Structured Conflict

Most people view conflict negatively. Yet the right kind of conflict can lead to much better group decision making. C-type conflict, or “cognitive conflict,” focuses on problem-and issue-related differences of opinion.

In c-type conflict, group members disagree because their different experiences and expertise lead them to view the problem and its potential solutions differently. By contrast, a-type conflict, meaning “affective conflict,” refers to the emotional reactions that can occur when disagreements become personal rather than professional.

The devil’s advocacy approach can be used to create c-type conflict by assigning an individual or a subgroup the role of critic. When properly used, the devil’s advocacy approach introduces c-type conflict into the decision-making process.

Another method of creating c-type conflict is dialectical inquiry, which creates c-type conflict by forcing decision makers to state the assumptions of a proposed solution (a thesis) and then generate a solution that is the opposite (antithesis) of the proposed solution.