Mechanisms of conflict and aggression in the dementia context

Bibliographic Data

ID21235486
AuthorsAmanda Wray (0000-0002-2144-4458, Cardiff University, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume4
Issue1
Pages114-140
Publication date2016-08-11
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Language Aggression and Conflict (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2213-1272 • E-ISSN: 2213-1280
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/jlac.4.1.05wra
OpenAlexW2508281814
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited25

It is proposed that conflict is an almost inevitable outcome, when, as in dementia communication, the delicate relationship between linguistic processing and pragmatics is upset. This relationship has been little researched, even though much is known about the two components in isolation. Making particular use of key observations and claims from the papers in this special issue, a macro-conceptualisation of the dynamics of conflict and aggression in the dementia context is developed. It is proposed that the cognitive and linguistic processing problems experienced by a person with dementia (PWD) can undermine her capacity to manage her spoken output in the way necessary to match the situational pragmatics, resulting in failure to achieve her interactional goals. The mismatch will create internal dissonance that may be expressed as aggression. Importantly, caregivers will also experience dissonance when their communicative agenda is not fulfilled. This may happen when their expectations of the situational pragmatics (e.g., old versus new information) are contradicted by the behaviour of the PWD. Here too, the dissonance may result in aggression or conflict. Modelling the mechanisms of ‘Communicative Impact’ (CI) offers a way to capture the relationship between processing and pragmatics and to examine how speakers attempt to resolve the dissonance. The CI model gives insights into how the risk of conflict in interaction between people with dementia and their caregivers might be minimised

Aggression · Cognitive dissonance · Cognitive psychology · Dementia · Linguistics · Pragmatics · Situational ethics · Conflict Management and Negotiation · Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Psychology · Social Psychology

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