysis using suitable methods and tools.

Conflict is an objective fact and an integral element of human life. A number of researchers characterize social history as an endless series of conflicts and struggles, while linking conflict with the presence of aggression. Therefore, attention is often focused only on the destructive functions of conflicts, and therefore, there is a tendency to avoid conflicts or immediately resolve them. At the same time, the absolute absence of conflicts (in society, in an organization, etc.) is an unlikely and undesirable condition for its existence, since conflicts, as historical experience and practice show, often act as a catalyst for development.

Conflict is a significant characteristic of social systems, since it does not have retroactive effect, so it should be considered as a natural element of social life. It should be accepted among the natural forms of human relationships. Although conflict is not the most favorable set of circumstances, it should not be viewed as some kind of aberration or anomaly.

To summarize, the basis of conflictology at the present stage of its development is a number of theoretical provisions that are supported by practical knowledge. On the one hand, conflict does not always carry destructive force. In fact, it is one of the most important elements in maintaining integrity in an organization. The conflict should not be regarded as a purely destructive process and should not be assessed unambiguously. Modern views on conflicts do not interpret them as purely negative phenomena.

On the other hand, conflict carries within itself positive potential and new opportunities. If you perceive conflict not as a danger, but define it as a signal of the need for change, then a constructive solution to the problems existing in the organization is possible. The advantage of conflicts is the ability to prevent the formation of barriers to innovative development.

At the same time, social conflicts in the Russian public are associated with the borderline state of society and internal contradictions underlying the conflicts. The origins of some of them are events of the past, but the current aggravation is associated with the process of building a modern market system of relations.

The formation of modern social groups, the entrepreneurial class, and the expansion of inequality act as a factor contributing to the emergence of conflicts in modern Russian society. In addition, with the development of society, new social contradictions appear between the new “elite” (various groups of new owners) and a significant proportion of the population, excluded from power and ownership of assets.

It is noted that modern conflicts are acute and often involve violent measures. Based on the increasing crisis impact on society, leading to a clash between different parties, there is an aggravation of social contradictions, resulting in social conflicts.

Thus, the formation of conflicts occurs in many areas of public life, as a rule, they are divided into political, socio-economic, spiritual, national, etc. All these conflicts are varieties of social conflicts, which imply the presence of confrontation of any type between social communities [ 4].

A significant trend in the development of education in the field of conflict management in leading domestic educational institutions suggests that there is a real need for it on the part of the modern Russian public and there is significant support at various levels of support, both political and organizational. Today we can safely say that conflict management in Russia has significant resources for confident development, is recognized by the scientific community and is fully supported by the state, moreover, as a science, an educational program and a practical tool [1].

With the transition of Russian society to the post-reform state and the increasing need for more meaningful information about the patterns of functioning and existence of society, the role of the desire of humanities to “call a spade a spade” increases significantly, while the influence of the role of “ideological servant” imposed on it decreases . An organic part of this process is conflictology, which is equipped with specific means of cognition and a unique methodology for analyzing social phenomena.

Fundamentally new entities and rapidly changing properties are gaining global trends at the present stage of development of society. Processes such as, for example, globalization affect all existing world relationships and are fundamental in nature. The comparative isolation and local nature of the niches of existence of each of the societies become irrelevant, and the social discourse of different cultures in fact becomes a universal solution. The contradictory nature of these phenomena ceases to be local. Any of the significant conflicts, to one degree or another, at the present stage represents a civilized global conflict, which carries threats to the entire world community. In addition to the listed features of modern society, one can name new methods and resources of social discourse, for example, information, which determines the scale of the problems faced by the world community.

At the moment, strategically important steps in the development of domestic conflictology are translations of the works of foreign researchers in the field of conflictology, establishing connections with international scientific centers, the formation of the Institute of Conflictology in the Russian Federation, etc. In the educational sphere, such tasks are the introduction of educational disciplines in conflictology into educational institutions. programs, creation of specialized specialties in higher educational institutions, integration of the fundamentals of conflict management into the system of advanced training for employees.

Thus, the subject of conflictology focuses on the above-mentioned specific method of human activity, which is interpreted in a variety of types, types and levels of its manifestation in the course of resolving certain significant social contradictions. This fact covers only the basic context of the subject of conflictology. This science, forming a multi-level structured hierarchy, is subject to permanent reflection and search for options for improving its cognitive resources, as well as testing them for verifiability and falsifiability, breadth of methods and tools, and efficiency. As a result, the subject of conflictology should be divided into ontological and epistemological parts, which are important problem areas of cognition.

