Limits of Rationality: Additional Resources

These references supplement the Knowledge Base Essay, Limits of Rationality.

Additional Explanations of the Underlying Concepts:

Online (Web) Sources

Ergenzinger, Edward R. "Conversations With Phineas Gage: A Neuroscientific Approach to Negotiation Strategies." , December 2002
Available at: http://www.mediate.com/articles/Ergenzinger.cfm  [Backup Link]

This article examines how framing affects peoples' preferences.

Louis, Winnifred and Donald Taylor. Cost-Benefit Analyses for Your Group and Your Self: The 'Rationality' of Decision-Making in Conflict. Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. .
Available at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract-id=399520  [Backup Link]
Two studies in the context of English-French relations in Quebec suggest that individuals who strongly identify with a group derive the individual-level costs and benefits that drive expectancy-value processes ('rational' decision-making) from group-level costs and benefits. Perceptions of the consequences of conflict choices for the actor were predicted by social identity processes. In considering individualistic and collectivistic actions, in Study 1, high identifiers linked group- and individual-level outcomes whereas low identifiers did not. Group-level expectancy-value processes, in Study 2, mediated the relationship between social identity and perceptions that collective action benefits the actor and between social identity and collective action intentions. These findings suggest the 'rational' underpinnings of identity-driven political behaviour, a relationship sometimes obscured in intergroup theory which focuses on cognitive processes of self-stereotyping. But the results also challenge the view that individuals' cost-benefit analyses are independent of identity processes.

Retzinger, Suzanne and Thomas Scheff. "Emotion, Alienation, and Narratives: Resolving Intractable Conflict." ,
Available at: http://www.soc.ucsb.edu/faculty/scheff/16.html  [Backup Link]

"This article explores the role of emotion and alienation in protracted conflict, making preliminary suggestions as to how they might be managed. First we note the slight attention given these topics in the mediation/negotiation literature. Then we show how emotional/relational issues are related to theories of economic/political interests, on the one hand, and narratives and ideologies of conflict, on the other. We focus on the way alienated relationships impair communication, and the way they generate intense emotions, especially shame and anger. In our view, secret (unacknowledged) alienation and shame are the primary causes of intractable conflict. Finally, we propose a role for mediators in the acknowledgment of emotion and alienation as a way of resolving intractable conflicts." - Article Abstract

Maiese, Michelle. "Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East -- Summary." Conflict Research Consortium.
Available at: Link

This is a summary of Marc Gopin's "Holy War, Holy Peace: How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East."

Wehr, Paul. "The Development of Conflict Knowledge." University of Colorado - Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado - Conflict Research Consortium.
Available at: http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/bi-essay/wehr7492.htm  [Backup Link]

U.S. Conflict scholar and peace activist Paul Wehr traces the development of the peace and conflict resolution field from the Napoleonic era through the current day, examining growth in knowledge of about better ways of approaching both domestic and international conflicts.

Rinehart, Milton. "Toward Better Concepts of Peace--abstract." University of Colorado: Conflict Research Consortium, April 1989.
Available at: Primary Link  [Backup Link]

The author states that our popular concept of peace has failed us. He claims that our old ways of thinking about peace are obsolete and that our peacemaking efforts, based upon them, have failed to assure peace and thus assure the avoidance of nuclear catastrophe. This paper tries to clarify our concepts of peace and to expand the range of our peace thinking by identifying additional and possibly more adequate concepts.

Offline (Print) Sources

Kriesberg, Louis. Constructive Conflicts: From Escalation to Resolution, 2nd Edition. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, November 2002.
This volume discusses the catalysts and phases of conflict as well as the processes of conflict resolution. It identifies the complexities of constructive conflicts and outlines case studies of intractable conflict moving towards resolution.

Adler, Robert S., Benson Rosen and Elliot M. Silverstein. "Emotions in Negotiation: How to Manage Fear and Anger." Negotiation Journal 14:2, April 1998.
"When emotions run amok, negotiators lose perspective and make serious mistakes or perform poorly. The authors describe emotions, explore their origins, detail their physiology, demonstrate their key role in human behavior (particularly in negotiation), and propose a series of recommendations for dealing with fear and anger, two critical emotions in negotiations." -Negotiation Journal Primary Link

Shapiro, Daniel. "Negotiating Emotions." Conflict Resolution Quarterly 20:1, 2002.
This article argues against the common belief that emotions should be left out of negotiation. Shapiro believes that making practitioners more aware of emotions can allow to them to negotiate more effectively.

Rothman, Jay. Resolving Identity-Based Conflict in Nations, Organizations, and Communities. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, June 1997.
This book discusses identity-based conflict in terms of theory and practice, with Rothman outlining a four-phase model of conflict; antagonism, resonance, invention, and action. The work offers possible avenues for transforming a wide array of conflict situations. Primary Link [Backup Link]

Lederach, John Paul. The Moral Imagination: The Art And Soul Of Building Peace. Oxford University Press, 2005.
As founding Director of the Conflict Transformation Program and Institute of Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University, Lederach's book focuses on his thinking and learning over the past few years. He explores the evolution of his understanding of peacebuilding by looking back on his own experiences. Peacebuilding, in his view, is both a skill and an art. Finding this art, he says, requires a worldview shift.

Bartos, Otomar J. and Paul Wehr. Using Conflict Theory. New York: Cambridge University Press, January 1, 2002.
The authors seek to explain why conflicts start and develop in certain ways, and to explore how conflicts might be used constructively. They begin by considering what conflict is, what is meant by goal incompatibility, and what the main types of conflict behavior are. They go on to consider why groups might develop incompatible goals, why latent conflicts become overt, and what determines whether a conflict escalates or deescalates. They end by suggesting how all of this theory might be used to enhance conflict management.

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