Variables in the Study of Conflict  

	Power	Climate
	Goals	Cultural Assumptions
	Gender	Strategies and Tactics
	Perception	Style

Gender  

Some scholars are convinced that in a culture with historic divisions along gender lines, conflicts can "neither be understood nor resolved without consideration of their contexts
 . . . gender and power are important characteristics of contexts in which status relations and values are negotiated" (Taylor and Miller, 1994, 2).  

Research has come to no clear conclusion about whether men and women actually behave in different ways while conducting conflicts. However, gender stereotypes do affect conflict behaviors when individuals act and react based on stereotypes of how men and women will/should act rather than selecting behaviors appropriate for the individual one is communicating with.  

The in-depth examination of communication and gender is beyond the scope of this project but is a useful area of additional study for students of conflict management.  

Sources for the gender variable discussion include Borisoff and Victor, 1997; Lulofs, 1994; Taylor and Miller, 1994; Wilmot and Hocker, 1998.