Definition
- Conflict: A disagreement or incompatibility between individuals or groups, ranging from prejudice to overt discriminatory behavior and bias.
- Conflict Resolution: Strategies aimed at reducing or eliminating intergroup conflict.
Origins of Conflict
Sociocultural Explanations
- Social identity theory (SIT): conflict originates from social categorization (in-group vs. out-group distinctions).
- Realistic group conflict theory (RGCT): conflict arises from incompatible goals and negative interdependence (one group’s success means another’s failure).
Biological Explanations
- Biological Correlations of Prejudice: certain brain structures and processes have been linked to prejudicial attitudes, which contribute to discrimination (a key aspect of conflict).
- Medial Prefrontal Cortex (mPFC): processes social information about others.
- Insula: linked to feelings of disgust in social judgments.
- Amygdala: plays a key role in fear-based emotional reactions
Conflict Resolution
Contact Theory
Allport’s Contact Hypothesis (1954) asserts that intergroup contact under specific conditions can reduce conflict and prejudice. Conflict can be reduced by:
- Increased contact.
- Equal Status.
- Possess shared goals
