CONFLICT MANAGEMENT The Psychology of conflict and conflict ...

232 RAVER AND BARLING
Expanding the Range of Emotions and Integrating with Cognition
In reviewing research on emotions, Kumar (1989) concluded that different
emotions have different effects on conflict resolution, such that anger/
hostility tends to encourage aggressive actions, anxiety/threat tends to
encourage withdrawal approaches, and positive emotions encourage
helpfulness and cooperative conflict resolution approaches. Within the
aggression literature, perhaps due to consistent link between anger and
aggression (Hershcovis et al., 2007), much attention has been focused on
anger as an antecedent to aggression, with considerably less attention to
other emotions (for exceptions, see Fox et al., 2001; Miles et al., 2002). Yet
anger is by no means the only possible emotional antecedent to aggression.
For example, having a coworker point out one’s error to a supervisor
might result in anxiety or shame, rather than or in addition to anger, which
may result in indirect or passive forms of aggression such as withdrawing
support toward that coworker (cf., Folger & Skarlicki, 2005). Different
emotions are associated with different behavioral responses (Kumar,
1989), thus future research must systematically examine a broader range
of emotions in aggressive exchanges, along with their associated behavioral
intentions and behaviors. It is also important to integrate research
on emotions with the emphasis upon cognitive appraisals (previously
described) such that theoretical models that include both cognitive and
emotional appraisals are advanced and tested.
Aggression in Cross-Cultural and Diverse Contexts
There is no question that cross-cultural research has become an essential
part of the conflict and negotiation literature, where cross-national
investigations have revealed how the cultural context influences negotiators’
biases, goals, communication, and outcomes, among other factors
(Gelfand & Brett, 2004; Gelfand & Dyer, 2000). Conflict research has
also been sensitive to within cultural diversity, including investigations
of how group diversity influences the nature of conflict in groups, and
subsequent outcomes (for a review, see Dirks & Parks, 2003). In contrast,
workplace aggression research has not evidenced much attention to how
aggression is influenced by cross-cultural and within-cultural diversity.
This is an important avenue for future research.
Cross-Cultural Differences in Aggression. National culture is likely to
influence the reasons for aggression and the forms aggression takes.
Commonly cited triggers for aggression include goal obstruction; violation
of rules, norms, or promises; and status or power derogation (Bies &
Tripp, 2005). Given that norms and the emphasis upon status vary considerably
across nations (Gelfand, Nishii, & Raver, 2006; Schwartz, 1994), triggers
based upon norm violations and insults to one’s status should vary