Intragroup conflict

{{short description|Conflict between members of a group or team}}

In: sociology,<ref name=Forsyth>{{cite book | last=Forsyth | first=D. R. | title=Group dynamics | publisher=Wadsworth Cengage Learning | publication-place=New York | date=2009 | isbn=978-0-495-59952-4 | oclc=318104476 |edition=5th }}</ref> group dynamics,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Gençer|first=Hüseyin|date= 2019| url=https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1201477.pdf|title=Group Dynamics and Behaviour|journal=Universal Journal of Educational Research|volume=7| issue=1|pages=223–229 |doi=10.13189/ujer.2019.070128|location=Piri Reis University|publisher=Horizon Research Publishing, SAN JOSE, CA - eric.ed.gov|quote=changes that may occur in any part of the group and bring out actions and reactions in the group structure that affects group members}}</ref> '''intragroup conflict''' refers to conflict,<ref name=Forsyth/> confrontation, disagreement<ref name=APAdef>{{cite web| url=https://dictionary.apa.org/intragroup-conflict | title=Dictionary of Psychology|publisher=American Psychological Association}}</ref> between two or more members of the same group or team<ref name=Forsyth/> the consequence or result of which could be either positive (beneficial) or negative.<ref>{{cite book |author=Susan A. Wheelan|editor=Susan A. Wheelan |date=June 2005 |title=The Handbook of Group Research and Practice |url=|chapter=Introduction Part IV: Applied Group Research |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=0M4o0VyDPwkC&dq=intragroup+conflict+definition&pg=PR14|location=|publisher=SAGE Publications |page=xiv |isbn=9780761929581 }}</ref> <!------------------2nd term---------------->The term '''infighting''' has a similar usage<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/infighting|title=inflighting|website=oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com|publisher=Oxford University|quote=arguments between people in the same group who are competing for power}}</ref><ref name=Collins>{{cite web|url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/infighting#infighting__1|title=Definition of 'infighting'|publisher=Collins|quote=quarrelling and competition between members of the same group or organization" "American English 1. fighting, esp. boxing}}</ref> of inner-group disagreement but with the combatative connotation, fighting, {{efn|The current word definition including: Fighting or boxing at close range,<ref name=Farlex/> originated in Old English as an attack within a dwelling.<ref>{{cite book|last=Bosworth|first=Joseph|author-link=Joseph Bosworth (scholar)|editor1=Thomas Northcote Toller|editor1-link=Thomas Northcote Toller|editor2=Christ Sean|editor3=Ondřej Tichy|url=https://bosworthtoller.com/|title=Bosworth Toller's Anglo-Saxon Dictionary online|chapter=in-feoht|chapter-url=https://bosworthtoller.com/20564|location=Prague|publisher=Faculty of Arts, Charles University|via=www.etymonline.com/word/in-fighting}}</ref>}} <ref name=Farlex>{{cite web|author=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company|url=https://www.thefreedictionary.com/infighting|title=infighting|edition=Fifth|date=2016|publisher=thefreedictionary.com|website=American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language|quote= disagreement among members of a group or organization}}</ref><ref name=Collins/> the dynamics of which are termed agonistic behaviour.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Charles H. Southwick|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4533171|title=An Experimental Study of Intragroup Agonistic Behavior in Rhesus Monkeys (Macaca mulatta)|date=1967|location=Johns Hopkins University: Department of Pathobiology|journal=Behaviour|volume= 28|number= 1/2|pages=182–209 |publisher=Brill|doi=10.1163/156853967X00235 |jstor=4533171 |pmid=4959568 |quote=The term, intragroup agonistic behaviour, refers to all aspects of conflict behaviour in the group, that is, all overt aggressive and submissive interactions}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/agonistic|title=agonistic adjective (FIGHTING)|publisher=Cambridge University Press|quote=spoken or physical behaviour that is threatening or involves harm to someone}}</ref> {{efn|The term originating in the ancient Greek <ref name=MWagon>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agonistic|title=agonistic adjective|publisher=Merriam-Webster}}</ref> ἀγών <ref name=LSJ>{{cite book|url=https://lsj.gr/wiki/agon|title=agon|publisher=LSJ}}</ref> (''agon'') <ref name=MWagon/><ref name=LSJ/>}}<!---------------3rd term---------------->Usage of the term '''internecine''' fighting as intragroup includes war.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/internecine|title=internecine adjective formal|publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref> {{efn|from internecinus (which is Latin) <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/internecine|title=internecine adjective|website=Merriam-Webster |date=December 2025 }}</ref> from Cic. Phil. 14 <ref>{{cite book|url=https://lsj.gr/wiki/internecinus|title=internecinus|publisher = Lewis & Short|via=short_latin_la_en.en-academic.com/29906/internecinus}}</ref> :<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0011%3Atext%3DPhil.%3Aspeech%3D14#note-link21|title=M. Tullius Cicero, Philippics|publisher=perseus.tufts.edu}}</ref>M. Tullius Cicero: ::M. ANTONIVM ORATIO PHILIPPICA QVARTA DECIMA: :::gratae vero nostrae dis immortalibus gratulationes erunt, gratae victimae, cum interfecta sit civium multitudo! 'de improbis' inquit 'et audacibus.' :::nam sic eos appellat clarissimus vir: quae sunt urbanarum maledicta litium, non inustae belli internecini notae. :::testamenta, credo, subiciunt aut eiciunt vicinos aut adulescentulos circumscribunt: his enim vitiis adfectos et talibus malos aut audacis appellare consuetudo solet.}} <!---------------------section-------------------------------> ==Subject development== ===Ancient=== ====Eristic==== The term eristic, which is thought to originate with Plato, describes a dispute or quarrel.<ref>{{cite journal|author= Michel Dufour| url=https://rozenbergquarterly.com/issa-proceedings-2014-dialectic-and-eristic/|title=ISSA Proceedings 2014 – Dialectic And Eristic|journal=Rozenberg Quarterly|location=Sorbonne Nouvelle|quote=Edward Schiappa reported that the Greek words for eristic, dialectic, rhetoric and antilogic all originate in Plato’s writings (Schiappa, 1990; see also Schiappa, 1992, 1999). As far as eristic is concerned, this seems to be a linguistic innovation but based on a root, eris, which means dispute or quarrel. Kerferd (1981, chap. 5) stresses that, for Plato, eristic did not only mean an attitude – to look for victory in a discussion – but also the art that provides and develops the means to do it. }} {{web archive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250422193416/https://rozenbergquarterly.com/issa-proceedings-2014-dialectic-and-eristic/|date=22 April 2025}}</ref> {{efn|In the modern sense this type of argument could include specious reasoning<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eristic|title=eristic 1 of 2 adjective|date=4 November 2025 |publisher=Merriam-Webster}}</ref>}}

