NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT ESCALATION: AN ATTRIBUTION‐BASED MODEL

Traditionally, conflict theory and research has focused almost exclusively on verbal behavior to understand strategic processes. Research on various nonverbal cues in conflict interaction is limited to investigations of narrowly defined variable sets and/or atheoretic descriptions of nonverbal behaviors, with little attention to the underlying reasons for the behavioral choices made by disputants. This paper proposes an attribution‐based model of conflict escalation as a consequence of non‐verbal status displays. The lack of research on the role of nonverbal communication in conflict escalation and the limitations of current models of nonverbal immediacy exchange are cited as a justification for the proposed model. Implications of the model are summarized in the form of several propositions.