Cultural Values in Conflict Management

Americans (individualists) and Japanese (collectivists) were asked to rate their conflict experiences in terms of goal orientation, goal attainment, tactics, and outcome satisfaction. Individualists preferred assertive tactics, whereas collectivists preferred avoidance tactics. The results regarding goal orientation showed that individualists were strongly oriented toward achieving justice, but collectivists were more motivated by a concern for relationships with others. The finding that attainment of a justice goal did not strongly satisfy the Americans suggests that justice is an instrumental value and not a terminal value in conflict situations.