====Stasis==== The Politics of Aristotle <ref name=Cairnsetal>{{cite journal|author1=Douglas Cairns|author2=Mirko Canevaro|author3=Kleanthis Mantzouranis|date=6 January 2022|url=https://brill.com/view/journals/agpt/39/1/article-p1_1.xml|title=Recognition and Redistribution in Aristotle's Account of Stasis|journal=Polis: The Journal for Ancient Greek and Roman Political Thought - 1 Introduction|publisher=Brill}}</ref> (of Stagira) <ref>{{cite web|author=Eric W. Weisstein|author-link=Eric W. Weisstein|url=https://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Aristotle.html|title=Eric W. Weisstein's World of Biography|publisher=Wolfram Research}}</ref> uses the <ref name=Cairnsetal/> Attic Greek<ref>{{cite book|author=Michael Palmer|editor1=Sara Forsdyke|editor2=Edith Foster|editor3=Ryan Balot|title=The Oxford Handbook of Thucydides|date=6 March 2017|chapter-url=https://academic.oup.com/edited-volume/34619/chapter-abstract/294928305?redirectedFrom=fulltext&login=false|chapter=24 Stasis in the War Narrative|isbn=9780190647735}}</ref> term ''stasis'' <ref name=Cairnsetal/> (ΣΤΑΣΙΣ),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://lsj.gr/wiki/%CF%83%CF%84%CE%AC%CF%83%CE%B9%CF%82|title=στάσις|work=LSJ}}</ref> a political conflict,<ref>{{cite journal|author=Steven C. Skultety|url=https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2008/2008.08.18|title=Review of Ronald L. Weed, Aristotle on stasis : a moral psychology of political conflict. Berlin: Logos, 2007.|publisher=Bryn Mawr Classical Review|journal=Bryn Mawr College}}</ref> translated by some modern authors as civil war<ref name=Arcenas>{{cite web|author=Scott Arcenas|url=https://papers.sioe.org/paper/1941.html|title=Breaking the Conflict Trap in Ancient Greece: Stasis and Economic Growth in the Polis|location=Stanford University|publisher=Society for Institutional and Organizational Economics}}</ref> (which though is an analog<ref>{{cite thesis|last=Arcenas|first=Scott |url=https://purl.stanford.edu/ns716ny8079|title=Stasis : the nature, frequency, and intensity of political violence in ancient Greece|location=California|publisher=Stanford University Libraries|degree=Classics }}</ref>) occurring within city-states of ancient Greece.<ref name=Arcenas/> {{efn|In Argos members of a democratic group killed both the leaders of their own group and members of a differing political group.<ref>{{cite book|author=Sarah Bolmarcich|editor=Michael Gagarin|title=The Oxford encyclopedia of ancient Greece and Rome. - Volume 1|date=2010|chapter=Civil War|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lNV6-HsUppsC&dq=conflict+between+city-states+in+ancient+Greece&pg=PA154|page=166 |publisher=Oxford University |isbn=978-0-19-517072-6 }}</ref> The Aristotle description of ''stasis'' includes "within like-minded groups". (Skultety 2019) <ref>{{cite book |author=STEVEN SKULTETY |date=3 October 2019 |title=CONFLICT IN ARISTOTLE'S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY |url=|chapter=''Stasis'' as Civil War |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kvy0DwAAQBAJ&dq=INTRAGROUP+aRISTOTLE&pg=PR5|location=State University of New York |publisher=SUNY Press |page=17 |isbn=978-1438476599 |series=SUNY series in Ancient Greek Philosophy}}</ref> }}

