Grace,+Celine,+Xandria

__**Research Questions:**__

 * __Big Picture Q:__ How do people react to confrontation?
 * __Specific Q:__ Will nationality (Korean or American) decide how passive or aggressive high school students would react to being accused of stealing a phone that we provide to them?

=__**Tentative Hypothesis:**__= After looking at some articles such as the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, On the Psychology of Self-Defense, Culture and Interpersonal Conflict Resolution Styles, Conflict Resolution Styles Among Collectivist Cultures, and [|How to Respond to False Accusations], our hypothesis is that most of the students in Korea will act passively and try to mediate in order to preserve their relationships while most of the students in the United States will go through all of the stages of dealing with conflict.

=__**Research Plan:**__= We will do this experiment on 20 high school students from grades 9-12 with a mixture of boys and girls (the number of boys and girls does not have to be equivalent since we are not comparing gender in this experiment). The experiment will take place on campus during lunch whilst other students are around. Each trial will be recorded to reflect upon once we are to collect our data.

//*Two people will be needed for this experiment and a third to **video record** their reactions from afar.//
 * The steps in which the experiment is to be completed will be as followed:**
 * 1) We will choose a student at random in which to leave the phone with. Tell them quickly that you have to go do something and walk away, leaving them with the phone.
 * 2) Wait until the first person walks away from the subject before the second person goes up to the student and asks, "Where did you get that phone?!"
 * 3) The second person should continue to ask where the student got the phone and accuse them of stealing it until the student becomes uncomfortable.
 * 4) How the student reacts to being accused by the second person is what our data shall be based on.

=__**Potential Research Flaws/Problems:**__=
 * 1) The subjects can become really aggressive.
 * 2) The experiment can cause conflicts between the experimenter who will be asked to keep the phone and the another person who will be accusing him/her.
 * 3) The subjects may notice that they are being filmed.
 * 4) The subjects may suspect a deliberate scheme.
 * 5) More subjects would give stronger results.

=__**Literature Reviews:**__= Culture and Interpersonal Conflict Resolution Styles This article was based on the study of exploring the acculturation and bicultural identity processes in the interpersonal conflict resolution preferences of monoculturals (Koreans and European Americans) and biculturals (Korean Americans). The study proved that “Koreans and European Americans differed in their conflict resolution styles in a manner congruent with individualism-collectivism theory.” The results of the study showed how Korean Americans are likely to compete (a traditionally individualistic style) more than Koreans and similar to European Americans. Furthermore, they are likely to avoid conflicts (a traditionally collectivistic style) more than both Koreans and European Americans. I think this article can be applied to our group’s experiment of observing if nationality (Korean or American) decides how (passive or aggressive) subjects would react to being accused of stealing a phone that we provide to them. Since our group chose to observe the reactions of two specific nationalities (Korean and American), some of the information in this article can be applied to our experiment.

[|How to Respond to False Accusations] Written by Rebecca Livermore, this article showed how people should respond when they are falsely accused. She stated that the natural response to false accusations is to lash out, especially when there is completely no truth to the accusation. Also, she gave out various suggestions and advice to get people out of situations when they are falsely accused. One of Livermore’s suggestions was to determine whether or not to respond. It is necessary to respond to a false accusation when a lack of response is likely to result in a negative consequence. Her other suggestion was to defend oneself in a calm manner. Maintaining emotions under control is significant because a controlled response allows the strength of a person’s character to shine. She mentioned that “an unfortunate attribute of human nature is to believe gossip.” In addition, she explained how false accusations can bring a person’s reputation down for a short period of time, however, constantly doing the appropriate thing in the long run will make one’s character shine. Lastly, she suggested that people should let go of the false accusations. If people let it go, they will be able to experience freedom and learn the joyfulness of the good things in their lives from the sting of false accusations. I believed this article can be applied to the experiment that our group will be conducting on 20 high school students from grades 9-12 with a mixture of boys and girls (the number of boys and girls does not have to be equivalent since we are not comparing gender in this experiment). By looking at Livermore’s article, I was able to observe some possible reactions that high school students from grades 9-12 might have for false accusations.

Psychology of Self Defense in America In this article, Terri Morgan writes of people overreacting at times and becoming physically defensive rather than reacting more logically. Morgan describes basic human (American) reactions to confrontation and states that self defense should begin before becoming physical, however in most cases Americans resort to physical defense before defending themselves by simply explaining or trying to explain the situation. The premise of Morgans article is actually self defense and confrontation. It in more so the premise that speaks louder than what is actually written. The article is to show how resorting to physical defense right away is far too common and that one should think before injuring another being. It is with this premise that the conclusion drawn is backed up, because an entire web page is to reflect upon Americans acting, in conflict, based purely off of adrenaline.

Steps to Take After Being Falsely Accused This article reflects on classic American reaction to being falsely accused. Drea writes of the three essential steps to not acting like a classic American, so to speak, when being accused of something one did not do. The writer goes on to explain that accusations are a common thing and that they happen all the time, so there is no need to dwell on them or overreact as most would. Step one is to stay calm and not influence the way people see you. Step two is to contact whatever officials are involved and tell them your side of the story. Step three is to move and make sure not to take it to the point where it becomes a legal issue of harassment. The article basically reflects how the majority of Americans actually need such literature to not react physically to conflict because they do not react logically and calmly generally.

Journal of Applied Social Psychology This excerpt of an experiment compares and contrasts how the Japanese and Americans deal with conflict. The subjects were asked to recall different accounts of conflict and asked how they dealt with it. A total of 94 Japanese and 98 Americans were surveyed and the findings were that the Japanese tended to be more calm because they wanted to preserve the relationship with whom they had conflict with.

Conflict Resolution Styles Among Collectivist Cultures I found this excerpt to be helpful because it talked about how Koreans deal with conflict. This, as well, was a survey where they were given three conflict situations and had to rate the importance of the strain that it put on the relationship. What was found was that Koreans all have the same basic idea of how to deal with conflict than the Japanese, and again, that the Koreans want to preserve the social relationship.

=__**Presentation and Report**__= media type="custom" key="10952180"