cause of conflict

Imagine that you’re in a group situation with people you’ve known for a long time. You notice that there’s tension and in fact, as you think about it, you recognize that there’s been this underlying tension for quite a while that sometimes erupts in heated interactions.

Whenever we feel this kind of tension, it’s important to identify the type of conflict. How important is this conflict? Where is the collision taking place? Is it simply around inconsequential opinions or are there deeper values, beliefs, and assumptions at play?

Bernard Mayer, in his book Staying with Conflict, identifies six types of interpersonal conflict.

Low-Impact Conflict

Low-impact conflict does not typically have long-term implications. Arguing over what kind of pizza to order is probably not going to be earth-shattering in most situations. With these kinds of conflicts, it’s helpful to recognize their trivial nature and not to engage in them as if they are more important than they are in reality. Of course, with any conflict, how we express ourselves can escalate the conflict and cause harm to others and to relationships within the group.

Latent Conflict

Latent conflict is conflict that is simmering below the surface. It’s something that you can usually sense, but are not sure what it’s all about. For example, you walk into a room filled with people and sense something is just off with the group dynamics. You can’t put your finger on where it’s coming from, but you know it’s there. For this type of conflict, Mayer says that the conditions out of which conflict could arise are present; they just haven’t manifested themselves as a presenting issue or event. As we encounter these kinds of situations, it’s important that we pay careful attention to group dynamics and even ask probing questions that begin to uncover the deeper issues that are causing the tension. 

Transient Conflict