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Mediation is a complex social process which facilitates interpersonal, intergroup, and international negotiations. However, at present, neither the nature nor the potential of mediation is adequately understood because insufficient effort has been devoted to the analysis and study of the process. In order to enhance our understanding and the potential utility of the procedure, this article presents a mediation paradigm which serves as the basis for an analysis of the process and a review of the various techniques. Subsequently, the paradigm and review underpin suggested procedures for future mediation research.

This study investigated the effects of three factors on a representative's bargaining: (a) an opposing constituent's announced bargaining stance, (b) an opposing representative's bargaining, and (c) the representative's locus of control. In the study, each subject served as a constituent's representative and bargained with an opposing representative who represented the opposing constituent. The roles of the representative's constituent, the opposing representative, and the opposing constituent were enacted by the experimenter. Succinctly, the results revealed that the opposing constituent's bargaining stance, in addition to producing main effects, interacted with the opposing representative's bargaining and with the representative's locus of control to influence the representative's bargaining.

Mediation in peacekeeping missions and the role of dispute severity, time pressure, and the peacekeeper's rank in that process are investigated. A set of hypotheses concerning the effects of these factors is developed. A test of the hypotheses reveals that dispute severity has a strong effect on the peacekeepers' choice of techniques. Time pressure does not influence technique selection or interact with dispute severity, and rank has a moderate effect on technique choice. Contributions to the peacekeeping literature are discussed, and implications are developed for an agenda of research on mediation processes.

This article reviews the mediation literature over the past decade. Initially the literature is organized and integrated in a framework that focuses on the mediator's decision to mediate, the choice of mediation techniques, the outcomes of mediation, and the determinants of these factors. Subsequently, the authors comment on the reviewed literature and offer suggestions for future research.

This study investigated the mediations of ninety-seven community mediators in the People's Republic of China. The mediators' reports on two mediations each — one successful and one unsuccessful — indicated the frequency with which they use twenty-seven mediation techniques. In addition, their information revealed the strategies — assist, procedural, educate, and external reliance — they employ in their mediations. It was found that Chinese mediators utilize the same techniques and strategies in successful versus nonsuccessful mediations; yet, their techniques and strategies differ in couple (husband-wife) as opposed to noncouple disputes.

AbstractThis study investigates why mediators' assertive strategies—evaluative and directive—did not generate high disputant dissatisfaction when they produced agreements. We thoroughly investigated the transcripts from fifty cases in which the mediators had used assertive strategies and attained agreement. We found that mediators did not irk disputants because the mediators complemented their strategies with four tactical approaches. First, they established their legitimacy, and when mediating they shifted their strategies (from assertive to neutral or vice versa) round by round. They also used a ratchet approach to nudge disputants toward agreement, and they took steps to reduce the disputants' aspirations.

AbstractIn this article we examine initial joint sessions in civil case mediations and note that, although understudied, they are a key element in the mediation process. Here mediators can set the tone of the mediation by delineating the goals, proffering advice to the disputants, and relating their experiences. They can indicate which strategy or style they will subsequently use. To investigate these aspects, we observed one hundred civil case mediations and found that mediators in the opening joint sessions typically did provide goals, advice, and descriptions. In about one‐half of the mediations, the mediators stated which style—neutral, evaluative, or pressing—they would use. Observations of the subsequent mediations revealed that mediators who said they would employ a neutral style seldom did so, whereas the mediators who said they would evaluate or press were more apt to follow their espoused strategy. An examination of the agreements in the mediations revealed that the evaluative strategy was most often associated with agreement, the pressing style was a close second, and the neutral style was a distant third. Moreover, it was noted that the evaluative and pressing mediators who walked their talk—who employed the strategy they said they would use—were effective in getting agreements. In contrast, the lowest number of agreements came when mediators initially stated they would use an evaluative strategy but subsequently pressed the disputants.

AbstractIn a quantitative and qualitative study, we investigated mediators' behaviors, disputants' behaviors (i.e., plaintiffs' and defendants'), and the concessions and agreements in sixty‐two authentic civil court mediations. We predicted mediators would apply more assertive techniques whenever these disputants indicated their goals were high. We also predicted that plaintiffs would make larger concessions than defendants, that mediators would perceive they have more leverage on plaintiffs, and that mediators would apply more of the assertive techniques to them. All of these predictions were supported. In closing, we delineated the implications of our results for scholars and practitioners.

The approaches of 111 Thai and a matched set of 111 U.S. community mediators are investigated. Results show that Thai mediators are more apt to be assertive in their mediations; they put disputants together, demand concessions, criticize disputants, and threaten them more frequently than do U.S. mediators. Thai mediators more frequently seek harmony by asking disputants to forgive each other and to apologize.

This study investigates the mediations of 127 village leaders ( ketua kampungs) and 52 religious leaders ( imams) in Malaysia. These mediators rely heavily on techniques of meeting with disputants (separately and together), listening to the disputant's side, information gathering, and calling for concessions. They also use three distinct strategies: a "meet separately" strategy, an assertive strategy, and a strategy based on information gathering. The imams rely more on prayer, moral principles, listening, and third-party advice and call less often for concessions. Imams use a unique "meet together" strategy and prayer strategy.