Finding the right chemistry: Relational models and *relationship, process, and task conflict in culturally diverse research groups.

Abstract

This dissertation draws on relational models theory (Fiske, 1991, 1992) to investigate the effect of divergent relational models on relationship, process, and task conflict in culturally diverse groups. The psychological and organizational literature has traditionally presumed that culturally diverse groups experience more conflict than culturally homogeneous groups because of ingroup favoritism, prejudice against members of outgroups, and errors in communication, aspects which are all based on differences in cultural or ethnic identity. However, the recent development of a cultural approach to psychology demonstrates that individuals from different cultural backgrounds often approach a situation with divergent mental models about appropriate social interaction patterns that are also likely to influence intragroup dynamics. These relational models have been shown to be important for people's ability to anticipate, interpret, evaluate, judge, and react to the behavior of others, as well as guide their own behavior. Thus, conflict in culturally diverse groups may arise from a divergence in the relational models that group members apply, above and beyond the conflict generated by demographic differences based on cultural or ethnic identity. I tested 19 hypotheses using survey data from culturally diverse chemistry research groups at 26 universities. I used LISREL 8 to conduct confirmatory factor analyses of the measurement scales created for this research and regression analysis to test the 19 hypotheses. I also conducted interviews with 29 members of chemistry research groups to develop a richer understanding of how individuals use relational models in a group context. The findings of this study show that the more dissimilar the relational models were that members of chemistry research groups applied to their relationships with other group members, the less favorably group members evaluated the group. However, groups did not experience more relationship, process, and task conflict when their members used more dissimilar relational models as I hypothesized. Cultural diversity, operationalized as dissimilarity in terms of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism (Triandis, 1995), was related to relational models dissimilarity as well as to the three conflict variables. The implications of these findings for the understanding of culturally diverse groups are discussed.