Conflict: not too much, not too little, and how to make it constructive - some research suggestions (second post)
Originally added on Sat, 21/05/2011 - 06:17Last updated on Thu, 09/06/2011 - 09:43
I wrote yesterday about conflict and the costs of over- and under-assertiveness. Today's post adds further thoughts about making conflict constructive.
Conflict: not too much, not too little, and how to make it constructive - some research suggestions (first post)
Originally added on Fri, 20/05/2011 - 05:13Last updated on Mon, 06/06/2011 - 05:18
Occasional disagreement and conflict are pretty much inevitable. I scanned Medline for relevant research articles to see if there are any helpful insights that have emerged recently. As usual when one trawls for information, hundreds of publications emerge. Here are a few of the areas I found particularly interesting.
Recent research: articles from December journals
Originally added on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 15:01Last updated on Thu, 21/01/2010 - 15:17
I read a lot of research. When I find an article of particular interest I download it to my bibliographic database - EndNote - which currently contains over 13,800 abstracts.
Recent research: six studies on positive psychology, goals, relationships, caregiving, mindfulness & nature
Originally added on Thu, 27/08/2009 - 19:10Last updated on Sat, 29/08/2009 - 19:14
Here are half a dozen studies that one could loosely put under the broad umbrella of positive psychology. Zorba the Greek said "Take what you want and pay for it, says God." and Niemiec et al's study, on the effects of achieving different kinds of goal, supports this statement (for all six research studies mentioned in this blog post see below for abstracts and links). Quoting Niemiec et al's somewhat awkward language: "The relation of aspiration attainment to psychological health was found to differ as a function of the content of the goals. Attainment of the intrinsic aspirations for personal growth, close relationships, community involvement, and physical health related positively to basic psychological need satisfaction and psychological health.
Recent research: six studies on couples - attraction, touch, viewpoint, comparison, empathy & sex
Originally added on Thu, 04/12/2008 - 05:28Last updated on Thu, 04/12/2008 - 07:22
Here are half a dozen recent studies on men & women. Elliot & Niesta found that red, relative to other colours, lead men to view women as "more attractive and sexually desirable". Holt-Lundstad & colleagues randomized couples to a "support enhancement intervention" involving shared gentle massage for 30 minutes three times weekly or a control group. There were encouraging effects of the "warm touch" on multiple stress-sensitive systems including husbands' blood pressure. Koo et al found that writing about how something good might not have happened (e.g. how one might never have met one's romantic partner) produced more satisfaction (with the relationship) than writing about how the positive event actually had happened (e.g.
Peer groups: Wiston autumn group – first reflection
Originally added on Tue, 11/11/2008 - 07:37Last updated on Tue, 02/12/2008 - 06:45
When I woke this morning I lay for a few minutes, asked myself how I felt, went inside, and there's sadness, a sense of tears in my chest. And when I touch the sadness, try to sense what it's about, it seems about "missing", missing warmth, the hugs, a sea of kindness and smiling faces (and, of course, there's my mother's illness too). I guess that's what it was like for me at the group. In the morning, every single one of the other 36 men seemed more than happy to greet me with a big caring smile and a big hug too. A sea of kindness, smiles, warmth. And I return from the Men's Group to a very loving family, a very loving wife, a phone call with a dear son, time with a loving mother - but I still feel this sadness in my chest. Something partly about brotherhood, and I know I can touch this kind of feeling too after the four day Spring Mixed Group. Something about warmth and love and acceptance and kindness. A sea of it.