Monday, February 13, 2012

Fractionation, framing, reframing and common ground


The techniques of fractionation, framing, reframing and common ground are helpful in solving interpersonal conflicts, but can also be helpful in solving problems that don’t require interpersonal conflicts.

Fractionation, or breaking down a problem into small pieces that can be dealt with makes sense in any problem. When looked at as a whole, a problem can often seem unsolvable and people can be too discouraged to even try. World hunger is one such situation. But when the root causes of hunger are sought, people can begin breaking down a root cause into smaller pieces in order to work to correct it and therefore make some progress toward solving world hunger.

Framing, or summarizing and asking neutral questions without blaming or judging can also be useful in situations other than interpersonal conflicts. For example, currently people may blame university leaders for increases in tuition. Asking neutral questions such as where has money come from previously for university funding may lead people to understand that the State of California is no longer putting a priority on funding education, which could lead to lobbying government officials for more funds instead of just blaming university leaders.

Reframing, or restating negative statements or positions in a way that helps people to look at things differently can also be helpful in more ways than just in interpersonal conflicts. Very often people blame other people for being homeless, saying that the homeless has caused their own problem by their lifestyles of boozing, drug use, mismanagement of finances, etc. Asking the question, “How many paychecks are you away from homelessness?” can make a person take another look at the way they view people without homes.

Common ground, or, as the authors of our book wrote, discovering the “attitudes, values, behaviors, expectations, and goals the parties share,” can be tremendously useful in other ways than just in interpersonal conflicts. Once a person discovers how similar someone else or a group is to him- or herself, a person is more apt to take another look and reevaluate personal concepts and beliefs. When a person is raised to believe that his or her faith is the only way to be a good person gets to know a person of another faith and talks with that person and attends the other person’s religious services, he or she tends to realize that there are many different ways to lead a life as a good person.

1 comment:

  1. Wow! I like the way you have used actual examples to illustrate framing, and reframing. I also agree that if people interpret each other on common grounds, we will be able to minimize misunderstandings about others. It will be so easy to understand people if we try to find common grounds with them and mutually assimilate the differences and similarities between our cultures, religions, and ways of practicing them.
    Seeking commonalities is what the mediators initiate in the process of finding common grounds. An issue cannot be resolved if both the disputing parties focus on the points they disagree, which will produce distrust and competition. Instead if the disputers focus on areas of agreement, there are more chances that the disputers might trust and cooperate. Also mediators should urge the disputers to think about resolving the problem without taking it on personally, that could make the issue of conflict as a focus with a rational.

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