Zhanserikova D.A.
candidate of sciences (psychological)
Satenova G.U. master (of
psychology)
Karaganda State University, Kazakhstan
THE MEDIATION PHENOMENON IN SOCIAL
PSYCHOLOGY
Mediation is a special
social and psychological process that involves a neutral party, called a
mediator who plays the leading role in negotiation process. Mediation is as a
form of dispute resolution, began to develop in Russia in the early 90 's.
Mediation is a well-structured
process of group interaction between two or more people, in which one of the
participants facilitates communication between two ( or more) other people who
are found in an emotional confrontation with each other and fail to make
rational thoughtful conversations themselves.
One of the
greatest benefits of mediation is that it allows people to resolve the charge
in a friendly way and in ways that meet their own unique needs. Thus, mediation
is a communication, which leads to both emotional and cognitive stress
reduction of parties, which enjoy and meet their spiritual, psychological and
material needs as well (Maslow, 1997). Moreover mediation as a process of
negotiation and psychological interaction considers being a part of human life
faced with the certain conflict.
Mediation plays a
significant role in human lives that are full of conflicts, struggles, and
negative attitudes to each other (which is rarely occur, if only the coach
creates a special conflict situation in the training himself).
The goal of
mediation is to help parties to develop mutually acceptable agreement or
solution, to squash all negative attitudes, to establish constructive
communication between parties, to make people realize their interests, to
remove the psychological barriers and treat other people as friends or partners
for a joint-search for mutually acceptable solutions, agreements to resolve the
conflict situation.
Mediation simply
offers beneficial and streamlined approach to complicated situations and it is
a sequence of procedural steps that guarantees the success in the whole
process. Typically, mediation involves the following steps:
1. Mediation Procedure establishment;
2. Statement of the Problem by the Parties
3. The discussion and development of options that might satisfy the
respective interests of the parties;
4. Caucus – private meeting between the mediator and one party
5.
Bargaining
and Generating Options
6. The preparation of a draft summarizing the tentative agreements.
7. Concluding
Each stage of
mediation has its own specific goals and objectives. The shift to the next
stages requires the accomplishment of all goals set before. Therefore, the
mediator should always check himself/herself over and over whether the
challenges put at this stage have been completed and the goal has been reached.
Only with full confidence that all problems have been solved, you can proceed
to the next step.
The mediator must
ensure effective communication between the parties. At a first glance it seems
that there are no any complications. People often aid others to understand the
various problems by evaluating the opinions and attitudes of other people. The
mediator’s primary role is to mediate from a impartial stance having no vested
interest in the outcome of a dispute between parties. The mediator has no legal
or ethic rights to give any estimation. The mediator must adopt the neutral
stance: the parties of the conflict have a problem that prevents them to
interact in a constructive and non-confrontational way. The individuals
involved in mediation often come with a history of relationship, respect, and
hope having been transformed into mistrust, rejection, and betrayal. Mediators
must be trained to manage the venting process, so that it does not derail the
mediation. For example, mediators sometimes use separate “caucus” sessions to
create a safe place for venting, thereby avoiding a situation in which the
other party’s reactions to the venting escalate the conflict.
Another pivotal
role of the mediator is to listen and help the parties identify the underlying
causes of the conflict and how they would like to resolve or manage it. The
agreements and outcome are decided by the parties. Of course, the success in
this trade may be guaranteed with a special education and vocational training.
Respected mediators can contribute
expertise and experience in all models and styles of negotiation so that the
parties are able to negotiate more constructively, efficiently and
productively.
Throughout the
negotiation process the mediator set the ground rules in the first meeting with
parties; the parties and mediator signs an agreement to mediate; the mediator
guides the parties’ discussion, assuring that they can rationally respond to
each other’s views and feelings non-aggressive manner; the mediator helps to
reach a final agreement that is satisfactory to both parties.
The mediator may
at any time suspend the work, take a break for a caucus or rest. He is a
neutral part who sets the tone for the entire process. Mediators act to
maintain a positive emotional climate by controlling or diffusing negative
emotions or attacks, enforcing behavioral ground rules, and keeping parties
focused on the issues. He monitors the rules and alerts hand, if they violate
the negotiation rules. The mediator can even completely stop the mediation if
the parties are unable to stay aggressive and he clearly sees that the parties
are not willing to negotiate or one of the parties mentally unsound for the
process. This is usually determined before the mediation session starts. Obviously,
the mediator accomplishes his function through all stages and in between.
