Abstract
As a consequence of interpersonal conflicts, needs of the victimized are violated. These needs have to be addressed in order to achieve reconciliation. Due to the heterogeneity of need categories in scholarly research, we scrutinized which need categories can be empirically identified. 478 participants reported on an experienced interpersonal conflict. They responded to 109 items evaluating the perceived need violation for the conflict they reported on. By means of exploratory factor analysis with a random sub-sample (n 1 = 239), six need categories were extracted. These are the need for respect, the need for meaning, the need for acceptance, the need for pleasure, the need for self-efficacy, and the need for safety. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that these needs replicated in the second random sub-sample (n 2 = 239) as well as across sub-samples with people who had experienced an interpersonal conflict of lower severity of transgression (n A = 257) or higher severity of transgression (n B = 221). In addition, each of the need categories mediated the relationship between the severity of transgression and the desire for revenge. Yet, the results for the two need categories “pleasure” and “safety” have to be interpreted with caution due to a lack of scalar invariance. Among the other four need categories, respect was identified as the only independent mediator variable. Implications for the transformation of interpersonal conflict and further scholarly inquiries are discussed.
Highlights
As a consequence of interpersonal conflicts, needs of the victimized are violated
The present paper focuses on violated needs in the realm of interpersonal conflicts
To answer the question which needs of victims are violated as a consequence of interpersonal conflict, one could confine oneself to need categories that are proposed in previous literature
Summary
As a consequence of interpersonal conflicts, needs of the victimized are violated. These needs have to be addressed in order to achieve reconciliation. The categorization of human needs in previous literature has been vast, and yet their empirical foundation has been scarce (Max-Neef et al, 1991; Obrecht, 2005). The latter applies to the categorization of the needs of victims (Simmonds, 2009). We drew on previous literature in order to develop a survey to assess which needs are experienced as having been violated among people victimized in interpersonal conflict. For the development of the survey we took into account five major, basic need theories (Maslow, 1954/1970; Max-Neef et al, 1991; Murray, 1949; Obrecht, 2005; Schwartz, 1992) as well as need categories that have been suggested explicitly for victims in previous literature (e.g., Frijda, 1994; Shnabel & Nadler, 2008; Tedeschi & Nesler, 1993)
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