Prepare an essay of approximately 1,000 words in which you respond to Question 1 in the list of Thought Questions found in your lesson commentary. In developing your essay, be sure to be clear about each strategy (that is, the general approach; e.g., making sure you are interpreting the other party’s concerns correctly) and what it is about the corresponding theoretical perspective that suggests the strategy.

In completing the required essay, you should be in a position to see how theories not only account for how conflict interaction unfolds, but how one can engage in communicative behavior in conflict situations to reduce the negative impact parties can have on one another.

QUESTION 1. Think of a conflict situation that is fairly common in your experience (for example, the accusation by one party that another party has wronged the first party). Drawing on the material covered in the last half of Chapter 3, identify three strategies (one for each theory or perspective) that you see as being helpful to an individual who is attempting to manage a conflict. On what basis or bases have you arrived at each of your strategies?