Developing Dynamic Conflict Resolution Models Based on the Interpretation of Personal Conflict Styles

Abstract

Conflict resolution is a classic field of Social Science research. However, with conflicts now also emerging in virtual environments, a new field of research has been developing in which Artificial Intelligence and particularly Ambient Intelligence are interesting. As result, the field of Online Dispute Resolution emerged as the use (in part or entirely) of technological tools to solve disputes. In this paper we focus on developing conflict resolution models that are able to adapt strategies in real time according to changes in the personal conflict styles of the parties. To do it we follow a novel approach in which an intelligent environment supports the lifecycle of the conflict resolution model with the provision of important context knowledge. The presented framework is able to react to important changes in the context of interaction, resulting in a conflict resolution approach that is able to perceive the parties and consequently achieve better outcomes.

Assessing Interpersonal Trust in an Ambient Intelligence Negotiation System

“…The next step was the monitoring of the individuals' interaction with the developed web-based negotiation game (in which subjects perform two distinctly different roles). During the experiments, the information about the user's context and performance (extracted using models based on behavioral and contextual monitoring [9], [10]) was provided through a monitoring framework, which is customized to collect and treat the interaction data. The participants played the web-based game through computers that allowed the analysis of the described features.…”

A Speculative Computation Approach for Conflict Styles Assessment with Incomplete Information

“…In that sense, in each stage of the negotiation the parties' proposals are analysed according to their utility value and a range of possible outcomes defined by the values of the Worst Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (WATNA) and Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA) of each party. This approach uses a mathematical model [2], which classifies a party's conflict style considering the range of possible outcomes, the values of WATNA and BATNA as boundaries, and the utility of the proposal. Regarding that utility, it quantifies how good a given outcome is for a party, it is acceptable to argue that a competing party will generally propose solutions that maximize its own utility in expense of that of the other party (the utility of the proposal is higher than the WATNA of the other party), whereas, for example, a compromising party will most likely search for solutions in an intermediary region (the utility of the proposal falls within the range of the zone of possible agreement, the range of overlapped outcomes that would benefit both parties).…”

The Relationship between Stress and Conflict Handling Style in an ODR Environment

“…The effects of stress were successfully measured by analysing the interaction patterns of users with handheld devices, considering features such as touch intensity, acceleration of gestures, amount of movement or touch duration. -Automatic estimation of personal conflict resolution styles -estimation of the conflict resolution style without the use of questionnaires [15] by using a generic model, with a theoretical background, using data from the workflows of the negotiation process in the context of conflicts.…”

“…The personal handling conflict style is classified using data extracted from the proposals' workflow by determining how close the utility of the proposals are to boundary or central values ( Figure 2). The whole process of extracting information about the conflict handling style from consecutive proposals is described in detail in [15]. When the conflict resolution system has a temporal representation of the evolution of the conflict styles, it may implement dynamic conflict resolution methods that adapt strategies in real time.…”