Classification, examples and consequences of social conflicts

Man since birth is inside the societywhich has a versatile influence on him.

He joins various social groups, relates his opinion to the opinions of other people, and gradually develops as a person.

But where there are people, there are social conflicts, linked to the incompatibility of opinions of both individuals and certain groups.

There are many examples of social conflictswhich, regardless of the specifics, invariably become the impetus for change and development.

What it is: concept

The word "conflict" from the Latin language is translated as "Clash".

There are many types of conflicts, such as political, legal, economic, social.

Social conflict - this is a clash of two or more parties, due to the presence of sharply expressed contradictions between them, such as a discrepancy of views, goals, interests.

Social conflicts may have a different scale: As parties to the conflict can be both individuals and multi-scale social communities.

The most significant soc. conflicts can lead to paramilitary clashes, civil wars, revolutions.

Causes of

The main causes and origins of social conflicts:

Differences in ideology and in the opinions of the parties as a whole. The opinion of one person (or social group) regarding certain situations may differ radically from the opinion of another person (or another social group). For example, a man has soft liberal, partly pro-feminist views, and his father is an ardent conservative who is sure that a woman has a place somewhere between the kitchen and the children's room. If the father tries to impose his own views on the son regarding the organization of relations with women, this may be the impetus for the development of the conflict.

Differences in perception of goals; having goals on one side that differ from goals pursued by the other side. The probability of a conflict is especially high if the achievement of a goal by one side automatically deprives the other side of the opportunity to satisfy its needs and achieve its own goal.
Social and economic inequality. Common reason for the development of different-scale social conflicts. If one of the parties considers that they were treated unfairly and its needs were ignored, and the other side, on the contrary, receives even more than it needs, conflict is inevitable. The struggle against social and economic inequality lies at the heart of a multitude of movements and ideologies.
Other reasons. Various logical errors, misunderstandings can also become the basis of a conflict. In such cases, one or several conflicting parties for some reason incorrectly interpreted certain events, actions, behavior, or received incomplete or deliberately erroneous information.

The causes of social conflicts are their foundation, reliance, what makes conflict so. At the same time, reasons should not be confused with the reason.

Occasion - This is a kind of trigger that activates the standoff.

As a reason, there can be something (a situation, an event) that can overflow the patience of one or several parties to the conflict. In this case, the starting situation itself usually does not work if the causes of the conflict are absent.

What is social conflict? Find out from the video:

Classification

Conflicts are divided by:

The reasons for the appearance. There are subjective and objective reasons for the development of the conflict. Objective reasons arise in the absence of control by the individual, and the subjective ones are controlled by him in one way or another and are closely connected with his personality, character, priorities, goals, and interests.
Level of openness Conflicts are divided into open and closed. Open conflicts mean situations where the parties directly express their own discontent: quarrel, insult opponents, argue, resort to violence.
Closed conflicts are not always noticeable to others, they use indirect methods of influence.
The position of the conflicting parties. If one side of the conflict is in a higher position and has more power than the other, such conflicts are called vertical. If the parties conflict, the parties to which are generally equal to each other, such a conflict is horizontal. Accordingly, the vertical can be equated with the conflict between parents and minor children, between teacher and student, between boss and subordinate, and so on, and horizontal conflicts usually relate to relationships in groups.

The composition of the parties. If the conflict is not related to inconsistencies of ideology or opinion, and the participants are not related to different ideological communities, this conflict is called interpersonal. The group includes conflicts in which the parties belong to separate social communities. There are also political conflicts that are divided into domestic and foreign policy.
Features of influence on the participants. Conflicts can vary in duration (short-term, long-term), degrees of scale (global, regional, group, personal), manifestations.
Content. If the basis of the conflict is the subjective dislike that the parties feel towards each other, then such conflicts are called emotional.
If the essence of the conflict is under a reliable and reasonable argument and is not directly related to personal hostility, then this is a rational conflict.

Also social conflicts in psychology are divided into types:

socio-political;
social and labor;
socio-psychological;
family living;
spiritual and moral;
ideological;
environmental;
legal

Stages of development

Stages of development of social conflicts:

The first. This is the introductory, pre-conflict stage, which is also divided into hidden and open stages. At the latent stage, the conflict is only beginning to emerge, the parties interpret what is happening and its causes, and at the open stage the first moderate confrontations begin.
The second. At the first stage of the second stage, the parties form a desire to continue the opposition, a pronounced enmity appears. The conflict is gradually intensifying. At the second stage, a breakdown occurs: the participants in the conflict compare their formed image of the opponent with the real one, and the situation develops depending on their conclusions.
Third. This is a mature stage of conflict, during which the parties make the first attempts to solve the problem, look for ways to do this.
The fourth. At this stage, the conflict disappears entirely or partially.

Description of the stages of social conflict in this video:

Structure

The conflict structure includes these components:

The participants. Individuals and certain social associations such as organizations, ideological movements, and other communities can act as participants.
Participants in a social conflict may even be a state.
Thing. The subject implies the very essence of the conflict - a contradiction that has arisen between the participants.
An object. This is a kind of benefit that the parties to the conflict are seeking. These can be material benefits, power, the preservation of certain spiritual norms, the achievement of a goal, and much more.
Macromedia and microenvironment. The conditions of the microenvironment and macroenvironment should be taken into account for all parties to the conflict. The microenvironment is the people who surround the conflicting parties and with whom they interact, and the macroenvironment is the social communities in which the participants belong.

