Conflict Styles

Conflict is part of life because people are all different and discrepancies in values and expectations are typical. Conflict involves disagreement between [Page 339]people and can exist in any situation where there is a difference of opinions, feelings, or needs. People have different ways to deal with conflict depending of their life histories and personalities. In the 1970s, Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann identified five main styles of dealing with conflict. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a personality assessment that has been used to understand conflict style differences. This entry discusses the conflict that occurs in adult, intimate relationships, with a focus on how attachment theory explains the different behaviors that partners exhibit during conflicts and steps that people can take to change the behavior ...