Interpersonal Conflict: The Lens Model Of Conflict

My brother, Andrew stated that he felt betrayed how his best friends go out and party with him, then turned around and call my mother, Faye, and told them that he was addicted to cocaine. Two days went by; my brother, Andrew, avoided all phone calls from my mother and his best friends. Finally, on the third day after the confrontation, my oldest brother, Gary, and mother, Faye, showed up at Andrew’s dorm room and explained to him if he went with them to get a drug assessment then he would be able to stay in school and keep everything that my family had threatened to take away from him. My brother, Andrew, had already lost most of his trust in his friends, but he agreed to take a drug assessment because he did not want to lose what he had.
The

One can easily compare my brother, Andrew, interpersonal conflict with this model. The model consists of the two most important aspects of a conflict, communication behaviors, and the perception of those behaviors. The communication behaviors that existed within Andrew interpersonal conflict were obviously differences between both parties. My brother, Andrew, felt attacked and betrayed by his friends and family, so his communication was very selective. When Andrew would speak to the other party (friends and family) he would lash out by yelling and screaming. Whereas, the communication behaviors among Andrew’s friends and my family was claim but aggressive. They showed their true emotions, even though those emotions hurt Andrew severely. They were brutally honest and they did not back down. They made sure that their message was

Perception is always viewed differently between parties and is attributed to each person’s view of self, and each person’s view of the other. These attributions are also linked to the context of the conflict; past events, current events, and future projections ( ). “Each person has lens that gives that he or she a particular perspective; they are looking at the conflict with a different lens, just as people use different types of glasses to see”( ). My brother, Andrew, perceived his friends and family confrontation as a negative attack on him. Andrew assumed that his friends hated him and wanted him out of school and my mother and brother did not trust him and were going to believe his friends over him. Whereas, my brother, Andrew’s friends and family perceived that situation completely different, Andrew’s friends noticed a change in his behavior and knew about his drug use, and out of love and deep concern told my mother and oldest brother. My family then became worried and called Andrew out of concern and love as well. My brother, Andrew did not understand why he needed help and my family and his friends did not understand why he did not want to get help; my brother, Andrew’s lens and their lens distorted the situation in opposite ways (