The mediator should have and always practice good listening skills. (This feature of the mediator is so
popular amid psychologists). The mediator should be able to grasp a meaningful
and emotional content of a party’s statements. In this way he tentatively
identifies the interest expressed, and then expresses that interest back to the
party for further feedback.
Parties may try
to bluff, or misrepresent their interests. Mediators must be alert for such
bluffs, and try to call them. Mediators may use persuasion or rationalization
to induce a party to abandon their bluff and present a more accurate picture of
their interests. Finally the mediator should incorporate both parties’ interests
into a joint problem statement. A joint problem statement enables negotiators
to commit to work on a common problem because they believe that their needs
will be respected, if not met by, the solutions that will be developed.
In this case, the mediator should
raise the issue (or issues), give an assessment to the conflict, parties’
feelings about the issue raised. It should be borne in mind that most people
can not distinguish facts from interpretations and evaluations, which often
leads to a misunderstanding.
The mediator should perceive emotions of the parties
as a fact (they may cry or laugh, be angry or pleased) and he is expected to
consider them just as an emotional coloring of their statements. Therefore, the
mediator may inform the parties about his attitude towards their emotional
state.
To be an active listener and the capacity to remember
all the important facts of parties’ statements is crucial. Thus, the mediator
will be able to demonstrate his awareness, frame the issues in ways which
enable effective problem-solving. There is another thing; parties are very
rarely able to give a clear or complete statement of their interests. Hence one
of the mediator's tasks is to uncover and clarify the parties’ hidden interests.
Mediators should help to cultivate a positive attitude toward interest
discovery in the parties. In order to streamline his functions mediator can
record the essential ideas in statements of the parties on paper, but it is
also important not to lose contact and process control.
The empathic
listening is a core skill of the mediator which is significant at all stages of
the process: parties’ presentation, discussions and caucus.
The mediator is a third party who analyzes the
conflict and aids the parties to realize significant aspects of their issue for
the perspective conflict resolution. The mediator performs his function is
mainly to make the parties themselves understand the situation and carefully
examine what may be possible ways out.
Neutrality and impartiality
are other important qualities of a respected mediator. The mediator must
display so called ‘indifferent’ reaction and attend equally to the needs and interests of all
parties with equal respect, without discrimination and without taking sides’. The mediator should come to the mediation as ‘an empty vessel’! These
qualities and terms are often seemed in mediators’ codes of ethics. The ability
to tune away from prejudice, past experience, similar matters is vital to gain
the respect in your job. Conflict analysis is always a very delicate thing.
Mediator may feel that he understands the parties’ interests and is willing to
drive them to a collaborative work. But you never know in advance what kind of
conflict resolution will be suitable for these particular parties. Only the
parties themselves are the masters and judges of the conflict situation and
know the most favorable ways out of the situation! As for the mediator, he
should expand the information to the parties, so that they can vision the situation
from a single angle and understand why their views are so contradictive. The
mediator should assist the parties to understand what their true interests, and
what steps can take parties to resolve their dispute.
The parties are
now ready to begin generating settlement options. Having generated a range of
settlement options, the parties must next evaluate those options to seek the
solution which provides maximum mutual benefits. When the parties' settlement
ranges have no overlap, there are no mutually acceptable settlement options.
The mediators’ objective in the conflict analysis is to identify and clarify
the disputed issues, discover what interests hidden in their personal stance.
In this role, the mediator asks the parties to state their views and deal with
the facts they have on the dispute subject, identify the most important points
in their argumentations. All details of parties’ statements sufficient for
coming in to a consensus in the dispute. For this analysis, the mediator,
firstly, listens to each party and then ask effective questions to clarify the
dispute.
The mediator
mainly can function as a conflict analyzer on the stage of issue discussions
and meeting in caucus, but partially in the process of generating settlement
options
Any conflict
situation is accompanied by emotional experiences. The conflicts can trigger
even strong emotions. If you faced with a prolonged conflict, you can hardly
avoid a burst of negative interpretations. In such circumstances, a person may
not be entirely accurate in his speech and adequate both in his/her vision of
the conflict situation and in their expectations about possible ways to resolve
it. In conflict resolution, there is such a term as "narrowing of
consciousness". In most cases we are only aware of information from a
limited part of the environment and more or less unconscious of information
that happens to be outside our focus. People, involved in the conflict, tend to
‘turn over’ the situation. Attention and consciousness of the people are
focused on the fight. In this case, our decisions may not be available and
secure; the parties fail to meet the objective possibilities in problem-solving
process. Consciously or unconsciously, but the parties will make the
negotiation process unproductive: facing with a non-realistic agreement.
