| This dissertation examines the role of cognition and emotion in the experience of organizational conflict. Study one demonstrates that conflict experiences are associated with attributions individuals make and not with the objective description of the conflict per se. Different individuals make different attributions in the same conflict situation. Asians, compared to Caucasian Americans, are more likely to perceive both high task and high relationship conflict simultaneously. Study two examines conflict in organizational teams. Results show that emotion suppression can improve performance when conflict levels are high. Cultural preferences in teams can influence tendencies to express or suppress negative emotions. In particular, highly virtual teams, which are often less hierarchical, exhibit less emotion suppression. This hinders their ability to derive positive outcomes from conflict. |