This article outlines the breadth and internal complexity of the modern subject of conflictology, which reflect the increasing multidimensionality of the field of conflictology as a science and educational program. At the present stage, conflictology is based on the principles of recognition of conflict as a logical and natural property of social relations. If we take into account the possibility of conflicts being realized in constructive forms, there is a promising opportunity to effectively manage them.

Literature:

Aleynikov A.V., Strebkov A.I. Conflictology for the 21st century // Knowledge. Understanding. Skill. 2008. No. 2. pp. 112–113
Antsupov A. Ya., Shipilov A. I. Conflictology: Textbook for universities. 6th ed. — Publishing house “Peter”, 2020.
Kosolapov N. A. Conflicts of the post-Soviet space and modern conflictology // World Economy and International Relations. - 1995. - No. 10. - pp. 5–17.
Plotnikov A.A. Analysis of the experience of researching social conflicts in Russia // Vestnik VyatGU. 2020. No. 9. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/analiz-opyta-issledovaniy-sotsialnyh-konfliktov-v-rossii (access date: 01/10/2019).
Strebkov A.I., Aldaganov M.M., Gazimagomedov G.G. Russian conflictology between the present and the past // Bulletin of St. Petersburg State University. Philosophy and conflictology. 2013. No. 1. URL: https://cyberleninka.ru/article/n/rossiyskaya-konfliktologiya-mezhdu-nastoyaschim-i-proshlym (access date: 01/10/2019).

Application of knowledge about conflicts

As already mentioned, we live in a world in which all kinds of disagreements, disputes, clashes, contradictions, etc. often arise. And even if the situation around you now is positive or at least neutral, it is not a fact that everything will continue to go like clockwork and no conflict situation will arise. Even such a superficial look tells us that conflicts need to be resolved.

But let's talk more specifically about why you need to apply knowledge about conflicts:

If a person has an intrapersonal conflict, it is very dangerous for his mental health, and in some cases for his life. Knowing how to manage one’s intrapersonal conflict, a person is able to understand oneself, neutralize serious experiences, promote one’s positive attitude and good mental health;
The ability to behave with dignity in conflict situations is one of the indicators of an adult, mature personality, good manners, adequacy, constructive perception of reality and a mood for productive interaction with society. If a person is used to solving everything with his fists, and only knows how to argue and snap, this indicates that his inner core is weak, his psyche is unstable, and he lacks the ability to communicate competently and find a common language;
Peace with oneself and the people around you is, first of all, a positive mental state, and science has long proven that the mental state is reflected in the physical plane. Consciousness, soul and body are directly interconnected with each other. Internal conflicts can cause serious physical illnesses, not to mention mental ones. And conflicts with other people can result in injuries, injuries, etc. If a person knows how to apply conflict management skills, he can prevent situations that are dangerous to both his physical and mental health;
The ability to resolve conflict and behave appropriately in conflict situations indicates that a person is inclined to show kindness, a positive attitude towards people, and respect. It also says that a person thinks not only about himself and his interests, does not prioritize only himself and his own desires, but also thinks about others. The attitude of those around such a person will almost always be similar, i.e. he will be valued, respected, appreciated, and his opinion taken into account. In addition, there are always more good events in the lives of positively minded people than in those who are negatively minded;
Skillful application of knowledge about conflicts is an integral part of the path to harmony with oneself, the people around you and the surrounding reality.

The benefits of applying knowledge about conflicts are obvious. But it would not be superfluous to note that these are not all the advantages of this skill. In fact, there are much more of them, including a positive influence on the future generation, in other words, on one’s children, because, as is known, the skills and abilities acquired by a person are passed on to his children in the form of predispositions at the genetic level. So, by studying conflict management, you can be sure that you are making not only your life better, but also the lives of your sons, daughters and even grandchildren.

Actions in a conflict situation

There are two types of actions in conflict. They are distinguished based on their relationship to achieving the goals of each party. These are the main actions and auxiliary ones. The main ones are directly aimed at obtaining the required result. Auxiliary actions are those that are additional to the first type: for example, distracting the enemy's attention, attracting allies.

All actions that are aggressive or violent are called conflict.

So, it is necessary to answer the question: conflictology is a branch of knowledge of what nature? Is it entirely theoretical or does it deal only with particular conflicts?

How to learn this?

Continuing the conversation about innate and acquired skills, it is important to say that from birth a person does not have any knowledge. Any information is absorbed by a person over time. Skills develop in a similar way. If a person has a predisposition to something, in our case, to function competently in conflict situations, with practice his skills will be honed and will be useful in life. But if a person does not have such a predisposition, he has to learn solely by trial and error. But the main thing is to learn, because, as the famous proverb says: “It’s hard to learn, it’s easy to fight.” Moreover, a person has an amazing ability to learn anything, naturally, with effort. You can learn in two ways: by studying theory and applying knowledge in practice.

Conflictology in theory is information that you can find in books, textbooks, get from other people and from other sources;
Conflictology in practice is the use of received information in real life.

However, situations when a person does not go beyond theory are no exception. Yes, he has information, but it does not bring him any benefit. And this is not because the information is of poor quality or useless, but because, as a rule, he simply does not know in what direction to direct his efforts so that something starts to work out.

Taking this nuance into account, we developed our training. Its goal is not just to introduce the reader to a powerful theoretical base, but to bring to his consciousness the idea of its practical application, to teach him how to use it in his life.

Keep in mind that our conflict management training has both theoretical and practical aspects. The theoretical part will introduce you to the basics of conflict management and answer the most common questions within the framework of the topic under consideration. And the practical part contains valuable tips, tricks and methods that you will apply. Moreover, both theory and practice are supplemented with simple illustrative examples in order to eliminate the factor of misunderstanding.

Want to test your knowledge?

If you want to test your theoretical knowledge on the topic of the course and understand how suitable it is for you, you can take our test. For each question, only 1 option can be correct. After you select one of the options, the system automatically moves on to the next question.

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How to conflict correctly?

The situation is conditional and generalized. Let's say you and a colleague had to do some work together. You did your part, he didn’t. As a result, both of you will be left without a bonus, and a conflict is brewing. Ideally, you and he go out into the street, first yell at each other, then find out the reasons for the shortcomings, decide to stay after school hours so as not to be left without a bonus. “Not ideal”? You seethe with anger, but decide not to quarrel. Because you avoid your own aggression.

Determine where the aggression goes.

Aggression is an essential part of any conflict. When you are not understood, interrupted, coerced, an opinion imposed on you, aggression and rage are absolutely normal reactions. Explicit, hidden or suppressed, but it is always there. First, let’s figure out, if the conflict did not take place, where our own aggression is stored.

To yourself: reproach yourself for your lack of professionalism, for your inability to establish a work process, for not figuring this out earlier. This is hidden or suppressed aggression. The result of this behavior can be anything: a bad mood, a headache, a heart attack.
On weaker people: on subordinates (if any), on other drivers on the way home, on cashiers in a store, on relatives, pets. This is unproductive aggression. Innocent people are suffering.

If such developments happen frequently, the conflict will never be constructive. Because all the energy goes to the wrong person. Then what's the matter? Why can’t you resolve the conflict on an equal footing with your opponent? Conscious or unconscious avoidance of conflict can happen for various reasons. Most often, the reasons come from childhood, but there may also be psychological trauma or painful experience. It is necessary to deal with them, but it will take time. In the meantime, you can use the advice provided in textbooks on conflict management.

Learn how to behave correctly in a conflict situation.

The conflict seems to have been hushed up, but you feel some kind of incompleteness? Catch 7 simple rules on how to behave so that the conflict ends in a big way, and does not bother you with sleepless nights.

Rule 1. One situation - one conflict.

If you have already had conflict situations with this person, you should not bring them up during a specific quarrel. It’s better to discuss previous conflicts later, when the main passions have subsided. You also shouldn’t make far-reaching conclusions like: “you’ve already let me down twice,” “I’ll never trust you with a case again.”

Therefore, during a quarrel, you should concentrate precisely on the event that provoked it.

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Rule 2. One situation - one opinion.

Even if you have already heard others’ opinions about your opponent, you should not mention other people’s words during a quarrel. Firstly, your narrator expressed his point of view, and secondly, he seems to be hinting that you cannot formulate your own. So in any case, throwing out phrases like: “accounting told me the truth about you...” is better to keep to yourself.

Therefore, during a quarrel, you should not mention the opinions of other people about your opponent, even very authoritative ones.

Rule 3. Speak from your “I”.

In the heat of a quarrel, one is tempted to get personal, to put pressure, to show one’s superiority. And it seems that the best way to get to the top would be accusations like: “you are to blame,” “you are wrong,” “you misunderstood me again.” But this method only strengthens other people’s resistance and does not help resolve the conflict situation. Because such phrases make it clear to your opponent that you have already decided everything for him: what he thinks, what he feels, how and what he understood or did not understand.

Therefore, during a quarrel, it is better to use the phrases: “I’m upset by the situation” or “I’m angry about this state of affairs.” In any case, you will speak for yourself personally, and not think for someone else.

Rule 4. Don't generalize.

Generalization is the enemy of specificity. Phrases like “you always do this,” “you’re all like that,” and the like run the risk of leading you into a bazaar showdown. By using global generalizations, you go beyond the boundaries of a local conflict, violate the rule “one situation, one opinion,” and simply recognize your opponent as worthless. In such a situation, even the calmest person will not remain silent.

Therefore, in a quarrel, you need to carefully monitor your speech (with experience this is already done automatically) and not equate one person with everyone who has brought you grief in life.

Rule 6. Do not hit below the belt.

Each person has his own complexes, even the most “childish” ones. If you know that your opponent has complexes about squint or short stature, you should not mention these complexes during a quarrel or start discussing his physical shortcomings. Even if they are imaginary. First of all, it's vile. Secondly, what is said during a loud quarrel is perceived deeper and more painful. If you win in this case, you can be sure that you have acquired an enemy.

Therefore, during a quarrel, you cannot discuss a person; it is better to discuss his actions.

Rule 7. The most important thing.

The most important thing to remember constantly is that conflicts are an indicator of a person’s general culture and upbringing. No matter how pompous it may sound. You should not say something for which you will be ashamed of yourself. After all, conflicts are given to us as lessons for experience and analysis of our mistakes.

Unresolved conflict is a ticking time bomb. Sooner or later it will explode and affect other areas of life. So if you still prefer to remain silent in conflict situations, it’s time to start leafing through a textbook on applied conflictology. Or ask for help. To a psychologist or coach, for example.

Take the test: Self-Esteem Scale

Lessons on conflict management

After studying quite a large amount of theoretical materials on conflict management, highlighting the main points, systematizing them and adapting them to practice, we developed a set of unique lessons on this topic. These lessons discuss the most important sections of conflictology, as well as present the opinions of outstanding scientists and the results of some scientific research. The greatest value of these lessons lies in the fact that great attention is paid to practice.

Lesson 1. What is conflict: types, types and forms of conflicts

Despite the fact that conflicts are a component of human life, not everyone is able to answer the question: what is conflict really? The concept of conflicts is very vague in the understanding of the majority, i.e. it’s not just something like: they didn’t find a common language, they quarreled, fought, or they didn’t see eye to eye, but something more complex. And if we talk about the fact that conflicts are divided into a considerable number of types and varieties, then for many it is generally a “dark forest”.

In the first lesson, you will become familiar with the concept of conflict, consider its negative and positive sides (believe me, they exist), and learn by what signs you can recognize a conflict. Next, you will study the classifications of conflicts and learn from examples how each conflict differs from each other. A separate part will tell you about how modern conflictology typologizes conflicts. Despite the fact that the first lesson is mostly theoretical, already in it you will be given one wonderful exercise to work through your internal states.

Lesson 2. Causes of conflicts and stages of their development

It is important and necessary to know not only what conflicts are and what they are like, but also about the reasons for which conflict situations arise in general. Often, even the most harmless joke can cause a quarrel, which is surprising when the governments of seemingly friendly states cannot peacefully resolve the issue of who owns this or that territory. Accordingly, the reasons for any disagreement are something that you need to know about before you begin to take any practical action.

This lesson will introduce you to several types of causes of conflicts, as well as their subtypes - the first part of the lesson is devoted to this. In the second part we will talk about what stages the conflict goes through during its development, and what the dynamics of this process are. Each stage is supplemented with illustrative examples. It is quite possible that some of the examples will seem very familiar to you, because they are all taken from the lives of ordinary people and society.

Lesson 3. Prevention, avoidance and conflict management

The emergence of any conflict is always preceded by certain circumstances. Knowing what sparks conflict, as well as what can stop it, is a fundamental skill a person can use to avoid confrontation. If it was not possible to prevent the conflict, and confrontation arose, it is important to choose a strategy of behavior that will best suit the current situation. These are the things that will be discussed in the third lesson.

