1. The Social-Psychological Traditions: Framing

2. Structural-Systemic Perspective Emotional Perspective Cognitive Perspective Interests Perspective Anatomy of a Conflict: A Framework for Analysis

3. StructuralInterestCognitiveEmotional CoreConcerns Distribution of power & resources ‘Built-in’ structural inequalities Underlying interests, goals and objectives BeliefsSchemasFramesFear Loss and grief RagePathology GoalsJustice Integration or compromise ReframingHealing Conflict Management Techniques Revolution Re- distribution De- construction Negotiation / mediation compromisebargainingwin-win Facilitated contact Truth-tellingPublic Acknowledge- ment Forgiveness

4. Basic Premise of Social Psychological Approaches to Conflict World View Cognition Narrative Event Lens Meaning Script Frame Construct Assumptive World Culture

5. This is a story about…

6. This is a story about….

16. FRAMING AND REFRAMING One useful term in bringing in focus the meaning that people give to the social world / social conflict is “framing” –“underlying structures of belief, perception, and appreciation” (Schon and Rein) –“set of beliefs, models, and stories about the world “ (Dayton) –how people subjectively understand and construct their world

17. Assumptions 1. Social reality is constructed. Accordingly, different individuals looking at the same conflict may hold contrasting and perhaps even contradictory theories of what the conflict is about, how to transform it, and what constitutes success. These different realities are rooted in….

18. 2. Politics is a struggle over “naming, framing, and blaming” “Illegal immigration is a scourge that threatens the very future of our nation” Tom Tancredo, Member of the House of Representatives Republican immigration reforms "would literally criminalize the Good Samaritan and probably even Jesus himself." Hillary Clinton, Member of the US Senate

19. “We are all capable of believing things which we know to be untrue, and then, when we are finally proved wrong, impudently twisting the facts so as to show that we were right. Intellectually, it is possible to carry on this process for an indefinite time: the only check on it is that sooner or later a false belief bumps up against solid reality, usually on a battlefield." George Orwell, 1946 George Orwell, 1946

20. 3. Complex situations with a high degree of uncertainty and a lack of lack agreement over ‘anchoring theories’ are highly susceptible to conflict resulting from frame discordance

21. Frame Concordance Partial Frame Concordance Frame Discordance

22. 4. Homogeneous societies / communities are less likely to experience conflicts related to differing perceptions than heterogeneous societies

23. 5. The processes required to manage conflicts related to framing (cognitive) differences are not the same as those that can be used to manage other types of conflicts

24. Reframing as a Conflict Management Tool

25. I take open-mindedness to be a willingness to construe knowledge and values from multiple perspectives without loss of commitment to one’s own values. Open-mindedness is the keystone of what we call a democratic culture. - - Jerome Bruner

26. Exercise How does President Bush frame 9- 11 events to the nation and what range of actions follow from this framing? http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/release s/2001/09/20010920-8.html http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/release s/2001/09/20010920-8.html

27. Reframing Strategies Dialogue Repeated Interaction Information Prenegotiation workshops

28. On a personal level... Three dimensions of conflict frames: –relationship vs task –emotional vs intellectual –cooperative vs winning (Pinkley)

30. Challenge to Learning Mental Models (Senge) Deeply held internal images, assumptions, and myths developed from experience about how the world works

31. Challenge to Learning Overcoming Mental Models (Senge) Bring espoused theory and theory in use into alignment Balance inquiry with advocacy Recognize leaps of abstraction

32. Articulate Ladder of Inference Uncovers path from observable data and experience to beliefs, generalizations, and actions And frame our next action And draw conclusions To which we add meaning What we select for attention What actually happened (as observable)