Inferring Conflict Resolution Styles

Each one of us has a particular way to behave before a conflict. We can assume a cooperative and collaborative attitude or we can behave in a more selfish or competitive way. Given our personality traits or our past experiences, each one has a tendency to behave more towards one or the other. Nonetheless, there are also external factors that influence our conflict handling style including the individuals we are conflicting with, our level of stress or fatigue, the level of escalation of the conflict or even the context or the setting in which it is being settled. Undeniably, the personal conflict resolution style of the parties is preponderant for the outcome of the conflict resolution process. The mediator, while knowing the style of each party, may better conduct the process, namely by pointing out and changing unrealistic, selfish or overly competitive behaviors. Traditionally, the mediator makes use of questionnaires to assess the conflict resolution style of the parties. In this chapter we detail a new view on the problem in which this knowledge is built in real-time, in a non-invasive way, based on the behavior evidenced by the parties during the conflict resolution process. The level of escalation of the conflict is also analyzed similarly, through the non-invasive analysis of the level of stress of the parties during the actual negotiation process. The relationship between stress and the personal conflict handling style is also studied.