Group conflict
Encyclopedia
Group conflict, or hostilities between different groups, is a pervasive feature common to all levels of social organization (e.g., sports teams, ethnic groups, nations, religions, gangs).. Although group conflict is one of the most complex phenomena studied by social scientists, the history of the human race evidences a series of group-level conflicts that have gained notoriety over the years. For example, from 1820 to 1945, it has been estimated that at least 59 million persons were killed during conflicts between groups of one type or another. Literature suggests that the number of fatalities nearly doubled between the years 1914 to 1964 as a result of further group conflict.
Group conflict can be separated into two sub-categories of conflict: inter-group conflict (in which distinct groups of individuals are at odds with one another), and intra-group conflict (in which select individuals a part of the same group clash with one another). Although both forms of conflict have the ability to spiral upward in severity, it has been noted that conflict present at the group level (i.e., inter-group rivalries) is generally considered to be more powerful than conflict present at an individual level – a phenomenon known as the discontinuity effect
.
, specifically the discontinuity effect
of inter-group conflict, suggests that 'groups are generally even more competitive and aggressive than individuals'. Two main sources of intergroup conflict have been identified: 'competition for valued material resources, according to realistic conflict theory
, or for social rewards like respect and esteem...as described by relative deprivation theory '
Group conflict can easily enter an escalating spiral of hostility marked by polarisation
of views into black and white, with comparable actions viewed in diametrically opposite ways: 'we offer concessions, but they attempt to lure us with ploys. We are steadfast and courageous, but they are unyielding, irrational, stubborn, and blinded by ideology'.
It is widely believed that intergroup and intragroup hostility are (at least to some degree) inversely related: that 'there is, unhappily, an inverse relationship between external wars and internal strife'. Thus 'in politics, for example, everyone can get an extraordinarily comforting feeling of mutual support from their group by focussing on an enemy'. Freud described a similarly quasi-benign version, whereby 'it is precisely communities with adjoining territories, and related to each other in other ways as well, who are engaged in constant feuds and ridiculing each other - like the Spaniards and Portuguese, for instance...[as] a convenient and relatively harmless satisfaction of the inclination to aggression, by means of which cohesion between the mebers of the community is made easier'. The harder version of the theory would suggest that 'pent-up sub-group aggression, if it cannot combine with the pent-up aggression of other sub-groups to attack a common, foreign enemy, will vent itself in the form of riots, persecutions and rebellions'.
Injustice: At the individual level, this belief revolves around perceived mistreatment by others, and/or the world at large. At the group level, this translates to a worldview that the ingroup has significant and legitimate grievances against an outgroup. This belief is seen as contributing greatly to the impetus for war over the past two centuries, as the majority of wars in that time period have centered on issues of justice rather than security or power (Welch, 1993).
Vulnerability: At the individual level, vulnerability refers to a person's belief that he or she is living perpetually in harm's way. At the group level, this belief is manifested in the form of fears about the future. Chirot (2001) notes that the genocides of Armenia, Germany, Cambodia, and Rwanda shared a common belief that "if they did not destroy their real or imagined enemies first, they would themselves be annihilated" (p. 10).
Distrust: At the individual level, this belief focuses on the presumed intent of others to cause harm and/or exhibit hostility. The notion of trust is often seen by psychologists as the first challenge of psychsocial development. At the group level, this worldview focuses specifically on the perspective that outgroups and dishonest and untrustworthy. In more extreme manifestations, this belief is similar to collective paranoia, which is defined as collectively held beliefs, either false or exaggerated that cluster around ideas of being harmed, harrassed, threatened, or otherwise disaparaged by malevolent outgroups
Helplessness: At the individual level, helplessness focuses on the belief that even carefully planned and executed actions will fail to produce the desired outcome. When taken at the group level, it translates into a collective mindset of powerlessness and dependency. Helplessness, when it exists as a shared belief within a group, serves as a constraint on organized political movement, as those who participate in a social movement must see themselves as capable of righting the wrongs they perceive .
