Conflict

Conflict is the arousal of two or more strong motives that cannot be solved together. They’re often unconscious, and the source of conflict unclear. The culture disapproves of many strong impulses—fear, hostility—so we learn as children not to acknowledge them, even to ourselves. When such impulses are involved in a conflict, we become anxious without knowing why and can be less rational in our thinking to help resolve the source of distress. Barriers to resolving conflict are defensiveness, dismissing topics as unimportant, jumping to conclusions without facts, not listening, unable to empathize or to stay calm. Common causes for conflict are different or misaligned perspectives, incentives, or goals—or different viewpoints due to life experiences, expertise, value sets, or goals. Also see: Approach-Avoidance Conflict