Test Bank For Working through Conflict: Strategies for Relationships, Groups, and Organizations, 7th Edition

VI. Test Questions Test Questions Introduction The five questions below relate to the following conflict interaction between a manager and an employee: Manager: I need you to stay late tonight to finish the project. Employee: You know this project cannot be completed in one night. Manager: Well, you should still give it a try. Employee: Maybe it is you who should give it a try this time. 1. This conflict interaction can best be characterized as: a) a realistic, interpersonal conflict * b) a non-realistic, inter-group conflict c) a non-realistic, team conflict d) a non-realistic, interpersonal conflict e) a somewhat unrealistic, international conflict 2. What does this short segment of conflict indicate about the type of interdependence that exists between these two people? Briefly describe their interdependence and how it might lead to a cooperative or competitive response. (They are dependent upon each other for the successful completion of the project and how they both look to upper management. If the employee feels like he/she is treated unfairly, he/she could find strategies to compete with the manager — make him/her look bad, undermine the success of the project, etc..) 3. How does this workplace interaction illustrate the role of perceived interference in defining conflict? (If the employee really wants to go home on time that day, then the pressure from the manager to make him/her work is perceived as interference with the employee’s current goals and preference.) Copyright © 2013, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 121 4. Describe one way in which the employee might have an incentive to cooperate with the manager in this situation and one way in which the employee might have an incentive to compete with the manager. Incentive to compete: ( If this is a pattern of making unreasonable demands, the employee may want to stand up to the manager in this instance to stop the cycle of unreasonable requests. The employee would compete to protect his/her needs and reduce the manager’s power.) Incentive to cooperate: ( If the employee knows that the manager has done a lot of favors for him/her recently and has been flexible with time off requests, then the employee may decide that he/she should cooperate in hopes that the manager continues to be flexible and supportive in other ways.) 5. Assume that the manager continued this conflict interaction with her employee by saying: “Every employee on my team is required to work over-time at least three days per year. Just make tonight one of your three days.” Which value system is the manager using to try to settle this conflict with her employee? a) equity rule b) equality rule * c) needs-based rule d) winner take all rule e) gain/loss rule 6. Assume the employee continued this conflict interaction by saying to the manager: “I don’t have a way to appeal your requirement that we all need to work over time. All of us just have to comply with this demand whether we like it or not.” What kind of social justice is the employee appealing to in making this claim? a) cooperative justice b) distributive justice c) procedural justice * d) symbolic justice e) competitive justice 7. Procedural justice is primarily aimed at providing: a) an outcome that clearly favors one party b) an opportunity to convey forgiveness c) a fair process for addressing the conflict * d) the opportunity for both parties to save face e) a forum for the winner to take all of the resources he or she deserves Copyright © 2013, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 122 Chapter One: Communication and Conflict 1. Which of the following conflict behaviors would not be likely to occur in the differentiation phase of conflict? a) parties clarify their separate views on the issues b) parties emphasize differences that exist between them c) parties claim that the other person has caused the conflict d) parties challenge facts that the other person offers e) parties explore viable solutions to problems * 2. Which of the following statements best characterize the relationship between anxiety and conflict escalation? a) anxiety prevents rigidity of behavior and conflict escalation b) differentiation creates anxiety which produces rigidity of behavior and conflict escalation * c) anxiety is a sign that conflict escalation is about to decrease d) differentiation reduces peoples feelings of anxiety which allows for conflict de-escalation e) there is no relationship between anxiety and conflict escalation 3. Gerry is having a conflict with his father. In talking to his best friend about this conflict he says: “I’ve learned to just let this one go and not talk about it with him. This let’s us talk without all the emotion and strife.” Gerry’s comment suggests that he is relying n which of the following approaches in addressing the conflict with his father? a) moving slowly through differentiation of the conflict b) successfully turning towards an integration phase of the conflict c) avoiding differentiation of the conflict * d) engaging with differentiation of the conflict e) personalizing the conflict to heighten differences Questions 4, 5, 6 and 7 relate to the following conflict interaction between two college roommates who are setting up a new apartment they have rented for the year: Jamila: I would like to leave the windows in the living room without any curtains or blinds because the room is too dark otherwise. Kim: (With an indignant tone) No way. We need privacy. Who cares about the light? Jamila: Do you have to talk to me with that tone of voice? Kim: We always talk to each other this way. Copyright © 2013, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 123 4. According to confrontation episodes theory, Kim’s first response to Jamila would not be considered as the initiation of a confrontation episode. Why not? (It is a disagreement over preferences or choices, not a challenge regarding behavior or a rule of conduct.) 5. Jamila’s second comment is the initiation of a confrontation episode. Why? (“Jamila makes a charge that Kim violates a rule of conduct. Namely, that they should not talk to each other in a snide or sarcastic tone of voice.) 