Process Conflict: Process conflict refers to disagreement over the methods or procedures the group should use in order to complete its tasks. It occurs when strategies, policies, and procedures clash. For example, some group members may suggest discussing conflicting ideas, while other group members prefer to put conflicting ideas to a vote. In essence, during procedural conflicts, group members disagree on how to disagree. Situations of procedural conflict can be preemptively minimized by adopting formal rules (e.g., bylaws, constitutions, statements of policies) that specify goals, decisional processes, and responsibilities.
Personal Conflict: Personal conflicts, also known as affective conflicts, personality conflicts, emotional conflicts, or relationship conflicts, are conflicts that occur when group members dislike one another. Personal dislikes do not always result in conflict, but people often mention their negative feelings toward another group member when complaining about their groups. Also, there is evidence that a large proportion of group conflicts are indeed personal conflicts. One study of high level corporate executives revealed that 40% of disputes were due to "individual enmity between the principals without specific reference to other issues" (Morrill, 1995, p. 69). Criticism, when one person evaluates another, or his/her work negatively, is one common cause of personal conflict.
) 'infighting is a key site for culture...concretizes cultural conversations'.
Among extremists 'threatened by the existence of anyone else, unless that other person's views seem identical to his own', however, infighting and group fissions become the destructive norm: 'they're all splitting up so fast...they seem to attack each other more than they attack their "real enemies" on the other side of the political spectrum'.
Using constructive conflict within small groups by bringing up problems and alternative solutions (while still valuing others) allows the group to work forward. While 'conflict may involve interpersonal as well as task issues', keeping a window open for dissent can prove very advantageous, as where a company 'reaped big benefits because it did not simply try to suppress conflict, but allowed minority influence to prevail'.
On the other hand, there is evidence that an organizational culture of disrespect unproductively 'generates a morass of status
games and infighting..."it's made people turn against each other"' - so that for example 'sexual harassment
becomes a chronic accompaniment to broader patterns of infighting'.
saw the roots of intra-group aggression in a regression to the 'narcissistic
moment in the subject', highlighting 'the aggressivity involved in the effects of all regression, all arrested development, all rejection of typical development in the subject'. Neville Symington
also saw narcissism as a key element in group conflict, singling out 'organizations so riven by narcissistic currents that...little creative work was done'. Such settings provide an opening for 'many egoistic
instinct-feelings - as the desire to dominate and humiliate your fellow, the love of conflict - your courage and power against mine - the satisfaction of being the object of jealousy
, the pleasures derived from the exercise of cunning, deceit and concealment'.
Nevertheless, for all their insights, psychologists have not been able to evade the constraints of group conflict themselves: 'Envy, rivalry, power conflicts, the formation of small groups, resulting in discord and intrigue, are a matter of course' in the psychoanalytic
world, for example, with institutions being 'caught up in the factionalism of the ...struggle between the ins and the outs'.
saw 'collective violence as sacred...[as] the great remedy for communal life'. He saw the violence directed at the group scapegoat
as 'absorbing all the internal tensions, feuds, and rivalries pent up within the community...a deliberate act of collective substitution'.
His view parallels the Freudian approach, rooted in Totem and Taboo
, which considers that 'transgression... is at the origin of a higher complexity, something to which the realm of civilization owes its development'. Freud saw violence as standing at the root of the social bond - 'what prevails is no longer the violence of an individual but that of a community' - and thus 'politics made out of delinquency...the social contract establishes corporate virtue as an asylum for individual sin'.
Girard concluded therefore that regression and 'the dissolution of differences encourages the proliferation of the double bind
...spells the disintegration of social institutions', to reveal the group conflict latent at their core.
Robert Ardrey, The Territorial Imperative (1967)
R. F. Bales et al, SYMLOG: A System for the Multiple Level Observation of Groups (1979)
Simon Adams, "Faction, Clientage, and Party" History Today Vol 32 (1982)33-39
Group conflict can be separated into two sub-categories of conflict: inter-group conflict (in which distinct groups of individuals are at odds with one another), and intra-group conflict (in which select individuals a part of the same group clash with one another). Although both forms of conflict have the ability to spiral upward in severity, it has been noted that conflict present at the group level (i.e., inter-group rivalries) is generally considered to be more powerful than conflict present at an individual level – a phenomenon known as the discontinuity effect
Discontinuity effect
The discontinuity effect is known as the tendency for the competitiveness displayed between different, interacting groups to be out of proportion and markedly greater to the competitiveness displayed between interacting individuals...
