Arguing with the people you love? How to have a healthy family dispute
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Arguing with the people you love? How to have a healthy family dispute
Jessica Robles, Loughborough University
Unlike Britain’s royal family, most of us don’t have the option to move to another country when we don’t see eye to eye. But most of us have likely experienced disagreements with loved ones.
Conversations are designed to do things – to start some action, and complete it – whether it’s a service transaction, an invitation to coffee or reassurance on a bad day. Our uniquely complex communicative system has evolved to help us get things done in the social world.
Arguments are part of this complex system. They can be unavoidable, necessary or even productive. But they can also be difficult.
It can be hard to know what to do when tensions are high and harsh words are flying, particularly when it involves someone you’re close to. But research on how disputes unfold – and conversation more generally – offers some ideas about the best way to handle one.
What is a dispute?
There are...
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