Page 34 - NAMAH-Oct-2018

Namah Vol. 26, Issue 3, 15th October 2018

other, someone shouts at another in public, a paragraph of a story. The class has to
a father is abusive towards a son, a spouse reconstruct the story using each one’s input.
has become indifferent. None is discriminated against and all have to
succeed individually for the team to succeed.
Topic 9: conflict resolution It forces erstwhile enemies to cooperate.
When two antagonistic groups are in conflict, Another method is GRIT — Graduated and
emotional intelligence needs to be augmented Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension-reduction:
with conflict resolution techniques. An invisible each party takes one step at a time, waiting
enemy is depersonalised and demonised. for the other party to walk at the same pace.
Negotiations can lead to these outcomes — win- Each one is equally distant at each step from
win, win-lose, lose-win, lose-lose, no-deal. There the starting-point of conflict and at equal
is a psychology game called ‘The Ultimatum disadvantage to resume it.
Game’, which is actually a social trap. Someone
gives 10 rupees to your opponent and asks Truth and Reconciliation Commissions: these
him to share something with you. If you deny have been fruitful in integrating communities
his offer, neither of you get any money. If he that have fought for decades, such as South
offers 1 rupee, would you take it? One rupee is African whites and blacks, and Sri Lankan
better than none. It turns out that most people Tamils and Sinhalese. Here, as long as a party
compare up. You think your opponent walks resolves to give up conflict in the future, their
away with 9, so he has cheated you. You decide past crimes are forgiven. Families of victims
to go with lose-lose and keep your self-esteem. hear the confessions and what happened to
But you missed a chance at a win-win deal. their loved ones.
If you were the giver, how much would you
offer? Humans are not optimised algorithms, Restorative justice: in criminal cases, the
they have egos. People react to a perceived aggressor gets a chance to repay the victim.
injustice, which may not be the same as the He sees the victim’s perspective and sees
opponent’s perceptions. the consequences of his acts. He can then
make amends. This works better than locking
An alternative to hard negotiation is to do up the criminal, because here often when he
a project together. The enemy once seen, is freed, he returns to the old habits and is
turns out to be just another person, like us. behind bars again.
The out-group vs in-group perspectives
shift. People are driven to find each other’s The class will be divided into antagonistic
strengths and utilise them for the common camps and work out peace for various
good. In classrooms this is called ‘The Jigsaw situations. Case studies and film clippings
Game’. Each gets a piece of the puzzle, say will be seen that illustrate the CR methods.

Lopa Mukherjee is a writer and documentary maker of educational and spiritual topics, and is a
psychology student in San Francisco, California.

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