Decision Making and Conflict

Conflict is inevitable in dynamic group decision making, however, it is generally not managed strategically. Instead, individuals' natural conflict styles are allowed to exist and evolve with little or no understanding of how conflict escalation affects discussion and resolution. Also, Motivation is generally not used to affect how conflict might be used constructively to overcome group decision making pathologies. This study examines two areas. One, how does motivation (either negative or positive) affect an individual's natural tendency to be assertive or unassertive and cooperative or uncooperative in a group setting? And, two, how does the escalation of conflict affect these same preferences? A new Psychometric instrument called the Todd-Cambridge Instrument (for measuring the traditional Five-Zone Preferred Conflict Handling Mode, or PCHM) is applied within a seldom used, but effective setting - by introducing vignettes to influence in a sudden fashion what has traditionally been viewed as a static measurement. Although targeted at researchers in group decision making, this study will also prove valuable for researchers in innovative survey techniques.