.
Sources of intergroup conflict
Social psychologySocial psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how people's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. By this definition, scientific refers to the empirical method of investigation. The terms thoughts, feelings, and behaviors include all...
, specifically the discontinuity effect
Discontinuity effect
The discontinuity effect is known as the tendency for the competitiveness displayed between different, interacting groups to be out of proportion and markedly greater to the competitiveness displayed between interacting individuals...
of inter-group conflict, suggests that 'groups are generally even more competitive and aggressive than individuals'. Two main sources of intergroup conflict have been identified: 'competition for valued material resources, according to realistic conflict theory
Realistic conflict theory
Realistic conflict theory dates back to the beginning of the 20th century as one of the earliest of social psychological theories regarding prejudice and discrimination. Realistic conflict theory proposes that intergroup conflicts arise between groups as they compete over the same limited resources...
, or for social rewards like respect and esteem...as described by relative deprivation theory '
Group conflict can easily enter an escalating spiral of hostility marked by polarisation
Splitting (psychology)
Splitting may mean two things: splitting of the mind, and splitting of mental concepts . The latter is thinking purely in extremes Splitting (also called all-or-nothing thinking in cognitive distortion) may mean two things: splitting of the mind, and splitting of mental concepts (or black and...
of views into black and white, with comparable actions viewed in diametrically opposite ways: 'we offer concessions, but they attempt to lure us with ploys. We are steadfast and courageous, but they are unyielding, irrational, stubborn, and blinded by ideology'.
It is widely believed that intergroup and intragroup hostility are (at least to some degree) inversely related: that 'there is, unhappily, an inverse relationship between external wars and internal strife'. Thus 'in politics, for example, everyone can get an extraordinarily comforting feeling of mutual support from their group by focussing on an enemy'. Freud described a similarly quasi-benign version, whereby 'it is precisely communities with adjoining territories, and related to each other in other ways as well, who are engaged in constant feuds and ridiculing each other - like the Spaniards and Portuguese, for instance...[as] a convenient and relatively harmless satisfaction of the inclination to aggression, by means of which cohesion between the mebers of the community is made easier'. The harder version of the theory would suggest that 'pent-up sub-group aggression, if it cannot combine with the pent-up aggression of other sub-groups to attack a common, foreign enemy, will vent itself in the form of riots, persecutions and rebellions'.
Belief domains that contribute to intergroup conflict
Superiority: At an individual level, this belief revolves around a person's enduring notion that he or she is better than other people in important ways. At the group level, this translates into the belief that one's own group has a superior cultural heritage (e.g., history, values, language, tradition). The development of Hitler's ideology of Aryans as a 'master' race is one example of this belief.Injustice: At the individual level, this belief revolves around perceived mistreatment by others, and/or the world at large. At the group level, this translates to a worldview that the ingroup has significant and legitimate grievances against an outgroup. This belief is seen as contributing greatly to the impetus for war over the past two centuries, as the majority of wars in that time period have centered on issues of justice rather than security or power (Welch, 1993).
Vulnerability: At the individual level, vulnerability refers to a person's belief that he or she is living perpetually in harm's way. At the group level, this belief is manifested in the form of fears about the future. Chirot (2001) notes that the genocides of Armenia, Germany, Cambodia, and Rwanda shared a common belief that "if they did not destroy their real or imagined enemies first, they would themselves be annihilated" (p. 10).
Distrust: At the individual level, this belief focuses on the presumed intent of others to cause harm and/or exhibit hostility. The notion of trust is often seen by psychologists as the first challenge of psychsocial development. At the group level, this worldview focuses specifically on the perspective that outgroups and dishonest and untrustworthy. In more extreme manifestations, this belief is similar to collective paranoia, which is defined as collectively held beliefs, either false or exaggerated that cluster around ideas of being harmed, harrassed, threatened, or otherwise disaparaged by malevolent outgroups
Helplessness: At the individual level, helplessness focuses on the belief that even carefully planned and executed actions will fail to produce the desired outcome. When taken at the group level, it translates into a collective mindset of powerlessness and dependency. Helplessness, when it exists as a shared belief within a group, serves as a constraint on organized political movement, as those who participate in a social movement must see themselves as capable of righting the wrongs they perceive .
