Chapter 7 Analyzing Conflicts
Hocker: Interpersonal Conflict, 10e TB-7 | 1
EXAM QUESTIONS:
Chapter 7
True/False
Multiple Choice Questions
1. All of the following are key concepts of systems theory except:
a. wholeness.
b. organization.
c. individualism.
d. collectivism.
e. patterning.
Chapter 7 Analyzing Conflicts
Hocker: Interpersonal Conflict, 10e TB-7 | 2
2. Caitlin ran to her mother to tell on her brother Sam. Caitlin said that Sam hurt her hand
when they passed each other on the stairwell. Caitlin’s mom decided to sit down with both of
the children and ask them what happened, starting from when they saw each other on the
stairs. She found out that Caitlin, in fact, hurt her hand when she hit Sam. Sam did nothing in
return! Which principle of the system theory is Caitlin’s mom likely to recognize in this
situation?
a. Conflict in systems occurs in chain reactions.
b. Each member gets labeled, or programmed, into a specific role in the system.
c. System members must cooperate in order to keep conflicts going.
d. Systems develop rules for conflict that are followed even if they work poorly.
e. Sam is more honest than Caitlin.
3. Which of the following refers to constructive system-enhancing behaviors that enable the
system to grow, innovate, and change?
a. Adjudication
b. Cathexis
c. Fractionation
d. Morphogenesis
e. Stonewalling
4. _____ are central to passing and receiving messages from network members.
a. Heavy communicators
b. System isolates
c. Third-party interveners
d. Stonewallers
e. Detractors
5. According to the Conflict Assessment Guide, the question “What attitudes toward conflict
do participants seem to hold?” helps clarify which of the following components?
a. Orientation to the conflict
b. Nature of the conflict
c. Interests
d. Styles
e. Personal intervention
Chapter 7 Analyzing Conflicts
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6. All of the following are effective ways for assessing a conflict except:
a. observing the parties in conflict.
b. determining which party is at fault.
c. interviewing conflicting parties.
d. identifying patterns.
e. using metaphoric analysis.
7. A repetitive loop of observable communication with a redundant outcome is called:
a. a toxic triangle.
b. a microevent.
c. a coalition.
d. a system.
e. an isolate.
8. Which of the following terms best describes a marriage where both partners accept a
conventional, calm, ordered marriage that maintains little conflict?
a. Conflict-habituated relationship
b. Devitalized marriage
c. Passive-congenial relationship
d. Vital relationship
e. Total marriage
9. When analyzing coalitions in a conflict, the member who is “out” is called:
a. the instigator.
b. the investigator.
c. the isolate.
d. the intermediary.
e. the mediator.
10. Which of the following statements is true of microevents?
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a. They are prescriptive of human behavior.
b. They are interactions that result in essential outcomes.
c. They are varied loops of unobservable interpersonal behaviors.
d. They are any type of short interaction that occurs between two individuals.
e. They are interactions that give information about other interactions.
11. A person in a “system” who is in few or no triangles is called the:
a. sole problem.
b. isolate.
c. heavy communicator.
d. fractionator.
e. None of the answers is correct.
12. Which of the following stages of conflict is characterized by parties engaged in serious
power struggles, polarization, and lack of information sharing?
a. Stage I
b. Stage II
c. Stage III
d. Stage IV
e. Stage V
Short-Answer/Essay Questions
1. Describe coalitions and their role in system wide conflicts. In your answer, discuss the
potential benefits and drawbacks of coalition formation.
2. What are system rules according to Hocker and Wilmot? Identify and discuss three
examples of implicit or explicit rules you follow when engaging in conflict with someone
in (a) your personal life or (b) your workplace.
3. Summarize the guidelines put forth in the Difficult Conversations Guide. Use these
guidelines to construct three specific suggestions for a conflict you have experienced in
the past or are experiencing now.
4. “Conflict serves the system in some way.” What does this statement mean? How is this
different than or similar to how you have perceived conflict up to this point?
Chapter 7 Analyzing Conflicts
Hocker: Interpersonal Conflict, 10e TB-7 | 5
5. List, describe, and provide an example of the eight parts of the Conflict Assessment Guide.
6. List, describe, and provide an example of the principles of systems theory.
7. Using the elements from either question #4 or #5, analyze the following conversation:
*Special Note to Instructors: In addition to serving as dialogue for essay questions, the
following sample conversation can be used in a variety of ways—Students can analyze the
messages/system/conflict in dyads, group activities, or for an essay.
Sample Conversation
Dan: That was a blast!
Sarah: (stony silence)
Dan: (raising his voice) I SAID that was a great party!
Sarah: I BET you had a good time. I’m sure the 17 women you danced with had a great time,
too.
Dan: Oh, I get it. You’re pouting. Is that it—You’re pouting, aren’t you? Well, at least you’re
consistent, since that’s what you were doing all night anyway.
Sarah: I had to do SOMETHING while you were making a complete ass of yourself!
Dan: Look who’s talking. You’re such a loser at parties. No wonder no one wants to dance
with you.
Sarah: I’m not a loser. I’ve told you a thousand times that parties like that aren’t for people
like me, but you never listen. I don’t like parties because you drink too much, and I can’t
stand your friends either. When you’re with them, you make me totally miserable.
Dan: At least I have some friends. You’d have some, too, if you didn’t hang around Christine
all the time. You’re always on my case about how I screw everything up around the house.
You think I’m an idiot.
Sarah: How could you screw things up at the house—You’re never home! You’ve been
saying for 6 months that you’re going to clean out the garage, but you never do. It’s either
fantasy baseball all summer or hunting every weekend in the fall.
Dan: You know why I hunt all the time? Because the animals are more fun than you are. And
they don’t go looking for fights for no good reason.
Sarah: This isn’t a fight. It’s a discussion. And I hardly went looking for it.
Chapter 7 Analyzing Conflicts
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Dan: Yeah, good one. And I bet you didn’t pick out that $500 worth of clothes you’ve been
hiding in the closet for the last week either.
Sarah: Whatever. Let’s just drop it. You’re drunk. I should know better than to deal with you
when you’re like this.
Dan: Now you want to drop it. You’ve been at me since we got in the car. You brought it
up—let’s talk about it. How, exactly, do you think we’re going to pay for your little shopping
spree? We haven’t paid for the last one yet. Obviously, I’m not going to get any help from
you, since you’re the “struggling student” with no job.
Sarah: How did you know about those clothes anyway? Besides, I was going to take them
back on Monday.
Dan: Christine told me.
Sarah: WHAT!?!?!? You are such a jerk. And she’s a real piece of work, that one, too. She’s
the one who said I should buy them in the first place.
Dan: Maybe she just finds me a little more interesting than you. She probably felt sorry for
you.
Sarah: That’s it. I’m done. I’m so over this. I’m getting my own apartment.