A growing body of research suggests that conflict can be beneficial for groups and organizations (e.g., De Dren & Van De Vliert, 1997). This paper articulates the argument that to be in conflict is to be emotionally activated (Jones, 2000) and utilizes Galtung's (1996) triadic theory of conflict transformation to locate entry points for conflict generation. Application of these ideas is presented through exemplars that demonstrate the utility of addressing emotions directly in the management of organizational conflicts.

Given the centrality of emotion and emotional communication to conflict interaction, the lack of attention to emotion in mediation is particularly surprising. This essay suggests that mediation practice can – and should – be informed by the wealth of existing theory and research on emotion in the social sciences. The authors define emotion and argue the centrality of its place in conflict. They address issues germane to the cognitive, expressive, and physiological aspects of emotion and their relevance to mediatio practice. Within each area, they discuss the implications of the emotional experience of the disputant and the emotional experience of the mediator.

This study examines the idea that attention to emotion in conflict management leads to conflict transformation. An experimental design compared mediated and negotiated conflict simulations in which participants were primed to discuss emotions as they moved toward agreement. Participants in the mediation group reported increased positive affect, decreased negative affect, and improved perception of other following the simulation. The negotiation group reported decreased positive affect, increased negative affect, and no difference in perception of other, yet they reported increased satisfaction. Mediated agreements included reference to the ongoing relationship, whereas negotiated agreements included tit-for-tat arrangements. Implications for organizational conflict management are discussed.

Data from 169 mediated cases and 61 non-mediated cases from a County Court Custody Mediation Program were analyzed in terms of incidence of agreement, long-term maintenance of agreement, disputant satisfaction with process and outcome, and rates of relitigation or recidivism. It was hypothesized that mediated cases would have high rates of agreement and high rates of agreement maintenance; that disputants in mediated cases would be more satisfied than disputants in non-mediated cases; and, that mediated cases would have lower incidents of relitigation or recidivism than non-mediated cases. Results confirmed all hypotheses. However, in terms of relitigation, the data revealed that mediated cases had more general involvement with the court than non-mediated cases; although once mediation occurred there was a significant drop in relitigation. [Article copies available for a fee from The Haworth Document Delivery Service: