1. conflict can rage from trivial to brutal
2. conflict can best be understood within this cultural persepctive

a dispute in which different values result in claims to rewards or resources that are in limited supply, and in which the main objective of the people engaged in the process is either to neutralize or to eliminate their opponent's prospects to win what is at stake.

Many conflicts develop over some commodity (reward or resource) that all the participants desire but that not all can have. 

Because what is important is how people behave during a conflict and especially the specific consequences of the process.  People in the conflict who decide whether it is productive or unproductive.

Unproductive

decrease in dedication.

anxiety and energy loss.

rapid speech or conversation.

excessive or compulsive behaviors.

attempts to sabotage or undermine.

Productive

friendly conversation.

open discussino and deliberation.

productive problem solving.

creativity and innovation.

careful and critical analysis.

predictions of how people will try to deal with various kinds of conflict situations

1. competitive- people who view all conflicts as win-lose events. concern for opponent is unimportant.
2. collaborative- seeking personal goals but also care about opponent's objectives.
3. compromising- people who fall somewhere between competitive and collaborative. can be incorrectly interpreted as giving in.
4. avoidance- do not expect to attain personal goals, nor are they sympathetic to opponent's goals.  refuse to engage in conflict.
5. accommodating- opposite of competitive, they are passive. forgo their goals, allowing their opponent to reach their goals.

Meanings- people missunderstand them and construct them different than the sender had constructed them.

Contextual factors- physical setting, sociocultural situations, and social relationships in which people communicate.

a continuing set of transactions in which proposed solutions are communicated back and forth between opponents for the goal of reaching agreement on ways to resolve a conflict.

concern the most feasible way to negotiate conflicts through the use of carefully planned communication.

1. don't bargain over positions- Trying to defend different positions brings more disagreement.
2. separate the people from the problem- look beyond personal characteristics and suspected motives.
3. focus on interests, not positions.
4. invent options for mutual gain.
5. insist on using objective criteria- make mutually agreed upon rules.
6. develop the best alternative- know exactly what the bottom line will be to solve the conflict.
7. cope with resistance to negotiation.
8. deflect dirty tricks.