Interpersonal Conflict Analysis
Conflict Climates
The idea of a conflict climate refers to “the psychological atmosphere impacting a conflict” (Abigail & Cahn, 2011, p. 103). For example, some conflict climates have a harmful atmosphere, others a nurturing atmosphere. Being aware of a conflict climate may require insider knowledge of a social situation because the climate is often subtly revealed in cultural norms, previous experience, and nonverbal expressions (e.g., tone of voice, facial expression). You probably have a good feel for the conflict climate in your own family, given years of experience as a family member. However, think about how you feel spending time with a friend’s or partner’s family for the first time, not knowing what is appropriate to say in what may seem in many ways like a new culture to you.
Family communication climates. Recognizing that children are born into very different communication climates, family communication scholars have set out to explore how conflict climates vary among families as well as the effects of those climates
on children. Based on early work by McLeod and Chaffee (1972), Fitzpatrick and colleagues identified two communication orientations (i.e., conversation orientation and conformity orientation) that influence family conflict climates (Fitzpatrick & Ritchie, 1994; Koerner & Fitzpatrick, 2004; Ritchie, 1991). Families can range from being low to high on each orientation. The conversation orientation refers to “the degree to which members interact frequently, openly share thoughts on any topic, and include others in decisions that involve them (high conversation) as opposed to families that interact less frequently, withhold private thoughts and information, and limit the input to decision making and exchange of ideas (low conversation)” (Flora & Segrin, 2015, p. 93). The conformity orientation describes whether families “encourage similar attitudes, beliefs, and values as well as interdependence and obedience to traditional family structure (high conformity) as opposed to families that value individuality in thought and expressions and independence among family members (low conformity)” (Flora & Segrin, 2015, p. 93).
As described in Table 8.2, Koerner and Fitzpatrick (1997) identify four family conflict climates to describe how parents and children deal with conflict based on being high or low in the conversation and conformity orientation.
