TY - JOUR

T1 - Reconciliation in human adults

T2 - A video-assisted naturalistic observational study of post conflict conciliatory behaviour in interpersonal aggression

AU - Philpot, Richard

AU - Liebst, Lasse Suonperä

AU - Lindegaard, Marie Rosenkrantz

AU - Verbeek, Peter

AU - Levine, Mark

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - Reconciliation is an aspect of conflict resolution, with similar behavioural patterns documented in non-human primates, human children, and human adults of non-Western, non-industrialized cultures. Reconciliation amongst adults of industrialized societies has rarely been studied. We observed naturally occurring conflicts between adults, captured by public security cameras in England. Reconciliation was found in one-quarter of all conflicts and was more prevalent in milder conflicts. Reconciliation typically occurred spontaneously between opponents — and was found within friendship groups and across stranger groups. Reconciliation between opponents also appeared to be stimulated by peers, law enforcement, or shared objects. In some instances, reconciliation extended beyond the initial conflict dyad toward victimized third-party peacemakers. These findings add to growing cross-cultural and cross-species evidence demonstrating the presence and function of post-conflict reconciliation. We extend the repertoire of reconciliatory behaviour and introduce five common features of reconciliation that are central to the study of adult peacemaking.

AB - Reconciliation is an aspect of conflict resolution, with similar behavioural patterns documented in non-human primates, human children, and human adults of non-Western, non-industrialized cultures. Reconciliation amongst adults of industrialized societies has rarely been studied. We observed naturally occurring conflicts between adults, captured by public security cameras in England. Reconciliation was found in one-quarter of all conflicts and was more prevalent in milder conflicts. Reconciliation typically occurred spontaneously between opponents — and was found within friendship groups and across stranger groups. Reconciliation between opponents also appeared to be stimulated by peers, law enforcement, or shared objects. In some instances, reconciliation extended beyond the initial conflict dyad toward victimized third-party peacemakers. These findings add to growing cross-cultural and cross-species evidence demonstrating the presence and function of post-conflict reconciliation. We extend the repertoire of reconciliatory behaviour and introduce five common features of reconciliation that are central to the study of adult peacemaking.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - reconciliation

KW - conflict resolution

KW - peacemaking

KW - human adults

KW - video observation

U2 - 10.1163/1568539X-bja10176

DO - 10.1163/1568539X-bja10176

M3 - Journal article

VL - 159

SP - 1225

EP - 1261

JO - Behaviour

JF - Behaviour

SN - 0005-7959

ER -