Spanglish

Avoidance conflict style is a style of conflict used by an individual where he or she withdraws/ignores from a conflicted situation. Avoidance conflict is a way of not dealing with the situation at hand. The person involved does not seek to postpone the conflict and as he or she avoids the conflict, issues are not addressed, the cycle then continues to breed even more avoidance. During the scene where Deborah Clasky is furious at her husband (John) for not sticking to her method of dealing with their son’s misdeed, a method she describes as consistent, united parenting, John clearly engages in the avoidance style of conflict. The scene insinuates that Deborah had previously made it known to their son and John that she is upset (mad) with his misdeed. She had asked John to be united in judgment or whatever action she chooses in handling misdeeds. She asks John word for word what he said exactly to their son after the fact, and he said he told him “...I’m not mad”. John, the avoider, avoided dealing with the situation when his son misbehaved. John then decides to cup his wives breast to make her feel better in order to avoid another conflict (not uniting in her state of mind against her son’s misdeed). At first hand, John’s conflict styles were inappropriate because their son did misbehave and even if he knows that what he did was wrong, avoiding the matter with his son does not solve the issue. Cupping his wife’s breast in order to avoid another conflict is inappropriate because as she explains, it was infuriating. The issue was resolved in the end when he explains that he was just trying to level with their son, end scene.

Competitive style of conflict is when an individual seeks to satisty their needs at the expense of another. They are aggressive and uncooperative. Deborah Clasky uses the competitive style of conflict as she kept on trying to dominate the conversation with her husband and also insisting that her way was the best way to deal with their sons...