6. Kim’s response to Jamila’s confrontation (“We always talk to each other that way.”) could be considered which type of response in confrontation episodes theory? a) a claim that the rule is legitimate b) a claim that the rule is non-legitimate * c) a claim that there is a superceding rule d) a claim that the rule needs to be reaffirmed e) a claim that the rule has no remedy 7. Assume Kim’s response to Jamila’s confrontation had instead been: “ I know we both want to be careful about how we talk to each other otherwise we will have problems living together. I wasn’t being sarcastic, I was emphasizing my point.” In this case, Kim’s comment would be an illustration of which kind of response in confrontation episodes theory? a) she sees the rule as non-legitimate and admits the behavior b) she sees the rule as non-legitimate and she denies the behavior c) she sees the rule as non-legitimate and there is no resolution possible d) she sees the rule as legitimate but there is a superceding rule to consider e) she sees as the rule as legitimate but denies the behavior* 8. Climate analysis is useful for understanding conflict because: a) climate is always a source of anxiety for parties in conflict b) climate is always a source of tension release for parties in conflict c) climate provides a good sense of the substantive issues in the conflict d) climates are always competitive e) the climate influences the direction conflict interaction takes * Copyright © 2013, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 124 Chapter Two: The Inner Experience of Conflict 1. Jay is a teacher in an inner city elementary school. He experiences a great deal of frustration in the classroom dealing with unmotivated and unruly students. Lately he has noticed that he is getting testy with his fellow teachers, even though they are not doing anything that would warrant such treatment. From a psychodynamic perspective, his behavior toward the teachers might be characterized as: a) suppression of anxiety b) emotional contagion c) displacement * d) compulsiveness e) collusion 2. Parties in conflict sometimes continue to fight because being against someone else in a conflict supports the definition of their identity. They often do this even though they don’t acknowledge or recognize that this is the reason for the conflict escalation. From a psychodynamic perspective, this type of conflict behavior is characterized as: a) suppression b) conscious reactivity c) displacement d) compulsiveness e) collusion * 3. Tamika says she avoids getting into discussions of differences with her friends about almost any issue. She feels she isn’t good at building a case for her views and gets intimidated when others start debating with her. According to verbal aggressiveness theory, which of the following statements would be true? a) Tamika is likely to score high on the verbal argumentativeness scale b) Tamika is likely to become verbally aggressive in certain situations * c) Tamika is likely to join a debate club d) Tamika is likely to improve her abilities to deliver her arguments e) Tamika is likely to suppress her hidden desire to argue well 4. If you work with someone who is low in argumentative skills, there are several different approaches to communicating with them to help them avoid becoming verbally aggressive. Describe two possible approaches you could try. (Advance notice of a discussion; summary of your views prior to discussion; let Them speak first; paraphrase their arguments before you respond with your views; Avoid having a discussion with them about differences in front of other people) Copyright © 2013, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 125 5. Energy is an emotion that can significantly affect an unfolding conflict. Which of the following statements is NOT an accurate characterization about the nature and role of energy in conflict? a) high energy levels in conflict are associated with feelings of guilt* b) people’s energy levels are correlated with keeping focused attention c) feeling capable about meeting a challenge tends to increase energy d) positive reinforcement and encouragement from others tends to increase energy e) people tend to seek out situations or experiences that enhance and prolong energy 6. Emotional contagion can best be described as: a) the disease of being overly emotional in conflict b) the power of emotions to de-escalate conflicts c) the tendency for people to reciprocate emotional responses * d) the disabling effects of withholding emotions e) the increase in emotion when settlements are near Questions 7 and 8 refer to the following conflict interaction that occurred between two administrative assistants in an office: Sara: I gave you my completed half of the project late yesterday afternoon. Bethany: I guess you were late because of all the work that got dumped on you. Sara: Right. I was overloaded. 7. Bethany made an attribution about Sara’s behavior in this interaction. Explain what the attribution is and why you see her attribution as being either dispositional or situational. (The attribution: Bethany gave a reason for why Sara’s work was late. It is a situational attribution. She sees it as being due to circumstances not Sara’s personality or character.) 8. As a conflict strategy, Bethany’s response to Sara could be called: a) an integrative strategy * b) a distributive strategy c) an avoidant strategy d) a self-serving bias strategy e) a fundamental error strategy 9. Two cognitive processes are known to be involved in the generation of our emotional states. Explain the role of both primary and secondary appraisals in the generation of emotional states. Primary appraisals determine whether we experience affect as positive or Copyright © 2013, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 126 negative and whether it is likely to block our personal goal attainment Secondary appraisals identify what the emotion is that we are experiencing— it helps us to label our emotional feeling 10. People use various frames to interpret conflict and to decide how to respond. Which type of frame captures how concerned a person is about maintaining a good relationship with the other person? a) instrumentality frame b) affect frame c) face frame d) affiliation frame * e) distributiveness frame Copyright © 2013, 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 127