Conflict Templates: Thinking Through Interdependence - Halevy & Katz - 2013 - Article

What is a common misconception of game theory?

Game theory provides a tool to describe and compare social situations. Games are abstract representations of social situations that consist of players, the strategies available to each player, and the outcomes associated with each possible combination of the player´s strategies. One misconception is that, because human behavior is extremely complex, researchers need to know many different games within game theory to be able to accurately predict human behavior. This is not true, simply knowing a small number of archetypal situations is enough to be able to predict and explain various and diverse phenomena. 

What role does perceived interdependence play in game theory?

Interdependence is inherent to social life as people and organisations constantly make decisions that influence each other. Outcome interdependence refers to how much people can influence each other´s outcomes and behaviors, as well as how much people´s interests and goals are (in)compatible. Interdependence theorists emphasize the need to explore the antecedents and consequences of subjective perceptions of outcome interdependence. How players define the game may be more important than the moves they make within the game. 

What are conflict templates?

Recurring construals of outcome interdependence are called conflict templates.The same interdependence situation can be construed in terms of different conflict templates (in relationships, interpersonal and intergroup conflicts, etc). Also, the same conflict template can be used to understand different conflicts. Different conflict templates capture distinct perspectives on the nature of conflict, different beliefs about which motivations underlie competitive behavior in conflict, different beliefs about goal incompatibility, and different beliefs about the most effective strategy for maximizing personal outcomes in conflict. Four games can be identified as the games most commonly perceived by participants, namely Prisoner's Dilemma, Chicken, Assurance, and Maximizing Difference.

How do conflict templates influence negotiation behavior?

Conflict templates play a causal role in shaping negotiation processes and outcomes. Negotiators who believe that they are playing different games behave differently and obtain different outcomes. This is supported by the following research results:

• Endorsing a Prisoner´s Dilemma or Chicken conflict template was associated with the tendency to believe that the negotiator´s interests and priorities are diametrically opposed to those of the other party. It also decreased negotiator´s interpersonal warmth and the other party´s expectations that a mutually satisfying agreement would be reached. 
• When a game of Chicken is perceived, greed is often a motivational force. Greed is less prominent in the Prisoner´s Dilemma, and absent in Assurance and Maximizing Difference. 
• Viewing negotiation as a game of Chicken increases the use of deception. 

How do conflict templates influence social relations in organizations?

It is often assumed that decision makers carefully consider all of the aspects of their interdependence with other parties, but the reality is that people selectively pay attention to some elements within interdependence situations more than others. Some people may focus more on achieving the most desired outcome of the game, whereas others may focus more on avoiding the least desired outcome. Research has indicated that beliefs about the best outcome of the game were more predictive of employees´ social relations in organizations than beliefs about the worst outcome. More specifically, employees who believed that dominating cooperative counterparts provided the best outcome, experiences more intense and frequent conflict with their coworkers. 

Can changing conflict templates influence intergroup conflict?

People have a strong need for cognitive consistency. It helps binding together different perceptions, attitudes, and worldviews. Research has consistently shown that objective perceptions of outcome interdependence are correlated with stable individual differences, and that these correlations are relatively inflexible. However, current research has indicated that it may be possible that these perceptions of outcome interdependence are somewhat malleable at least temporarily. By temporarily altering people's conflict templates they may access different motivational goals, which may in turn influence the conflict process and outcomes of the conflict.