CONFLICT AVOIDANCE BEHAVIOR AND DOMINANCE/SUBMISSIVENESS IN INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS
The proposed research study will investigate the relationship between conflict avoidance behavior and manifestations of dominance or submissiveness in interpersonal relationships. The proposed study will test the following research hypothesis: Individuals with strong submissive personality characteristics will employ conflict avoidance strategies in interpersonal conflict situations more often than individuals with strong dominant personality characteristics.
Theoretical support and background information for the proposed study will be obtained from published literature related to interpersonal conflict. Subjects for the proposed study will be drawn from work, study, and social environments associated with a postsecondary educational institution. The data required for the proposed study will be collected through the administration of both a survey questionnaire and a psychological profile instrument to subjects selected for the study sample. The administration of the survey instrument will establish the extent to which subjects would likely employ conflict avoidance strategies in interpersonal conflict situations. The administration of the personality profile instrument will establish the dominant/submissive character of subjects' personality.
The research hypothesis will be tested through the application of ANOVA procedures to the data. The criterion for rejection of the null will be p<.05.
Interpersonal conflicts are a part of everyday life for most humans. The ability and willingness to effectively deal with interpersonal conflict situations affects individual perceptions of oneself, the ability to attain one's goals in life, personal healthùboth psychological and physical, one's own happiness, and the happiness of other persons about whom one cares.
Individuals who resort to conflict avoidance behavior, as opposed to de...