How to Stop Fighting: Step 4 - Developing a System for Handling Disputes

How to Stop Fighting

Step #4
Fighting Fair: Developing a System for Handling Disputes

Developing a Dispute Resolution Plan

  • It takes more than correcting misunderstandings to avoid (or resolve) disputes.

  • People in long-term relationships also need to establish agreed-upon procedures for resolving their disputes fairly.

  • Rather than reinventing the procedure each time a problem develops, it is helpful to have a general plan for dealing with everyday disputes and conflicts.

Sometimes the procedure is the problem. If the decision-making procedure is thought to be fair, people are a lot less likely to get angry -- even when decisions differ from what they wanted.

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Photo Credit: UN Twisted Gun by Karl Fredrik Reuterswar. By Campbell. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.