Organisation and Structure of this eBook

In this eBook, you will be introduced to behavioural neuroscience and three branches of psychology (cognitive psychology, personality psychology and social psychology) as they relate to conflict. Knowledge from these branches can help support your understanding of why conflict occurs, how it develops and how we may be able to manage or resolve it. There is of course much more to these four branches, and this eBook focuses on those theories, approaches and components that appear to add value to understanding how people think, feel and behave when they are in conflict.

As for the structure of this eBook, the first Chapter will introduce you to the human brain and the biological basis for behaviour and you will consider how this knowledge may help explain the behaviours of people in conflict and conflict resolution processes. In Chapters 2 and 3, you will learn about the mind and consider its cognitive and emotional dimensions and how these relate to the experience of conflict. In Chapter 4 we will ”zoom out” and explore “the person” and approaches to understanding individual differences to personality and how these may play out in conflict and conflict resolution. In Chapter 5, we will zoom out even further and consider individuals in interactions and relationships with others, with a focus on social influence. You will also learn about social psychology insights into interactions between groups and group dynamics to explain social conflict.