Sources of intragroup conflict
Task Conflict: Task conflict arises when intra-group members disagree on issues that are relevant to meeting shared goals. Effective groups and organizations make use of these conflicts to make plans, foster creativity, solve problems and resolve misunderstandings. However, people who disagree with the group do so at their own peril, even when their position is reasonable. Dissenters often receive a high level of animosity from other group members, are less well-liked, assigned low-status tasks, and are sometimes ostracized.Process Conflict: Process conflict refers to disagreement over the methods or procedures the group should use in order to complete its tasks. It occurs when strategies, policies, and procedures clash. For example, some group members may suggest discussing conflicting ideas, while other group members prefer to put conflicting ideas to a vote. In essence, during procedural conflicts, group members disagree on how to disagree. Situations of procedural conflict can be preemptively minimized by adopting formal rules (e.g., bylaws, constitutions, statements of policies) that specify goals, decisional processes, and responsibilities.
Personal Conflict: Personal conflicts, also known as affective conflicts, personality conflicts, emotional conflicts, or relationship conflicts, are conflicts that occur when group members dislike one another. Personal dislikes do not always result in conflict, but people often mention their negative feelings toward another group member when complaining about their groups. Also, there is evidence that a large proportion of group conflicts are indeed personal conflicts. One study of high level corporate executives revealed that 40% of disputes were due to "individual enmity between the principals without specific reference to other issues" (Morrill, 1995, p. 69). Criticism, when one person evaluates another, or his/her work negatively, is one common cause of personal conflict.
Political
Opinion is divided about the merits of infighting in political movements. Whereas 'the majority of scholars view infighting as sapping political potency', others argue that 'infighting's value lay in its potential to generate strategic possibilities and promote...acountability', and that (at least with respect to identity politicsIdentity politics
Identity politics are political arguments that focus upon the self interest and perspectives of self-identified social interest groups and ways in which people's politics may be shaped by aspects of their identity through race, class, religion, sexual orientation or traditional dominance...
) 'infighting is a key site for culture...concretizes cultural conversations'.
Among extremists 'threatened by the existence of anyone else, unless that other person's views seem identical to his own', however, infighting and group fissions become the destructive norm: 'they're all splitting up so fast...they seem to attack each other more than they attack their "real enemies" on the other side of the political spectrum'.
Small group
Within small goups, the same dichotomy exists. Granted that both constructive and destructive conflict occurs in most small groups, it is very important to accentuate the constructive conflict and minimize the destructive conflict. Conflict is bound to happen, but if used constructively need not be a bad thing.Using constructive conflict within small groups by bringing up problems and alternative solutions (while still valuing others) allows the group to work forward. While 'conflict may involve interpersonal as well as task issues', keeping a window open for dissent can prove very advantageous, as where a company 'reaped big benefits because it did not simply try to suppress conflict, but allowed minority influence to prevail'.
On the other hand, there is evidence that an organizational culture of disrespect unproductively 'generates a morass of status
Status
Status , is a state, condition, or situation.Status may also refer to:* Social status, in sociology** Achieved status** Ascribed status** Master status** Political status** Socioeconomic status** Sociometric status...
games and infighting..."it's made people turn against each other"' - so that for example 'sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
becomes a chronic accompaniment to broader patterns of infighting'.