===Modern=== In the years leading up to 2008, intragroup conflict has received a large amount of attention in conflict and group dynamics literature.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Korsgaard | first1=M. A. | last2=Jeong | first2=S. S. | last3=Mahony | first3=D. M. | last4=Pitariu | first4=A. H. | name-list-style=amp | title=A multilevel view of intragroup conflict | journal=Journal of Management | publisher=SAGE Publications| volume=34 | issue=6 | year=2008 | issn=0149-2063 | doi=10.1177/0149206308325124 | pages=1222–1252| s2cid=143569606 }}</ref> This increase in interest in studying intragroup conflict may be a natural corollary of the ubiquitous use of work groups and work teams across all levels of organizations, including decision-making task forces, project groups, or production teams.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=De Dreu | first1=C. K. W. | last2=Weingart | first2=L. R. | name-list-style=amp | title=Task versus relationship conflict, team performance, and team member satisfaction: A meta-analysis | journal=Journal of Applied Psychology | publisher=American Psychological Association (APA) | volume=88 | issue=4 | year=2003 | issn=1939-1854 | doi=10.1037/0021-9010.88.4.741 | pages=741–749| pmid=12940412 }}</ref>

== Antecedents == There are a number of antecedents of intragroup conflict. While not an exhaustive list, researchers have identified a number of antecedents of intragroup conflict, including low task or goal uncertainty,<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Mooney | first1=A. C. | last2=Holahan | first2=P. J. | last3=Amason | first3=A. C. | name-list-style=amp | title=Don't take it personally: Exploring cognitive conflict as a mediator of affective conflict | journal=Journal of Management Studies | publisher=Wiley | volume=44 | issue=5 | year=2007 | issn=0022-2380 | doi=10.1111/j.1467-6486.2006.00674.x | pages=733–758| s2cid=144854455 }}</ref> increased group size,<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Amason | first1=A. C. | last2=Sapienza | first2=H. J. | name-list-style=amp | title=The effects of top management team size and interaction norms on cognitive and affective conflict | journal=Journal of Management | publisher=SAGE Publications | volume=23 | issue=4 | year=1997 | issn=0149-2063 | doi=10.1177/014920639702300401 | pages=495–516| s2cid=143833786 }}</ref> increased diversity (i.e., gender, age, race),<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Mohammed | first1=S. | last2=Angell | first2=L. C. | name-list-style=amp | title=Surface- and deep-level diversity in workgroups: Examining the moderating effects of team orientation and team process on relationship conflict | journal=Journal of Organizational Behavior | publisher=Wiley | volume=25 | issue=8 | year=2004 | issn=0894-3796 | doi=10.1002/job.293 | pages=1015–1039}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Pelled | first1=L. H. | last2=Eisenhardt | first2=K. M. | last3=Xin | first3=K. R. | name-list-style=amp | title=Exploring the black box: An analysis of work group diversity, conflict and performance | journal=Administrative Science Quarterly | publisher=JSTOR | volume=44 | issue=1 | year=1999 | issn=0001-8392 | doi=10.2307/2667029 | pages=1–28| jstor=2667029 | s2cid=145267150 }}</ref> lack of information sharing,<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Moye | first1=N. A. | last2=Langfred | first2=C. W. | name-list-style=amp | title=Information sharing and group conflict: Going beyond decision making to understand the effects of information sharing on group performance | journal=International Journal of Conflict Management | publisher=Emerald | volume=15 | issue=4 | date=1 April 2004 | issn=1044-4068 | doi=10.1108/eb022919 | pages=381–410}}</ref> and high task interdependence.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Deutsch | first=M. | title=A theory of co-operation and competition | journal=Human Relations | publisher=SAGE Publications | volume=2 | issue=2 | year=1949 | issn=0018-7267 | doi=10.1177/001872674900200204 | doi-access=free | pages=129–152}}</ref>

