Disagreement as an Opportunity, Not a Threat: A Review of Constructive Controversy: Theory, Research, Practice

摘要

"I forced myself to listen to people who disagree with me," former U.S. President Bill Clinton explained in a speech delivered at Yale University in 2010. This might be seen as a contradiction in itself. While disagreement is an omnipresent ingredient of social life, it is still quite unusual for many of us to think and act in this spirit. It is rather the rule than the exception that people adhere to their own opinion, rather than try to learn from other opinions. Johnson addresses this problem and provides theoretical back-ground and practical guidelines, which help dealing with disagree-ment in a positive way. Academics as well as practitioners can profit from the concept of constructive controversy in situations when decisions are to be made, problems are to be solved, inno-vation has to be generated, or learning and higher levels of think-ing are necessary.