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Chapter One
Cooperation and Competition
Morton Deutsch
Some time ago, in the garden of a friend's house, my five-year-old son and
his chum were struggling over possession of a water hose. (They were in
conflict.) Each wanted to use it first to water the garden. (They had a competitive
orientation.) Each was trying to tug it away from the other and both
were crying. Each was very frustrated, and neither was able to use the hose to
sprinkle the flowers as he had desired. After reaching a deadlock in this tug-of-war,
they began to punch one another and call each other names. (As a result
of their competitive approach, the conflict took a destructive course for both of
them-producing frustration, crying, and violence.)
Now imagine a different scenario. The garden consists mainly of two sections,
flowers and vegetables. Each kid wants to use the hose first. Let's suppose
they want to resolve their conflict amicably. (They have a cooperative
orientation.) One says to the other, "Let's flip a coin to see who uses the hose
first." ... read full excerpt from The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice ebook
