In Practice: Defining Mediator Knowledge and Skills

Herrman, Margaret S.; Gale, Nancy Hollett Jerry; Foster, Mark R.

doi:10.1111/j.1571-9979.2001.tb00232.x

Cited by 61 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some scholars have looked at the knowledge and skills required for mediators' effectiveness (Herrman, Hollett , Gale, & Foster, 2001;Mareschal, 2002;Honeyman, Goh, & Kelly, 2004). Others, focusing on behavior, have examined how mediators can best match intervention tactics, such as discussing alternatives and pressure tactics, to conflict situations (Posthuma, Dworkin, & Swift, 2002).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Influence of Third Party Expertise on Disputants' Reactions to Mediation

Arnold

2007

Psychol Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When people cannot resolve their conflicts, they often turn to a third party, called a mediator, for help. What guides disputants' choice of mediators is the present focus. Two kinds of mediator's expertise were compared, which might affect disputants' judgment of mediators and their recommendations--process expertise and content expertise. The mediator's particular content expertise about the details of the dispute appeared to be irrelevant if the mediator was considered to be an expert in the process of conflict resolution. When mediators were seen as process experts, disputants viewed them as more credible and were more favorably disposed toward engaging their services. These judgments extended to the mediators' recommendations. Those recommendations offered by process expert mediators were viewed as higher quality and were judged more favorably. When the mediator was perceived as lacking process expertise, disputants' perceptions of how well the mediator understood the particular details of the dispute increased their evaluations of the mediator and the mediator's recommendation.

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Influence of Third Party Expertise on Disputants' Reactions to Mediation

Arnold

2007

Psychol Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Such outlines of mediation have often been drawn from the authors' own experiences plus the observed and reported experience of other practitioners of “what works and what doesn't” (Kressel and Pruitt 1989). They are presented as models of effective practice and have been proposed as benchmarks of mediator competence (Honeyman 1993; National Institute for Dispute Resolution 1995; Herrman et al. 2001).…”

Section: Theories Of Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Modern mediators have often acknowledged the importance of theory (Jackson 1952; Walton and McKersie 1965; Rubin and Brown 1975; Coogler 1978; Irving and Bohm 1981; Herrman et al. 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Theory Matrix for Mediators

Zariski

2010

Negotiation Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The author uses a behavioral perspective to survey theory that may be useful in mediation. He notes the lack of diffusion of knowledge of theory among practitioners and argues that mediators should pay more explicit attention to theory. He presents a matrix comprising the behavioral factors of perception, emotion, cognition, communication, and intervention at the micro, meso, and macro levels of conflict and uses this matrix to organize and review some mediation theories. Several types of intervention theory are identified: integrated, generic, dialectical, developmental, and dialogical. The article closes by posing some outstanding theoretical issues and questioning whether current mediator training programs are adequate to bridge the gap between theory and practice.

show abstract

“…Accreditation does not occur in the field of mediation, but it could be used to assess mediation centers or educational programs that produce mediators. The job analysis, described later (and in Herrman et al 2001), defines knowledge and skills that could initiate accreditation programs.…”

Section: Rosters and Registers The Society Of Professionals In Dispumentioning

confidence: 99%

Supporting Accountability in the Field of Mediation

Herrman

Hollett

Eaker

et al. 2002

Negotiation Journal

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over time, many fields of work—law, medicine, and teaching—matured from informal bodies of knowledge and skills, passed from one practitioner to another, into professions. In the process each began enumerating and affirming their intellectual and practical roots. Each also began testing practitioners to insure comprehension of relevant knowledge and an ability to demonstrate relevant skills. Family mediators in Canada have moved in this direction. In the United States, people who mediate interpersonal disputes also feel pressured to take additional steps to assure the quality of our work. This article summarizes what mediation organizations in the United States have done and could do to vouch for work in our field. But, taking additional steps calls for a clearer understanding of what a mediator should know and what they are expected to do. These two critical pieces of information remain nebulous. So, this article goes beyond describing ways of insuring accountability by also describing a recently completed job analysis, a tool frequently used in other fields of work to describe the skills and knowledge relevant to a particular job.

show abstract

In Practice: Defining Mediator Knowledge and Skills

Cited by 61 publications

References 5 publications

Influence of Third Party Expertise on Disputants' Reactions to Mediation

Influence of Third Party Expertise on Disputants' Reactions to Mediation

A Theory Matrix for Mediators

Supporting Accountability in the Field of Mediation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About