Another Look at Identity-Based Conflict: The Roots of Conflict in the Psychology of Consciousness

Abstract

Conflict scholars and practitioners have devoted much effort to understandingwhy differences sometimes escalate into full-blown conflicts. Butnot enough attention has been paid to the psychological and physiologicalprocesses of “reality formation and identity formation” inherent in thenature of individual human consciousness. The author shows how thefunctions of identity and reality formation pervade human activity, andhow they are particularly connected to conflict. This theoretical constructhas a variety of implications for mediators and dispute resolution in general,which the author illustrates with a series of brief case examples.