Cultural values in conflict management: Goal orientation, goal attainment, and tactical decision

Americans (individualists) and Japanese (collectivists) were asked to rate their conflict experiences in terms of goal orientation, goal attainment, tactics, and outcome satisfac-tion. Individualists preferred assertive tactics, whereas collectivists preferred avoidance tactics. The results regarding goal orientation showed that individualists were strongly oriented toward achieving justice, but collectivists were more motivated by a concern for relationships with others. The finding that attainment of a justice goal did not strongly satisfy the Americans suggests that justice is an instrumental value and not a terminal value in conflict situations