Sociology Portfolio: Reflective Writing on Interpersonal Conflict

This reflective writing piece details a negative experience involving a disagreement with a friend in a sociology class over differing understandings of a concept. The author describes how the argument escalated, becoming personal and abusive, leading to a temporary rift in the friendship. The author reflects on their contribution to the conflict, acknowledging their unwillingness to concede and their engagement in personal attacks. Key lessons learned include the importance of respecting differing viewpoints, even when perceived as incorrect, and avoiding unproductive arguments. The author identifies listening skills and maintaining a calm demeanor as strategies to handle similar situations differently in the future. While the experience initially strained the friendship, it ultimately led to personal growth and improved conflict resolution skills, resulting in a stronger friendship after reconciliation. Desklib offers a variety of similar solved assignments and study resources for students.

Running head: PORTFOLIO 2` 1
PORTFOLIO_2: Reflective Writing
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PORTFOLIO 2` 2
Brief description of the negative experience
The bad experience I encountered was a disagreement with a friend in the school. The basis on
the conflict was in regards to the concept which were taught in the sociology class. My friend
was arguing on a given concept without any basis and proof. He was highlighting he was right
and I did not know what I was speaking about. At one instance the argument was so heated up
and it became personal and abuses started. I had all the facts and I knew what I was saying and
had the basis of my argument. I thought this situation was not essential and I had to withdraw
from it. This was the worst negative experience I have had with a friend especially on the class
work.
How I contributed to cause the experience
To some great extent I can say I did also contribute to the heating up of the argument and making
the situation bad. As much as we were arguing I was not also letting it go and I wanted to prove
to him I was right as much as he highlighted he was also right. I wanted to provide prove that his
arguments were all wrong and he should rather not argue on the basis of personal views but
rather than prove a given concept. I did not want defeated in this situation and also one instance I
become personal and started abusing him like he was doing. I should have let it go when such
situation started but I did not want to be defeated in the argument.
What I learnt from the experience
What I learnt from this experience is that it is not important to argue on just a mere concept. It is
important for one to have their own point of view rather than engaging in unproductive
arguments which leads to disagreements. Personal opinions matters but that should not infringe

PORTFOLIO 2` 3
another person personal view as much as they are wrong. Their opinion should be respected
whether they are right or wrong.
What I would do to handle the experience different
There are numerous skills which is could use to avoid the argument in this case and salvaged on
the situation. One is utilizing the listening skills, the argument could have been avoided had I be
more accommodating and listened to my friend more. It is important to listen to individuals more
before responding. In case I was to be interrupted since the other individual was being long
winded, I would have summarized on understanding first. Sometimes individuals express
themselves differently than you expect. Another aspect is usage of lower voice. When one lowers
their voice they are able to accomplish three things, reduce any tension, force the other to listen
to you and gain the psychological advantage in the discussion. I should have lowered my voice
when the argument got heated.
Evaluation the positive and negative impacts to the overall experience
The positive impact is that I got to learn from my mistakes and when faced with similar situation
I would employ skills learnt to solve a disagreement. On the negative effect was that we kept out
of touch with my friend for sometimes, but after sometime we got to solve our issues and make
up and now we are great friends again.