You will learn about what the process of conflict prevention is in general and about the reasons that may interfere with it; get acquainted with technology, using which you will learn to prevent conflicts; You will learn about the ways to develop and maintain cooperation and what regulatory procedures are available for resolving conflict situations. The bulk of the material in this lesson will tell you about conflict management methods and the situations in which these methods should or should not be used. And at the end of the lesson, the most effective recommendations for conflict management will be presented to your attention.

Lesson 4: Conflict Resolution and Resolution Strategies

A person who knows how to prevent and manage conflicts has a much better chance of avoiding unpleasant situations than someone who does not know how to do this. However, this does not guarantee 100% that a conflict will not arise. It is for this reason that conflictology pays great attention to the issue of conflict resolution and resolution. This can be called a real art, because, knowing how to apply the appropriate techniques, you can take advantage of even the most dangerous situation, as well as eliminate it.

The penultimate lesson will introduce you to the concepts of conflict resolution and conflict resolution and the difference between them, as well as the mistakes people most often make when trying to resolve conflict. Then you will learn about conflict prevention and conflict analysis. Much attention is paid to the process of negotiations, because they represent the main method of resolving conflicts, but other methods will not be overlooked. In the final part, you will look at a unique tool for working with conflicts - the conflict resolution matrix.

Lesson 5. Intrapersonal conflict: concept, types, prevention and resolution

Speaking about conflicts in general, they should not be understood as a process of interaction between people or groups of people. A special type of conflict often occurs in a person’s life – intrapersonal conflict. And it can often be many times more dangerous than any other, because a person within whom a conflict has arisen loses the ability for a harmonious existence, normal communication with other people, productive and effective activities. In its most acute forms, intrapersonal conflict can even cause suicide or extremely destructive antisocial behavior.

What is intrapersonal conflict? How does it manifest itself? What types of intrapersonal conflict exist, and what is its basis? Why can intrapersonal conflict be not only destructive, but also constructive? How can you prevent it or resolve it if it occurs? You will get answers to all these questions from the last lesson.

Authors of the course and lessons:

Kirill Nogales and Evgeny Buyanov

Fundamentals of conflictology

Social sciences are designed to reflect the state of society. Although this does not always happen adequately, they reflect the needs of society. Modern society is most prone to various kinds of confrontations, but at the same time it also strives for cooperation and harmony. The current society is in need of civilized methods for resolving emerging confrontations and tensions. All this necessitated the emergence of a new branch of knowledge – conflictology.

The formation and development of conflictology fell in the mid-sixties of the last century. Its subject was the interpretation of the processes of life, functioning and formation of social systems using the category of conflict, meaning a collision, confrontation of subjects pursuing dissimilar, often even opposing tasks, aspirations, interests and goals.

Modern conflictology is a theoretical and applied science, that is, its content consists of such levels of knowledge as the theoretical interpretation of conflict as a social phenomenon, the study of its functions and place in the system of social interactions, the analysis of its essence, dynamics, conditionality of social relations, the study of specific types of conflicts , arising in various aspects of social life (family relationships, team), technology for their resolution.

The key specific feature of this discipline is its complexity. After all, conflicts are an integral part of human interaction.

Contradictions exist in all areas of social life, as well as at absolutely all organizational levels of society. As a result, followers of various social branches of science are interested in conflicts. Political scientists, sociologists, economists, psychologists, lawyers, managers, administrators, as well as scientists studying the exact sciences, study various aspects of social conflicts, their development and ways to prevent them. The goal, which unites all related areas of knowledge, is to discover and explain the mechanisms that govern social processes related to contradictions and their dynamics, to prove the possibility of foreseeing the behavioral acts of subjects in situations of confrontation.

Modern conflictology is rich in a variety of methods, which are conventionally divided into:

— methods of analysis and assessment of personality (testing, observation, survey);

— methods of studying and assessing socio-psychological phenomena in communities (sociometric method, observation, survey);

— methods for diagnosing and analyzing contradictions (analysis of activity results, observation, survey);

— methods of managing confrontations (cartography method, structural methods).

