Intervention in (inter)action A video-based analysis of the role of third parties in interpersonal conflicts

This dissertation investigates the role that third parties play in the development of interpersonal conflicts. I conceptualize the role of third parties from an interactionist perspective, whereby third-party behavior both shapes and is shaped by the conflict development. The empirical investigation of the dissertation draws on CCTV footage collected in 2017 from public streets in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. I develop and apply both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches to analyze the video footage. The role of third parties is empirically investigated in four chapters: Chapter two and three investigate if the target selection and aggression of third-party interventions are shaped by the development of the conflict situation. Chapter four and five investigate if and how the third parties influence the way an interpersonal conflict situation develops. While each empirical chapter approaches the video material in a unique way, they all incorporate the sequential development of the conflict situations into the analysis. The findings of the empirical investigations confirm that the third parties are both influenced by and influencing the way conflict situations develop. This bi-directional relationship shows the complex nature of real-life human behavior, which poses a challenge for research on the role of third parties in conflict situations, since it means that cause and effect are interconnected. In order to disentangle this bi-directionality, I suggest that researchers measure and analyze interpersonal conflict in ways that allow them to take the chronology of the situations into account.