New Research by Turner College's Mark James Investigates Role of Bilingualism and Gender in Preferences for Conflict Management Styles

Fueled by increasing globalization and emphasis on equity, modern societies and organizations are characterized by unprecedented demographic diversity. The convergence of diverse values, norms, and behavioral expectations inherently increases the potential for interpersonal conflict. Rather than viewing interpersonal conflict destructively, contemporary scholarship posits it as an inevitable yet dynamic process that, when managed constructively, can become highly beneficial. For example, although highly competitive or avoidant conflict management styles often lead to relationship breakdown, emotional exhaustion, and reduced productivity, cooperative conflict management styles foster creativity, yield innovation, and enhance decision-making. The awareness of individual differences in conflict management styles is therefore crucial for improving interpersonal relationships. New research by Turner College management professor Mark James, Zhimin Hu of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and Eduardo Navarrete of the University of Padua delves into individual differences by investigating whether and how bilingualism intersects with gender to affect preferences for conflict management styles. Specifically, they compared gender differences across active and passive conflict management styles in monolingual and bilingual individuals. Drawing on managerial and psycholinguistic research, James and his colleagues hypothesized that bilingualism would moderate gender differences in conflict management styles. A pilot study (n = 64) and a main study (n = 371) were conducted with adult samples of U.S. born-and-raised monolinguals and bilinguals. In the main study, participants completed a refined 22-item instrument measuring conflict management styles aggregated into active (i.e., dominating, integrating, compromising) and passive (i.e., avoiding, obliging) conflict management styles. Multivariate analysis discussed in the study, which appears in the current issue of Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, confirmed self-identified gender as a robust predictor of conflict management style differences. While further univariate analyses showed no effects for active styles, they revealed a statistically significant interaction between gender and bilingualism for passive styles. Post-hoc comparisons revealed that while monolingual women reported higher passive conflict management style scores than monolingual men, this gender gap was absent among bilingual participants. James and his coauthors interpret these findings through enhanced cognitive control afforded by managing two languages, which might equip bilinguals to better manage socialized passive defaults. Ultimately, these findings identify bilingualism as a subtle but meaningful boundary condition for conflict management styles, highlighting linguistic identity as a resource for fostering more adaptive and less stereotyped conflict resolution in modern society.