Nexus of Emotional Intelligence (EI), need for affiliation (naff), integrating style of conflict resolution: A case study of dispute resolution among undergraduates in Sri Lankan state universities

Abstract

Emotions and motivational desires play a significant role in human behaviour. Accurate comprehension and management of those factors influence the behaviour of people. University undergraduate disputes are a heading in many mainstream dialogues in the county. Yet many have looked into it, disregarding the emotional and motivational components. The selection of conflict resolution mechanism mainly depends upon the conflicting party's motivational desire and emotions, but it is unexplored in the Sri Lankan context. Thus this study was conducted to understand how the nexus of motivational desire (i.e., Need for Affiliation (nAff)) and Emotional Intelligence (EI) influence the selection of conflict resolution styles (i.e., behaviour) among undergraduates to bridge the prevailing gap. A survey conducted involved the participation of 388 undergraduates from ten (10) state universities. The measurements were; EI - Wong and law EI scale, nAff - Unified Motive Scales (UMS), conflict resolution styles (integrating style) - Rahim’s Organizational Conflict Inventory-II. Moderated multiple regression analysis (hierarchical multiple regression) was applied to test the hypothesis. The results signify that emotionally intelligent people prefer to use an integrating style to resolve conflicts. Further, motivational desires, i.e., nAff (moderating variable), enhanced the relationship between EI and selecting an integrating style to resolve conflicts. It indicates that those emotionally intelligent and highly needed affiliations tend to choose a more productive and collaborative conflict resolution approach such as integrating style. Students' emotional intelligence (EI) levels will rise due to opportunities to strengthen their relationships and EI development programmes. That leads to selecting more productive conflict resolution approaches such as integrating style to manage student conflict better. Future researchers could enhance the study by adding personality, values, and cultural elements to the model.