Psychology
LacanLacan
Lacan is surname of:* Jacques Lacan , French psychoanalyst and psychiatrist** The Seminars of Jacques Lacan** From Bakunin to Lacan: Anti-Authoritarianism and the Dislocation of Power, a book on political philosophy by Saul Newman** Lacan at the Scene* Judith Miller, née Lacan...
saw the roots of intra-group aggression in a regression to the 'narcissistic
Narcissism
Narcissism is a term with a wide range of meanings, depending on whether it is used to describe a central concept of psychoanalytic theory, a mental illness, a social or cultural problem, or simply a personality trait...
moment in the subject', highlighting 'the aggressivity involved in the effects of all regression, all arrested development, all rejection of typical development in the subject'. Neville Symington
Neville Symington
Neville Symington, a member of the Middle Group of British Psychoanalysts, 'has trodden a long and interesting path...tak[ing] him from his birthplace in Portugal, via England, to Australia, and with membership of the Port Wine Trade, the Catholic Church, the Tavistock Clinic, and the British...
also saw narcissism as a key element in group conflict, singling out 'organizations so riven by narcissistic currents that...little creative work was done'. Such settings provide an opening for 'many egoistic
Egotism
Egotism is "characterized by an exaggerated estimate of one's intellect, ability, importance, appearance, wit, or other valued personal characteristics" – the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself....
instinct-feelings - as the desire to dominate and humiliate your fellow, the love of conflict - your courage and power against mine - the satisfaction of being the object of jealousy
Jealousy
Jealousy is a second emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, particularly in reference to a human connection. Jealousy often consists of a combination of presenting emotions...
, the pleasures derived from the exercise of cunning, deceit and concealment'.
Nevertheless, for all their insights, psychologists have not been able to evade the constraints of group conflict themselves: 'Envy, rivalry, power conflicts, the formation of small groups, resulting in discord and intrigue, are a matter of course' in the psychoanalytic
Psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis is a psychological theory developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud. Psychoanalysis has expanded, been criticized and developed in different directions, mostly by some of Freud's former students, such as Alfred Adler and Carl Gustav...
world, for example, with institutions being 'caught up in the factionalism of the ...struggle between the ins and the outs'.
Girard
René GirardRené Girard
René Girard is a French historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science. His work belongs to the tradition of anthropological philosophy...
saw 'collective violence as sacred...[as] the great remedy for communal life'. He saw the violence directed at the group scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
as 'absorbing all the internal tensions, feuds, and rivalries pent up within the community...a deliberate act of collective substitution'.
His view parallels the Freudian approach, rooted in Totem and Taboo
Totem and Taboo
Totem and Taboo: Resemblances Between the Mental Lives of Savages and Neurotics is a book by Sigmund Freud published in German in 1913 under the title Totem und Tabu: Einige Übereinstimmungen im Seelenleben der Wilden und der Neurotiker...
, which considers that 'transgression... is at the origin of a higher complexity, something to which the realm of civilization owes its development'. Freud saw violence as standing at the root of the social bond - 'what prevails is no longer the violence of an individual but that of a community' - and thus 'politics made out of delinquency...the social contract establishes corporate virtue as an asylum for individual sin'.
Girard concluded therefore that regression and 'the dissolution of differences encourages the proliferation of the double bind
Double bind
A double bind is an emotionally distressing dilemma in communication in which an individual receives two or more conflicting messages, in which one message negates the other. This creates a situation in which a successful response to one message results in a failed response to the other , so that...
...spells the disintegration of social institutions', to reveal the group conflict latent at their core.
Literary examples
- SallustSallustGaius Sallustius Crispus, generally known simply as Sallust , a Roman historian, belonged to a well-known plebeian family, and was born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines...
considered that the civil feuds which brought down the Roman Republic 'had set in when the destruction of Rome's mighty enemy Carthage left her without an incentive to self-discipline'.
- Shakespeare had Henry IV urge his son, 'Be it thy course to busy giddy minds/With foreign quarrels'
- SwiftJonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
's view of the divided Tory party at the end of Queen Anne's reign was that 'a ship's crew quarrelling in a storm, or while their enemies are within gunshot, is but a faint idea of this infatuation'.
See also
Further Reading
Donald C. Ellis, Transforming Conflict (2006)Robert Ardrey, The Territorial Imperative (1967)
R. F. Bales et al, SYMLOG: A System for the Multiple Level Observation of Groups (1979)
Simon Adams, "Faction, Clientage, and Party" History Today Vol 32 (1982)33-39