Happiness, Conflict, and Social Networks © Arthur Pearlstein Creighton University School of Law

Happiness and Conflict: Two Assumptions More Happiness Reduced tendency toward unproductive conflict Unproductive conflict Reduced happiness

What is Happiness? Mix of Distinct routes: 1. positive emotion and pleasure; 2. engagement; 3. meaningfulness Elements: 1. frequent positive affect; 2. high life satisfaction; 3. infrequent negative affect “Flow” (Csikszentmihalyi) Self-reported contentment and fulfillment [correlates with peer/spouse reports, brain studies, and physiological reports

Facilitating Happiness and Facilitating Resolution: Ten Compelling Examples of Convergence 1.Feeling in control 2.Trust and community 3.Forgiveness 4.Gratitude 5.Creativity 6.Use of coping strategies 7.Resilience 8.Acts of kindness and generosity 9.Meaning and growth 10. Desire for attention/mattering

CreativityCoping Attention/ Mattering Meaning and Growth GratitudeForgiveness Trust/ Community ControlKindnessResilience Factor Feedback Loops Among the Factors

Happiness as the Ultimate Interest Is happiness a virtue? Is it one of many? Do we ever value anything other than for its potential to bring us happiness? What about individual vs. aggregate happiness? What about culture?

The Importance of Social Networks I recommend Ted Talk by Nicholas Christakis, “The hidden influence of social networks” at

Social Networking/Social Capital and Happiness Social networks as web of relationships—concept long predates Internet Closely tied to happiness: high correlation—best predictor “Social capital” = acknowledgement that social networks have real value (e.g., in productivity, well-being) Social networks as influencing behavior patterns (e.g., smoking, overeating) as well as life orientations (e.g., happiness) Cluster effects, weak links

Turbo-charging Happiness Feedback Loops CreativityCoping Attention/ Mattering Meaning and Growth GratitudeForgiveness Trust/ Community ControlKindnessResilience Social Networking

Social Networks and Conflict Resolution Happiness and conflict—again Reciprocity and trust as core elements in social capital Reputation as key to collaboration and conflict resolution Repeated interactions and spread of patterns (e.g., conflict and how we deal with conflict) Example of the Hutongs

Bring on the Web: Social Networks with New Energy Taking social networks online—the growing trend Burgeoning opportunities to foster reciprocity, trust, reputational mechanisms, social interaction, collaborative production, and creativity Catalyzing happiness loops = strengthening avenues for superior conflict engagement and resolution

The Potential for Online Social Networking Aimed at Superior Conflict Engagement and Resolution Improve the ability of disputants, lawyers, ADR providers, and conflict allies to interact through socially networked, collaborative platforms; Offer decision support tools tied to one or more social networks to help disputants, their allies, other stakeholders, and lawyers analyze and make decisions faster; Create wikis and other social networking tools for information and insight contributed by participants in the social networking community;

The Potential for Online Social Networking Aimed at Superior Conflict Engagement and Resolution (cont’d) Use social networks to provide information about, and ready access to, a variety of existing commercial and public applications for dispute resolution; Create communities of people dedicated to developing social capital and mobilizing reciprocity and solidarity in the interest of creating superior conflict processing (analogous to the Hutongs, but in dense social networks built in cyberspace) Develop social networks blending themes of enhanced happiness and improved conflict resolution

Cascades: Collaborative Behavior and Superior Conflict Engaging Behavior— A New Era for Conflict Resolution? Reciprocal altruism Social contagion and collaboration Strength of weak ties* * see diversity-in-social-networks/ diversity-in-social-networks/ Fowler J H, Christakis N A PNAS 2010;107: ©2010 by National Academy of Sciences Cooperative behavior spreads three degrees of separation: if Eleni increases her contribution to the public good, it benefits Lucas (one degree), who gives more when paired with Erika (two degrees) in period 2, who gives more when paired with Jay (three degrees) in period 3, who gives more when paired with Brecken in period 4.

Thanks and Have a Nice Day! Arthur Pearlstein