Functions and Role

Social conflict is a multifaceted phenomenon that can lead to unpredictable results.

Historically, conflicts have been one of the engines of progress., especially global ones, since due to them serious intrastate and interstate changes took place: wars began and ended, new laws were created and old laws disappeared, governments were replaced.

Small conflicts - those that occur between individuals or relatively small social groups - are also able to push the individuals participating in them to develop or, conversely, lead them to degradation.

Conflict first:

enables participants to realize that there is tension between them;
pushes them to look for a solution so that the situation ultimately brings a positive result;
partially eliminates the social tensions that have arisen among the participants.

Signs of

The main signs of conflict:

the presence of circumstances that the parties consider conflicting;
the presence of inconsistencies, contradictions in the views, goals, interests of the parties;
conflict interaction of participants;
the use of various methods of pressure on opponents (including physical, mental violence);
results of conflict interaction.

As a rule, conflict situations do not exclusively benefit the parties and much depends on the specific conflict and the individual characteristics of the participants.

It is also important to bear in mind that each of the participants and observers is able to differently assess the conflict and its outcome.

Effects

Consequences of conflicts:

The conflict situation can seriously undermine the psycho-emotional state of the participants, especially those who do not have a good stress tolerance. This entails the emergence of various mental diseases.
Separate conflicts threaten not only psychoemotional, but also physical health, if its participants resort to physical violence.
Conflicts also cause radical changes in the community, leading to the destruction of the existing social structures.

In this case, conflicts, as mentioned earlier, have and positive influencebecause they are capable of forcing participants to develop, improve their communication skills and empathy.

Exit paths

In order for a conflict to be successfully resolved, the following conditions must be met:

All parties to the conflict must comprehend the situation, understand the reasons what happened, determine what interests are pursuing opponents. This will allow them to better understand the essence of the conflict, and understanding is one of the keys to solving the problem.
It is imperative that all warring groups seek to solve the problems that caused enmity, and restore the world.
To do this, it is important for them to recognize the interests of their opponents and find something that can unite all the conflicting parties: a common goal.
All conflicting parties you need to look for ways to exit together out of conflict. For this to be possible, it is important for the parties to understand the essence of the conflict and to express readiness to discuss problems. Dialogue with opponents can be conducted jointly or through intermediaries.

Recommendations that allow you to quickly get out of the conflict:

When discussing joint issues, it is important to focus on specific issues.
Participants in conflicting groups need to reduce the psycho-emotional tensions of opponents. To do this, it is important to abandon the use of any form of psychological violence, such as ignoring, insulting, accusing, threatening, gas-luting, neglecting, devaluing the problems and needs of opponents.
In the process of discussion it is necessary to remain within the framework of courtesy, strive to respect the needs and experiences of opponents.
It is important for all participants to put a search for a compromise that suits everyone. This will minimize the damage from the conflict and restore good relations between the parties.

About the causes and ways of solving social conflicts in this video:

Examples from history and life

Example 1 In France at the end of the 1970s, a strike of students took place due to the presence of contradictions in the perception of the values of the youth of the sixties and the elderly General de Gaulle. The students also protested against the Fouche reform, because of which the quality of education suffered. Student riot was picked up by other social groups. The country's leadership used the fear of the people to see the new revolution for their own purposes, which made it possible to reduce the intensity of the conflict. A year later, the power in the country changed.
Example 2 The influence of the Orthodox Church on modern Russia is extremely large. It puts pressure on culture, and on education, and science, influences a country's policy. Not so long ago, the subject “Spiritual and moral culture” was introduced into the school curriculum, while in practice there were no alternatives for schoolchildren who had no relation to religion. This caused outrage of the scientific elite of the country. Famous academicians wrote appeals to the leaders of the country, gave interviews in newspapers. Many religious activists, in response to this, began to fight back.
Academic leaders proposed the subject “Naturalistic Ethics”, which replaced “Spiritual and moral culture” for schoolchildren, whose parents have no relation to religion.
She should be led by a teacher specializing in the natural sciences.
Example 3 A new employee was accepted into the cohesive team. In a short time she was promoted, which alerted the main team and caused anger and resentment among those who, in their opinion, deserved it much more. Participants began to express their dissatisfaction in every possible way: they refused to fulfill the requirements of the newcomer, openly laughed at her, insulted. To resolve the conflict, the girl conferred with the bosses. They arranged a meeting with the rest of the workers and discussed the conflict situation in a friendly atmosphere. The conflict was not completely settled, but the attitude towards the newcomer began to warm up gradually.

Despite the fact that mankind has long sought to reduce the number of conflicts to a minimum or completely eliminate their occurrence, they will inevitably arise again and againby requiring people to find a solution.

It is important to be aware of their positive impact on society and to do everything possible to ensure that the negative consequences are as low as possible.

Social conflict is a classic example and concept in this video: