<p>There are a few studies that have correlated Big 5 with conflict styles. There are various terminology and measures but many use a similar set of five styles to the TKI.</p>

<p>Antonioni (1998) is highly cited. Here are the correlations.</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/AWZHU.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/AWZHU.png" alt="big 5 and conflict styles"></a></p>

<p>In short: </p>

<ul>
<li>The five conflict styles are correlated in ways that partially reflect the underlying two-dimensions of interested in self and interested in others.</li>
<li>Agreeableness correlates positively with interested in others and avoiding conflict. Agreeableness is also the strongest correlate of conflict styles.</li>
<li>Extraversion and openness are both related to integrating and negatively related to avoiding conflict.</li>
<li>Conscientiousness is related to integrating.</li>
<li>Neuroticism is related to avoiding conflict.</li>
</ul>

<p>Antonioni, D. (1998). Relationship between the big five personality factors and conflict management styles. International journal of conflict management, 9(4), 336-355.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-13T00:43:08.823Z
2019-06-13T00:43:08.823Z
Jeromy Anglim
<p>I am personally accredited in the TKI and before answering the question here is my take:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>TKI is an instrument based on a theory. If neuroscience is your thing, my guess is that you would prefer theories to be based on data (as the Big Five is’ then derive an instrument from that.</p></li>
<li><p>I have not seen much in the way of empirical research around the TKI, however as a guess I would hazard the following:</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Accommodating may correlate with high trait Agreeableness.</p>

<p>Avoiding may correlate with high trait Neuroticism</p>

<p>Competing may correlate with low trait Agreeableness </p>

<p>Personally I think the only value of TKI is to surface how individuals interact with one another. But the problem is that this can create a false awareness - if something is a TRAIT then it is quite hard to change. Better imho to stick with the Big Five and derive an understanding of how you handle conflict from that.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-23T17:50:09.963Z
2019-04-23T17:50:09.963Z
Nick H
<p>The <a href="https://www.opp.com/-/media/Files/PDFs/Reports-in-English/TKI/TKI-Profile-and-Interpretive-Report-US-English-Pat-Sample.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument</a> (TKI) is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1013280109471" rel="nofollow noreferrer">apparently</a> quite popular in MBA classes and even in conflict negotiation practice:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>The TKI is popular beyond the confines of negotiation classes.
  Indeed, it is one of the most widely used instruments of its kind in the
  world.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It basically scores one's negotiation style in five domains: Competing, Collaborating, Compromising, Avoiding, and Accommodating, although it looks like these are placed on just two dimensions Assertiveness and Cooperativeness. </p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/pPbVl.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/pPbVl.png" alt="enter image description here"></a></p>

<p>(The also have an <a href="https://www.kilmanndiagnostics.com/frequently-asked-questions-about-tki-assessment" rel="nofollow noreferrer">interesting FAQ</a> as to why they chose this domain approach: apparently to avoid halo and  social desirability effects in questions/answers.)</p>

<p>Has the TKI been [co]related to the Big Five or some other more general (i.e. not simply focused on conflict-resolution) personality model?</p>

<personality><io-psychology><big-five><conflict>
How does the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument relate to the Big Five?
got trolled too much this week
# How does the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument relate to the Big Five?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-13)

The [Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument](https://www.opp.com/-/media/Files/PDFs/Reports-in-English/TKI/TKI-Profile-and-Interpretive-Report-US-English-Pat-Sample.pdf) (TKI) is [apparently](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1013280109471) quite popular in MBA classes and even in conflict negotiation practice:

> The TKI is popular beyond the confines of negotiation classes.
> Indeed, it is one of the most widely used instruments of its kind in the
> world.

It basically scores one's negotiation style in five domains: Competing, Collaborating, Compromising, Avoiding, and Accommodating, although it looks like these are placed on just two dimensions Assertiveness and Cooperativeness.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/pPbVl.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/pPbVl.png)

(The also have an [interesting FAQ](https://www.kilmanndiagnostics.com/frequently-asked-questions-about-tki-assessment) as to why they chose this domain approach: apparently to avoid halo and social desirability effects in questions/answers.)

Has the TKI been [co]related to the Big Five or some other more general (i.e. not simply focused on conflict-resolution) personality model?

**Tags:** personality, io-psychology, big-five, conflict


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## 2 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-06-13. Score: 1 | Accepted answer

There are a few studies that have correlated Big 5 with conflict styles. There are various terminology and measures but many use a similar set of five styles to the TKI.

Antonioni (1998) is highly cited. Here are the correlations.

[![big 5 and conflict styles](https://i.sstatic.net/AWZHU.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/AWZHU.png)

In short:

* The five conflict styles are correlated in ways that partially reflect the underlying two-dimensions of interested in self and interested in others.
* Agreeableness correlates positively with interested in others and avoiding conflict. Agreeableness is also the strongest correlate of conflict styles.
* Extraversion and openness are both related to integrating and negatively related to avoiding conflict.
* Conscientiousness is related to integrating.
* Neuroticism is related to avoiding conflict.

Antonioni, D. (1998). Relationship between the big five personality factors and conflict management styles. International journal of conflict management, 9(4), 336-355.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-04-23. Score: 0

I am personally accredited in the TKI and before answering the question here is my take:

1. TKI is an instrument based on a theory. If neuroscience is your thing, my guess is that you would prefer theories to be based on data (as the Big Five is’ then derive an instrument from that.
2. I have not seen much in the way of empirical research around the TKI, however as a guess I would hazard the following:

Accommodating may correlate with high trait Agreeableness.

Avoiding may correlate with high trait Neuroticism

Competing may correlate with low trait Agreeableness

Personally I think the only value of TKI is to surface how individuals interact with one another. But the problem is that this can create a false awareness - if something is a TRAIT then it is quite hard to change. Better imho to stick with the Big Five and derive an understanding of how you handle conflict from that.


---

