Running Head: Interpersonal Conflict in Television 1
Interpersonal Conflict in Television
Name
COM200: Interpersonal Communication
Instructor:
September 12, 2016
Running Head: Interpersonal Conflict in Television 2
Interpersonal relationships, regardless of their types are characterized by moods, feelings
and emotions. These emotions will always present in form of conflicts and when they occur,
happen, a person will always think of an approach that can be used to handle them effectively.
Television shows are always characterized by conflicts occurring in the real world situations.
The Big Bang is not exclusive as in its Season 1, Episode 9, with a title, “The Cooper-Hofstader
Polarization” there occurs a conflict which was never handled effectively. The aspects of
communication like listening, constructivism, and empathy were never used. Consequently, the
case remained unsolved portray the inability of characters to settle small disputes related to
ineffective communication effectively.
Let’s face it, most people do not like conflict, but it is sometimes unavoidable. We are
not always going to get along and agree with one another. No matter the level of conflict,
relationships need to determine a pattern that is agreeable of the resolution conflict, this is how
relationships are developed (Vaden 2012). Conflict needs to be managed, and once managed it
can make relationships stronger and improve communication, however both parties need to
approach the conflict in a constructive and effective manner.
There are different levels of conflict and in the episode of The Big Bang Theory, Leonard
and Sheldon’s friendship is put to the test. Their level of conflict was destructive. Destructive
conflict is “a negative relationship maintenance behavior that involves being controlling and
starting conflict” (Bevan, J. L., & Sole, K., 2014). When you have destructive conflict, you will
also have destructive communication, which is when there are messages that are negative and
harmful (Bevan, J. L., & Sole, K., 2014).
At the beginning of the episode, Leonard and Sheldon are roommates and good friends,
but that did not last long. Leonard had discovered a letter in the trash. The letter was addressed
Interpersonal Conflict in Television 3
to both Leonard and Sheldon. Sheldon had received the letter first and after reading the letter, he
disregarded it before allowing Leonard to read it. The letter was an invitation to a physics
conference, which they were asked to present a paper they had written. When Sheldon threw
away this letter, he was saying it was meaningless and did not take into consideration Leonard's
feelings. This made Leonard upset and angry. He informed Sheldon that he was going to the
conference to present the paper. Leonard as co-author of the paper felt he had every right to do
so. Sheldon, on the other hand, disapproves and informs Leonard that no one is presenting the
paper. Leonard ignores Sheldon and goes to the conference. The conflict escalated, even more,
when Penny tries to help and in return, she makes the situation worse. Leonard goes the
conference, and as he is there, Sheldon appears. Sheldon had attended the conference only to
discredit Leonard's presentation. He wanted Leonard to fail. The conflict continues to escalate,
and voices get louder, tones get stronger and eventually the conflict turns physical. Throughout
the entire conflict, there is a lot of name calling and degrading of each other. When they return
home, there is still conflict, but it starts to de-escalate and in their own odd way they give each
other an apology. At the end of the episode, Sheldon and Leonard remain friends and
roommates.
There are many things that could have been done to prevent the conflict from escalating
the way it did. When Leonard found the letter Sheldon should have shown some empathy
towards Leonard. Sheldon needed to put himself in Leonard's shoes. How would Sheldon have
felt if Leonard had thrown away the letter? When you put yourself in someone else's shoes to try
to learn the other person’s feelings, thoughts and perspectives, (Bevan, J. L., & Sole, K., 2014).
Interpersonal Conflict in Television 4
Listening was also an issue, but it wasn't just listening it was active listening that needed
to be implemented. Active listening involves all senses. If this type of listening had been used,
both parties would have been able to explore their thoughts and feelings. I feel that if Sheldon
Running Head: Interpersonal Conflict in Television 5
had truly listened, whether it was active or non-active, to Leonard he would have known how
important it was for him to give the presentation. I think Sheldon in a way did hear him but
because he did not want to go the conference he felt that Leonard should also not go. In a way,
for Sheldon, this became an issue of control.
In conclusion, conflict is normal for relationships. Conflict is caused when two or more
people disagree. However, we must learn to deal with conflict instead of avoiding it (Segal, J.,
Ph.D., & Smith, M., M.A.). If a conflict is mismanaged, it can be detrimental to any
relationship, but if you handle it properly, it can make the bond between two people stronger. As
we learned in the episode of The Big Bang Theory, the conflict was not handled properly due to
the lack of empathy and both active and non-active listening skills.
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Work Cited
Bevan, J. L., & Sole, K. (2014). Making Connections: Understanding interpersonal
communication (2nd ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved from [Link]
Segal, J., Ph.D., & Smith, M., M.A. (n.d.). Conflict Resolution Skills. Retrieved
September 10, 2016, from [Link]
[Link]
Vaden, R. (2012, May 11). How to Fight: 10 Rules of Relationship Conflict Resolution.
Retrieved September 10, 2016, from [Link]
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