Social conflicts: concept, types, functions

All is well-known about what conflict is. Each person faced a situation of aggravation of relations with other people. Social conflicts are a concept that characterizes the situation of acute relevant contradictions. With this aggravation of relations, interests and beliefs collide, which is due to various reasons. Consider what are the components, varieties and functions of social conflict.

Concept and types of social conflicts

Social conflict always contains the moment of a collision, that is, there is a certain discrepancy, a contradiction of interests, positions of the parties. Opposing opinions are the subjects of the conflict - the opposing sides. They seek to overcome the contradiction in one way or another, while each side wants to prevent the other from realizing its interests. The concept of conflict in social psychology extends not only to social groups. Depending on the subject, conflicts are distinguished:

• Intrapersonal;
• Interpersonal;
• Intergroup.

Also enters into social conflicts the concept of internal content, concerning which contradictions can be rational and emotional. In the first case, the confrontation is based on the sphere of the reasonable. It usually involves the processing of social and managerial structures, as well as the release from unnecessary forms of cultural interaction. Emotional conflicts are characterized by a strong affective aspect, often aggression and the transfer of appropriate reactions to the subjects. Such a conflict is more difficult to solve, since it affects the sphere of personal and can hardly be resolved by rational methods.

Intergroup social conflicts: concept and functions

Social psychology considers mainly intergroup conflicts, which can be divided into:

• Socio-economic;
• Interethnic;
• Ethnic;
• Ideological;
• Political;
• Religious;
• military.

Each conflict has a dynamic flow, accordingly, intergroup clashes can occur spontaneously, planned, for a short time or for a long time, they are manageable and uncontrollable, provoked or initiative.

It is impossible to consider conflicts only from a negative point of view. Positive functions are to accelerate the process of self-awareness, the assertion of certain values, the discharge of emotional heat, etc. Social conflict indicates a problem that needs to be solved, one that can not simply be closed by the eyes. Thus, the collision contributes to the regulation of social relationships.

Ways to overcome the conflict situation

How can social conflicts be resolved? The concept of the way out of them is characterized by the end of the confrontation by various methods. Allocate:

• Rivalry - upholding one's convictions to the last;
• Adaptation - the acceptance of someone else's point of view at the expense of their own;
• Avoidance - withdrawal from a conflict situation by any means;
• Compromise - willingness to make concessions to resolve the situation;
• Cooperation is the search for a solution that satisfies the interests of all parties to the conflict.

The latter method is the most constructive and desirable.