Validators also tend to focus too much on logistics and lose track of positivity and connection. It is essential to get to compromise, but it is equally important to make your partner feel seen and heard in their experience. Being conflict avoidant also impacts our relationships because we’re cutting off all honest communication with the other person. Accommodating demonstrates a low commitment to goals and high commitment to relationship. It occurs when a person ignores or overrides their own concerns to satisfy the concerns of the other marijuana addiction party.
Understanding the Intrapersonal Conflict
Another type of intrapersonal conflict involves role ambiguity. Perhaps https://ecosoberhouse.com/ you’ve been given the task of finding a trainer for a company’s business writing training program. You may feel unsure about what kind of person to hire—a well-known but expensive trainer or a local, unknown but low-priced trainer. If you haven’t been given guidelines about what’s expected, you may be wrestling with several options.

The Different Types of Conflict: Four Basic Types
They may appear shocked, enraged, and unconsciously distort the data in order to point the finger back at the other person. Confronting this type of person seems to start an endless drama with no productive resolution. In this case, it may be easier to diplomatically insert distance into the relationship. A person who is incapable of resolving conflict productively may have deeper issues that prevent them from being secure enough to own a mistake in a relationship. Without the ability to resolve conflict productively, resentment and distrust proliferates.
Understanding Confrontation in Personality Types
- However, avoidance is only a short-term solution; you can’t avoid most decisions forever.
- While attraction between attachment styles can lead to relationships, it’s important to note that they often come with unique challenges.
After doing research in the love lab, Gottman has identified five different types of couples. Three of the types—Conflict-Avoiding, Volatile, and Validating—are among those he believes to be relatively successful and adaptive. The two that are left, hostile and hostile-detached, are the most troublesome and likely to end in divorce, in his opinion. This type of avoidant couple tends to be the happiest couples, across all types, that we see in the lab.
Conflict Avoidance Doesn’t Do You Any Favors
” This saying generally refers to preventing embarrassment or preserving our reputation or image, which is similar to the concept of face in interpersonal and intercultural communication. These cultural factors influence whether we are more concerned with self-face or other-face and what types of conflict management strategies we may use. One key cultural influence on face negotiation is the distinction between individualistic and collectivistic cultures. One volatile partner might end up with another volatile partner but might also be married to a validator or conflict-avoidant partner. “Meta-emotion” refers to how we feel about emotions and whether we align in expressing them.
- Accommodating demonstrates a low commitment to goals and high commitment to relationship.
- The cooperative person is likely to react angrily, feeling betrayed.
- Jane is more likely to be hurt, defensive, and attack back without reflecting on her own behavior.
- A man wants to marry to lead a family life, but does not want the responsibilities of family life.
- Low self-esteem and self-worth also contribute significantly to conflict avoidance.
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While internal conflict can often feel uncomfortable or distressing, it also presents opportunities for growth, change, and a deeper understanding of ourselves and others. If you use aggression, intimidation and confrontation to win an argument or gain the upper hand during a disagreement, you respond competitively to conflict. Rather than focusing on understanding the other person’s points, thoughts and concerns, you focus on winning the conflict without compromising your position. This response to conflict does not address the substance of the disagreement; it emphasizes the outcome. It’s essential to remember that avoidance isn’t inherently negative; it often stems from a desire for harmony and connection. However, how to deal with someone who avoids conflict acknowledging these tendencies can empower us to address conflicts more constructively.

Discover how organizational psychology transforms employees into powerful brand advocates, boosting engagement and amplifying your company’s message. Discover how effective job design boosts employee satisfaction and productivity. Learn psychological insights to create impactful roles in your organization. By focusing on psychological safety, companies can build a positive work culture. It’s a journey that needs effort from everyone, but the benefits are huge. Studies show that unresolved conflicts can lead to a 140% higher turnover rate.
Approach versus Avoidance
While their husbands seek to withdraw, Hostile-Detached wives will keep fighting until both are entirely escalated and dysregulated. Hostile Couples will regulate their conflict, where the Hostile-Detached will keep fighting until they are exhausted and burned out. They have the same fights repeatedly with little understanding of how stuck they are in their own felt sense of being “right.” As someone once said, you can be right, or you can be married.