How does creativity play out in social conflict?
Just like Mark Twain's observation about difference of opinion and interesting horse races, it is difference of interest, and how difference is handled, that makes interesting solutions to social conflict.
If creativity is applied to the handling of differences, the outcome might very well be a mutually beneficial, integrative agreement; but just as well, creativity can be applied to contentiousness, pursuit of selfish interests, and asymmetric outcomes. In this chapter, my focus is on creativity in the service of developing mutually beneficial, integrative agreements.Consider the story of the Prophet Mohammad and his idea for settling a dispute that occurred during rebuilding of the Ka'aba in Mecca: when the sacred Black Stone was to be put in place, leaders of several tribes quarreled about who should have the honor to place it. The Prophet's idea: place the stone on a cloak and the heads of each tribe would take a side of the cloak and together carry it in; thus each could have the honor of putting the stone in place (Satha-Anand, 1998).1 The story points to the characteristics of an outcome, a product, in this case, an agreement that allowed each party to achieve its interest, and it might be judged an especially creative outcome. Indeed, the kind of solution that allows each party to achieve its interests is fundamental and represents a basic
Writing this chapter was supported by National Science Foundation Grant SES-0453301, Group Effects in Bilateral Negotiation. Special thanks to Morton Deutsch, Peter Coleman, Eric Marcus, and Andrea Hollingshead for many helpful comments on an earlier draft. type of high-value outcome. The key question is what is the structure of creative outcomes of conflict?
The focus on the products of negotiation is one of three basic perspectives on creativity in social conflict. The second perspective is about the person (the negotiator or mediator), and here it could be said that the Prophet Mohammad was creative in his suggestion. What are the characteristics of highly creative negotiators?
The third perspective, on process, is about the set of processes and conditions that connect the person to the product. The key questions are how does a given person, or group of people, in situations with pressures and constraints, limited capacities, strong emotions and motives achieve a creative agreement? What are the key underlying, explanatory processes?2