Sociology of conflict and dispute resolution

I’m studying for my Social Science class and don’t understand how to answer this. Can you help me study?

Assignment Part 1: After you read the excerpt from George Thompson’s Verbal Judo (file attached), what did you find was your strongest “inner enemy” in conflict? Write a few words about a “trigger” that may stop you from constructively dealing with conflict.

Respond to another student.

Assignment Part 2: What Owns You?

In the accompanying pages and excerpt from the book Verbal Judo, author George Thompson (a former police officer), describes the advice he received on naming and defining the ‘enemies’ in his nature so he can ‘own’ them and not be controlled by them when faced with conflict.

In this assignment, write about your most powerful ‘enemy’ within yourself that you believe could interfere with your ability to constructively deal with conflict. Incorporate the answers to the following questions into your response:

1. What feeling(s) does your enemy bring to you in a difficult conflict? (i.e. fear, anger, embarrassment, apathy, disgust?)

2. What is triggering your extreme emotional response to bring that ‘enemy’ out into the light? Is it your conflict partner’s tone of voice, opinion of you, or, specific ‘trigger’ words?

3. What is it that makes you feel that this ‘owns’ you? (Does your heart race? Do your muscles tense or your mouth get dry? Do you ‘shut down’ emotionally?)

4. What kinds of behaviors or words have you attempted to use to try and address it?