Reducing organizational conflict: An incompatible response approach

Abstract

186 undergraduates played the role of executives and discussed important organizational issues with a confederate, who disagreed strongly with each S's views. Disagreement was expressed in a calm and reasonable manner or in an arrogant and condescending fashion. Ss were then exposed to 1 of 3 treatment conditions (sympathy, gratitude, or amusement) designed to induce positive states incompatible with anger or to a no-treatment control condition. Results show that relative to the control condition the 3 treatment conditions improved Ss' moods, enhanced their impressions of the confederate, and increased their preference for constructive as opposed to destructive modes of dealing with conflict. Disagreement expressed in a condescending manner produced significantly more negative effects on all dependent measures than disagreement expressed in a reasonable fashion. (20 ref) (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)