Conflict Management Styles of Americans and Indonesians: Exploring the Effects of Gender and Collectivism/Individualism

The study explored the effects of gender and collectivism/individualism on conflict management styles among Indonesians (n= 271) and Americans (n= 243). Findings indicated that Indonesians preferred the compromising and integrating styles the most, followed by the avoiding, obliging, and emotion styles. The next preferred styles were the third-party use and dominating styles. For Americans, the compromising and integrating styles were the most preferred, followed by the dominating and emotional expression styles. The next preferred style was the obliging style, followed by the avoiding and third-party help styles. The neglect style was the least preferred style in both groups, with male participants and Indonesians endorsed the style significantly more than females and Americans respectively. In addition, results revealed that Americans preferred the integrating, compromising, dominating, emotional expression, and obliging styles significantly more than Indonesians. Indonesians preferred the avoiding style significantly more than Americans. Participants preferred the third-party help style equally. Findings showed that American males were significantly more individualistic than American females, Indonesian males, and Indonesian females. Collectivism was a positive predictor of the avoiding, integrating, compromising, emotional expression and obliging styles in both cultures. Additionally, collectivism was a positive predictor of the third-party help style among Americans. Individualism was a positive predictor of the dominating style in both groups. Individualism was a positive predictor of the integrating, compromising, and emotional expression styles in the Indonesian sample. Individualism was a positive predictor of the neglect style in the American sample. Overall, these findings indicate that collectivism is a stronger predictor of the conflict styles than is individualism. Results are discussed in light of prior literature on conflict management style, gender, and culture