==Types== The American Psychological Association determines the existence of three such intra-conflictual problems in team organisations: process, relationship, task.<ref name=APAdef/>

== Measuring == Jehn<ref name="Jehn_1995">{{cite journal | last=Jehn | first=K. A. | title=A multimethod examination of the benefits and detriments of intragroup conflict | journal=Administrative Science Quarterly | publisher=JSTOR | volume=40 | issue=2 | year=1995 | pages=256–282 | issn=0001-8392 | doi=10.2307/2393638 | jstor=2393638 }}</ref> developed the Intragroup Conflict Scale (ICS) to measure two types of intragroup conflicts (i.e., task and relationship conflict). The ICS consists of eight 7-point Likert scale items which assess intragroup conflict. This scale has been applied in a number of contexts including decision making groups<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Amason | first1=A. C. | last2=Mooney | first2=A. C. | name-list-style=amp | title=The effects of past performance on top management team conflict in strategic decision making | journal=International Journal of Conflict Management | publisher=Emerald | volume=10 | issue=4 | date=1 April 1999 | issn=1044-4068 | doi=10.1108/eb022829 | pages=340–359}}</ref> and groups in the moving industry.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Jehn | first1=K. A. |author2-link=Gregory Northcraft | last2=Northcraft | first2=G. B. |author3-link=Margaret Ann Neale | last3=Neale | first3=M. A. | name-list-style=amp | title=Why differences make a difference: A field study of diversity, conflict and performance in workgroups | journal=Administrative Science Quarterly | publisher=JSTOR | volume=44 | issue=4 | year=1999 | issn=0001-8392 | doi=10.2307/2667054 | pages=741–763| jstor=2667054 | s2cid=16313675 }}</ref> Furthermore, this scale has high construct and predictive validity.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Pearson | first1=A. W. | last2=Ensley | first2=M. D. | last3=Amason | first3=A. C. | name-list-style=amp | title=An assessment and refinement of Jehn's intragroup conflict scale | journal=International Journal of Conflict Management | publisher=Emerald | volume=13 | issue=2 | date=1 February 2002 | issn=1044-4068 | doi=10.1108/eb022870 | pages=110–126}}</ref>

== Group outcomes == Effects of intragroup conflict on group performance or outcome is moderated by a number of factors including the context under which it is examined and the type of outcome.<ref name="ba">{{cite journal | last1=de Wit | first1=F. R. C. | last2=Greer | first2=L. L. | last3=Jehn | first3=K. A. | name-list-style=amp | title=The paradox of intragroup conflict: A meta-analysis | journal=Journal of Applied Psychology | publisher=APA | volume=97 | issue=2 | year=2012 | issn=1939-1854 | doi=10.1037/a0024844 | pages=360–390| pmid=21842974 }}</ref> According to one study, task conflict has a less negative relationship (and at times even positive) with group performance and outcomes than believed previously.<ref name="ba"/> The results of the study also showed that intragroup conflict is not always negative or detrimental to group performance; for example, task conflict has been related positively to group performance and outcomes when such conflict occurs in management groups.<ref name="ba"/>

== See also == * Group conflict * Lateral violence * Narcissism of small differences * Vote-splitting

==Notes== {{notelist}}

== References == {{reflist}}

== Sources == {{cite book |author1=Amin Ghaziani |author2=Kelsy Kretschmer|editor1=David A. Snow|editor2=Hanspeter Kriesi|editor3=Holly J. McCammon|editor4=Sarah Anne Soule|date=January 4, 2023 |title=The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Social Movements |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h5KgEAAAQBAJ&dq=infighting&pg=PA225|chapter=Chapter 12: Infighting and Insurrection - Introduction - The Causal Tradition|publisher=John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated|edition=2nd |pages=220, 225 |isbn=9781119168560 |quote=Research on social movements highlights the centrality of conflicts, yet scholars frequently conflate its diverse forms" "The classical tradition of infighting assumed that conflict within movements deserved its sorry reputation; it was a form of internecine dog fighting; and it hastened movement collapse by rendering insurgent groups impotent.}}

Category:Group processes