Essential process components of conflict split resolution

• Main Author: McDonald, Linda Katherine
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/23070

Nine Gestalt two-chair dialogue conflict resolution performances were compared with nine non-resolution performances on structural analysis of social behaviour, depth of experiencing and voice quality. These performances were used to test whether three proposed process components had the power to discriminate between the successful and unsuccessful performances. Using Fisher's Exact Test of Probability (Siegel, 1956), between-group comparisons were made as to the attainment of the "softening" client performance pattern in the "other chair," the attainment of the "felt wants" client performance pattern in the "experiencing chair," and the attainment of the "values and standards" client performance pattern in the "other chair." It was found that these three process components did discriminate between resolution and non-resolution performances, thus verifying these client performance patterns as component processes essential to the resolution of conflict splits. Credibility was thereby added to the Revised Model of Conflict Split Resolution (Johnson, 1980) from which the hypothesized client performance patterns were generated. In addition, all the clients in this study who resolved their conflict splits demonstrated the "softening" performance pattern, and all considered their "softening" experience as their most significant moment of change, thereby contributing further support to the consideration of the "softening" client performance pattern as the key process component in the process of change. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate