CONFLICT MANAGEMENT The Psychology of conflict and conflict ...

84 OLEKALNS, PUTNAM, WEINGART, AND METCALF
The Dual Concern Model
The conflict style approach was elaborated by Pruitt (1983; Pruitt & Carnevale,
1993) in the development of the dual concern model. This model
shifted the focus from generalized predispositions to strategic choice.
More specifically, the dual concern model provided a social psychological
approach to strategic choice based on the dual aspirations of maximizing
own versus others’ outcomes. Hence, the dual concern model is a descriptive
theory that aims to predict strategy use from the combination of both
concern for self and concern for other. It operates from the presumption
that concern about your own outcome is not in direct opposition to concern
about the other party’s outcomes (see Fig. 3.1).
Each strategy in the dual concern model is associated with a distinct set
of behaviors: (a) inaction (low concern for self and other)—doing nothing,
ignoring the topic, failure to confront, changing the subject; (b) yielding
(low concern for self, high concern for other)—glossing over differences,
obliging, and playing down the conflict; (c) contending (high concern for
self, low concern for other)—verbal dominance, repetition of goals, and
arguing persistently for one’s needs; and (d) problem solving (high concern
for self and other)—effective use of persuasive influence, statements of
willingness to collaborate, and statements indicating movement toward
resolution. Compromise is excluded from the dual concern model because
it surfaces as a “lazy” approach to problem solving that involves a halfhearted
attempt to satisfy both parties’ interests (Pruitt, 1983).
Concern for Other
High
Low
Low
Yielding
Avoiding
Concern for Self
fiGure 3.1. Dual concern model (Pruitt, 1983).
Problem
Solving
Contending
High
Integrative Dimension
Distributive Dimension