Cognitive Aspects of Conflict Resolution

Every person encounters many conflict situations in one's lifetime, and yet often people have very little understanding of why conflicts occur and what to do with them. This course offers students a chance to better understand conflict interactions and effective conflict resolution by looking at different approaches to studying conflicts. Through case studies students themselves will be able to understand how a conflict arises, how one can manage conflict behavior and communication and what are the most effective ways for conflict resolution. Issues that will be covered during the class include, but are not limited to, definition of conflict, dynamics of conflict, causes of conflict, and manipulation in conflict. We will discuss the influence of cognitive processes on conflict behavior and conflict communication, and will try to discover ways to overcome those cognitive obstacles. This multidisciplinary course is an original mixture of cognitive sciences, social psychology, sociology, management studies, philosophy and others. This course is highly interactive and students are encouraged to have a strong command of English.