Survivor blog 03

In the latest episode of Survivor, Blood vs Water, we saw some interesting changes. The tribe members were thrown for a loop when they switched up the members in the tribe. This messed up many of the alliances that had been formed throughout the show. The major switch made Kieth the only single player on Coyopa and it left Josh and Reed as the only couple on Hanahpu. Since the tribe members had been getting use to the way they were working before, this created a whole lot of tension amongst both tribes.

With Coyopa members now becoming a part of the Hanahpu tribe, the new members had issues with the power struggle and even with their food. Since Jeremy held a leading spot on the Hunahpu tribe, he was fearful of losing his power while he was gone. There are certain types of conflicts that occur in group communication. One of them is a constructive conflict. When Jeremy felt that his position of power was threatened by the switch, this is a constructive conflict. That is when group members express disagreement in ways that value everyone’s contribution and promote the group’s goals.

Jeremy also began to influence Alec, determined to get the advantage on Josh and Reed. The pettiness amongst the tribe members was not limited to the new Hanahpu tribe. The new Coyopa tribe had plenty of food yet there was still some drama amongst them when Dale did not approve of the serving of rice Missy had eaten. She ate more than the ration size of the other tribe members. Dale had to go on a walk in order to calm down. This is an example of substantive conflict, which is a disagreement about issues, ideas, decisions, actions, and goals. It could also go a little deeper as an example of affective conflict. This is a disagreement impersonally and with differences in communication styles as well as conflicting core values. Missy failed to communicate the fact that she was going to get more rice than the rationed amount. Without asking, this is a form of disrespect.