In addition, conflict management methods are divided into subjective and objective methods. Subjective methods presuppose an understanding of conflict as a completely natural social phenomenon. Objective – consider the conflict taking into account its assessment by the experiencing individual and opposing agents. Both methods only in unity are capable of providing accurate knowledge about the reality of the conflict. Their combined use makes it possible to understand the subjective aspect and the objective side of the confrontation, as well as the behavioral response associated with it.

How to take classes?

As has already been noted more than once, the materials of our conflict management training are maximally adapted for practical use, and for use by absolutely any person. But in no case should we forget that the decisive factor here is not the study of the material, but its practical use. Reading, studying, knowing a lot of useful and interesting things is, of course, good. But if knowledge that can be applied in life is not applied, its price will be low, because they will not bring you any benefit. Keep this in mind.

You can study each of the lessons step by step. As an example, here is a simple algorithm (but you can develop your own):

Day one - studying the material
Day two - re-studying the material to consolidate
Day three – applying the acquired knowledge in practice
Day four – summing up the application of the material from the lesson learned
Days five, six and seven – rest

Thus, it will take you a little more than a month to study this training. If this period seems too long for you, make your own schedule and study/practice, for example, not one lesson a week, but two. Find the option that is most comfortable for you.

I would also like to say that you need to not just apply a skill once, even successfully, but gradually and purposefully hone it in order to introduce it into the arsenal of actions that are familiar to you. Try to form a healthy habit (according to some studies, this takes 21 days).

During the learning process, use all kinds of auxiliary materials - a notebook, diary, organizer, computer or gadget. For example, set a beep in your smartphone's task scheduler at your scheduled study time to remind you that it's time to start studying. Or make a short note in a notebook every time you behaved effectively or ineffectively in a conflict situation. You can come up with anything - the main thing is that it is for your benefit.

Conflictology and law

At the intersection of two sciences – conflictology and jurisprudence – another particular branch of the science of disagreement has emerged: legal conflictology. This is a branch of knowledge that studies ways to prevent the resolution of conflicts that arise when subjects of law collide. It is designed to identify patterns that are characteristic of this particular category of disagreement.

Legal conflictology is a branch of knowledge of character, both psychological and legal. This duality is due to its inseparability from both disciplines. The scope of its application demonstrates the unambiguity of legal norms. It also operates with sociological and psychological knowledge and is for the most part an applied discipline.

Concept and general characteristics of social conflictology

Definition 1
Social conflictology is a section of general conflictology, as a complex scientific discipline, the objectives of which are to study the nature, content, causes and patterns of the emergence and development of conflicts, as well as ways to resolve them, specializing in the study of conflicts between social actors, communities and institutions .

The most important essential characteristics of any scientific discipline are the object and subject of research. Thus, the object of social conflictology is the social contradictions and conflicts existing in all spheres of public life.

In turn, the subject of social conflictology is the study of the nature, causes and mechanisms of social conflicts. In more detail, it can be noted that social conflictology studies:

Conflicts themselves, as a form of external expression of the contradictions existing in society;
Elements of the structure and subject composition of social conflicts, including ideas and values shared by participants in social conflicts with opposing interests;
The dynamics of social conflicts, i.e. the process and conditions of social contradictions, including the stages of formation, development and resolution of the conflict, as well as preventing its recurrence in the future;
Various types of conflict situations and the social tensions and contradictions that precede them, etc.

Finished works on a similar topic

Course work Social conflictology 440 rub.
Abstract Social conflictology 260 rub.
Test work Social conflictology 240 rub.

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Speaking about the subject composition of conflicts studied within the framework of social conflictology, it should be noted that within the framework of the designated discipline, conflicts that arise between social groups, classes, as well as within specific social institutions - family, state, political parties, etc. are analyzed.

Is conflictology a branch of knowledge of a theoretical or applied nature?

It is much easier to find a solution in other disciplines. Mathematicians study abstract numbers. The subject of study of physics or chemistry is also phenomena of the real world. But when it comes to conflict management, it is very difficult for a researcher to even confirm his status as a scientist. However, this makes this science no less (and perhaps even more) important than other branches of scientific knowledge. After all, who knows whether humanity will be able to use scientific and technological progress wisely, also applying knowledge on how to avoid conflicts?

Conflictology is a branch (whether it is applied or theoretical, follows from the direction of its research), which has its origins in philosophy and psychology. She uses the methodological apparatus of these sciences. Conflictology is a branch of knowledge of a theoretical and applied nature. It is aimed at solving specific problems, solving social problems, practical issues related to politics, economics, and law.