Issue 6: Understanding Types of Fear That Prevent or Promote Communication About Conflict Issues
Different types of fear can be part of the conflict process. In some cases, fear may prompt demands or retaliation. Such may be the case when fear stems from a relational transgression, such as infidelity or deception, which makes the hurt individual fearful that the partner will engage in similar behavior in the future.
This type of fear may be related to conditional forgiveness and demands for change. In other cases, fear may prevent conflict from being expressed. Such is the case with the chilling effect (Roloff & Cloven, 1990). Yet little is known regarding how fear may work with other emotions to prevent or promote people from voicing their opinions. There may be a point where hostile emotions, such as anger or irritation, override the chilling effect, and people express their frustrations regardless of their fear. Fear can also be studied in relation to the principle of least interest, which specifies that the person who is less interested in maintaining a relationship has more power (Sprecher, Schmeeckle, & Felmlee, 2006). If, indeed, one partner cares more than the other, the partner who cares more may inhibit negative emotional expressions during conflict so as not to put the relationship in jeopardy. Fear may also be used to manipulate. Intimate terrorism is an extreme example of this, with one partner controlling the other through threats and violence (Johnson, 1995). The fear instilled through intimate terrorism can go beyond keeping people from expressing disagreement; it can also trap people in unhealthy relationships and is therefore worthy of future study.
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