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Intractable conflict as an attractor: a dynamical systems approach to conflict escalation and intractability

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Date Issued:
2007
Title: Intractable conflict as an attractor: a dynamical systems approach to conflict escalation and intractability.
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Name(s): Nowak, Andrzej, creator
Vallacher, Robin R., creator
Coleman, Peter T., creator
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Article
Issuance: single unit
Date Issued: 2007
Publisher: Sage Publications
Extent: 23p.
Language(s): English
Identifier: 2182031 (digitool), FADT2182031 (IID), fau:2618 (fedora), 10.1177/0002764207302463 (doi)
FAU Department/College: Department of Psychology Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Note(s): Decades of research on social conflict has contributed to researchers’ understanding of a wide variety of psychological, social, and community-based aspects of conflict escalation and intractability. However, the field has yet to put forth a theoretical model that links these components to the basic underlying structures and dynamics that account for intractability and transformation. This article presents a dynamical systems approach to conceptualizing intractable conflict as a preliminary step toward developing a basic theory of intractability. The authors propose that it is particularly useful to conceptualize ongoing, destructive patterns of conflict as strong attractors, a particular form of selforganization of multiple elements of conflict systems. Their dynamical approach to conflict intractability is outlined, and some preliminary implications of this approach for conflict de-escalation are discussed.
The final, definitive version of this paper is available at http://online.sagepub.com and may be cited as Coleman, Peter T., Robin R. Vallacher, and Andrzej Nowak (2007) Intractable conflict as an attractor: a dynamical systems approach to conflict escalation and intractability American Behavioral Scientist 50(11)1454-1475 DOI:10.1177/0002764207302463
Subject(s): Conflict (Psychology) --Research.
Conflict.
Interpersonal conflict.
Dynamics --Psychological aspects.
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/2182031
Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0002764207302463
Restrictions on Access: ©2007 Sage Publications
Host Institution: FAU

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