Conflict resolution work can be demanding, asking much of those who practice it. Among other qualities, practitioners must ideally bring to the table an openness and curiosity to learn more about how others see and experience the world; respect and compassion; the humility to acknowledge an error and express regret for an unintended outcome; and the willingness to remain alert for their own cognitive errors and biases.
These attributes flow from the capacity for self-awareness — a quality that requires eternal vigilance and constant practice. (I cheerfully admit that I’m a slow but persistent learner myself, hopeful nonetheless that there’s truth in the adage “practice makes perfect”.)
Fortunately the internet, with its almost infinite bounty of resources, offers plenty of opportunity for self-reflective exercise, with online tools, ongoing research studies, and tests to help new and experienced dispute resolvers gain greater self-awareness. Here’s a partial list:
- The Interactive Johari Window, a tool allowing users to map personality awareness with the aid of friends, family, and colleagues.
- Face Research, online psychology experiments about preferences for faces and voices
- The Moral Sense Test, a study into human moral judgment
- The Implicit Association Test, the best known of the implicit social cognition instruments
- Northeastern Illinois University Department of Psychology Cognitive Neuropsychology Experiment Site; the current study involves perception of emotional expression
- The Cognition and Language Laboratory, ongoing experiments in language, thought, and memory
- The Perception Lab at the School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, Scotland, provides opportunities to participate in online studies on perception
- The Police Officer’s Dilemma, created by the Stereotyping & Prejudice Research Laboratory, a video game that tests the effect of racial bias on decisions to shoot.
If you’re interested in finding additional ways to both contribute to scientific advancement and continue the voyage of self-discovery, a whole list of current psychological research projects can be found on the web site for the Hanover College Psychology Department.
Update:
Michael McIlwrath, Senior Counsel, Litigation for GE Infrastructure – Oil & Gas, and the host of the outstanding ADR podcast series, International Dispute Negotiation, kindly suggested the addition of two other resources for readers:
Thanks so much, Mike!
Great minds – and wits – have considered the difficulties of moral choice. Influential activist and thinker Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” (Bon vivant Mae West, who took a more pragmatic view, purportedly said, “Between two evils, I always pick the one I never tried before.”)
Moment by moment, life presents us with difficult choices and questions to confront. What are we to do in the face of moral dilemma? As moral actors, how do we decide? What guides us? What are the sources of moral values? Religion? Law? Or are they coded into our DNA? How do we apply moral values? Are moral principles universally held, transcending culture? Or are they shifting social constructs, dependent upon the vagaries of time and place?
Inside all of us is the philosopher who delights in wrestling with questions concerning moral decision making – and the devil’s advocate who likes to pose them. The internet holds much to stimulate us, particularly these outstanding resources on morality, moral psychology, and moral decision making:
Conflict resolution expert, mediator, and peacebuilder Dr. Ron Kraybill has asked me to let readers know that he has released a 2008 upgrade for Style Matters: The Kraybill Conflict Style Inventory through the company he founded, Riverhouse ePress.
With over 120,000 users, Style Matters has helped business managers, organizational consultants, and conflict resolution trainers worldwide teach personal conflict management skills. What distinguishes Style Matters from other conflict mode instruments is its commitment to cultural sensitivity, providing different instructions for collectivist and individualistic cultures.
As he has done in the past with previous releases of Style Matters, Dr. Kraybill generously offers a free review copy for downloading, along with a trainers’ guide (PDF).
Last week I posed a challenge to my readers: to have a go at “The Cash Register Exercise“, an uncritical inference test. I promised to divulge the correct answers yesterday, but unfortunately circumstances intervened and prevented me from doing so, and so, with my apologies, I post them today.
For those of you who missed last week’s post, I repeat the instructions and the exercise here:
To complete the exercise, read the following story. Below it are 12 statements about the story. After you read the story, determine whether each of the 12 statements is
- T – true;
- F – false ; or
- ? – you do not have enough information to determine whether the statement is true or false
Allow yourself no more than 5 minutes to complete the exercise. Ready? Here goes:
The Cash Register Exercise
The Story
A businessman had just turned off the lights in the store when a man appeared and demanded money. The owner opened a cash register. The contents of the cash register were scooped up, and the man sped away. A member of the police force was notified promptly.
12 Statements about the Story
- A man appeared after the owner had turned off his store lights.
- The robber was a man.
- The man did not demand money.
- The man who opened the cash register was the owner.
- The store owner scooped up the contents of the cash register and ran away.
- Someone opened a cash register.
- After the man who demanded the money scooped up the contents of the cash register, he ran away.
- While the cash register contained money, the story does not state how much.
- The robber demanded money of the owner.
- It was broad daylight when the man appeared.
- The story concerns a series of events in which only three persons are referred to: the owner of the store, a man who demanded money, and a member of the police force.
- The following events in the story are true: someone demanded money, a cash register was opened, its contents were scooped up, and a man dashed out of the store.
Correct Answers for the Cash Register Exercise
I warned readers that only twice when I’ve conducted this exercise has anyone gotten every answer right.
I provide the answer key on the right within this post, displayed upside down so as not to spoil things for those of you still trying to figure it out. To see the text right-side up, you can either turn your computer screen upside down (just kidding) or simply place your cursor over the answer key and the answer will appear as alt-text.
