Emotions

Beyond Intractability: A Free Knowledge Base on More Constructive Approaches to Destructive Conflict

Emotions

	Emotions Negotiation theory often assumes that people in conflict behave rationally, but emotional factors also play a large role in people's attitudes and behaviors. This essay examines the importance of these emotional factors in both conflict assessment and response.
	Anger Anger can be constructive, but is more often destructive. This essay examines the interplay between anger and conflict and discusses when and how anger should be managed.
	Fear Fear is both a cause and a consequence of violent and some nonviolent conflicts. It certainly makes conflict resolution more difficult.
	Distrust Distrust can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy, where every move another person makes is interpreted as evidence to distrust him/her. When the other person reciprocates this sentiment, there is mutual distrust that further fuels the escalation of conflict.
	Guilt and Shame We feel guilty for what we do. We feel shame for what we are. Both lead to and are caused by conflict.
	Humiliation Humiliation is reducing to lowliness or submission. It is theorized to be a major cause of violent and intractable conflicts. The humiliation of the German people after World War I, for example, is frequently seen as a cause of World War II.
	Face From the correspondence between Kennedy and Khrushchev during the Cuban missile crisis, it is clear that they were trying to end the conflict while retaining their honor or "saving face." Understanding the concept of face is vital to resolving intractable conflict.

The means by which we live have outdistanced the ends for which we live. Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. -- Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Beyond Intractability Version IV
Copyright © 2003-2007 The Beyond Intractability Project
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Project Acknowledgements

The Beyond Intractability Knowledge Base Project
Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess, Co-Directors and Editors
c/o Conflict Information Consortium (Formerly Conflict Research Consortium), University of Colorado
Campus Box 580, Boulder, CO 80309
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