Another important
role of the mediator in mediation process is the role of a supervisor; he
conducts a careful examination over the parties’ statements, whether they are
true or false: considers the feasibility of their proposals and agreements, and
availability of their resources.
The construction
of mutually accepted agreement implies as a symbolic end to the conflict and
increases the parties' commitment to the agreement. The mediator must ensure
that the parties better-understanding of all the terms of the settlement
agreement and their interaction. Once the “solution “has been arrived at by
each party, the mediator would need to get each side to “sign off” on the
specific behavioral changes they have agreed to perform. The mediator ensures
that the agreement committed is secure and arrangements are robust and
long-term.
It is always
preferable when the mediator encourages the parties to make such an analysis on
his own. But in cases where the party or parties impassionate, emotionally
overexcited or careless, the mediator can himself draw a hypothetical situation
and offer to study what negative effects it brings and how it can develop for
the parties. In this regard the mediator should indicate to all the possible
negative consequences of actions/omissions or the results of the proposals of
one of the parties of the dispute. To motivate parties for a mutual analysis of
possible adverse events in the future is significant. Otherwise, the mediator
will never be aware of the conditions and know the history of the problem
better than the parties of the conflict. Only parties are able to conduct an
objective examination of the potential problems arising in the future.
To find options
for resolving the conflict is not easy. If the parties fail to display
creativeness or capacity to explore the alternatives in conflict resolution,
they may get confused and feel stuck. The mediator, in this case, usually bases
on his personal experience and suggests his options for the parties’
consideration. But the mediator can not suggest a solution, but only encourage
the parties to find a solution by performing new ideas in conflict resolution.
As an objective third-party, mediators can often see possibilities that
disputants cannot.
The abilities to
mediate as an idea-generator are helpful on the caucus and a draft development stages.
The mediator must
also have the ability to expand the resources on the dispute issue.
In this role, the
mediator provides the disputants with the necessary information equally.
However, he must be very accurate in giving any explanations, clarifications or
suggestions. Contamination by background information can impact a mediator
through many sources. All information provided should include only the actual facts
and not depend on any kind of side.
The mediator
teaches how to conduct an ultimate negotiation. In the role of the teacher, the
mediator teaches to think, act and negotiate for establishing a cooperative
work. Most of the disputants hardly know how to negotiate and attempt to use
prohibited techniques (" negotiating ploys"), sometimes they show a
"fake emotions", perform false information, put forward excessive
demands in the hope of getting what they really want by intimidating his
opponent.
The parties shall
apply such manipulative techniques which will force the opponent side to take
their stance and position. Most often, when they do not think of that cheating
could bring some success only for a very short time, until the other party
would understand that they were tricked. In managing the flow of information
the mediator must be able to recognize the fraud given by one of the parties. A
false representation of the matter only exacerbates conflict. It is important
to prevent such situation in mediation session. Typically, during the caucus
the mediator discusses the form and content of the proposals submitted to the
joint session and carefully prepares parties for it. Separating the parties
allows more open communication between the party in caucus and the mediator.
This helps the mediator understand the party's point of view more fully and
keep the process moving forward. One of the advantages of conducting the
caucus, without the presence of the other party, the party in caucus is likely
to be less tense, angry, and defensive, and more flexible and creative. In
addition, strict adherence to the procedure given in the beginning, the parties
also shows how important it is to follow these arrangements.
Thus, the
mediator aids the parties to reach a mutual agreement. The essence of this
function can be seen in keeping track on correctness and completeness of the
content of the agreement. When the disputants find a mutually agreeable
resolution to their conflict, the mediator should then insist that they clearly
detail how that resolution will be implemented in a written action plan.
Mediation fails if disputants think they have identified a resolution but the
resolution is so vague that they have differing perceptions of it. These
differing perceptions are a seed for future conflict. To avoid this, managers
should present an action plan and follow up to ensure that the plan has been
executed.
Sometimes the
disputants like the solutions that they come up with, they begin to hurry and
find there is no use in further detail recording. But the mediator must be
patient in order effectively terminate the agreement. Drawing up an agreement,
to the astonishment of the participants can not take less time than the rest of
the negotiation process. To make a final agreement is hard work and time
consuming. Consequently, managers have often intervened with hybrid strategies,
such as allowing mediation to proceed until a deadline at which the mediator
will become an arbitrator and impose a resolution.
There are no
doubts that mediators’ actions must be aimed to maintain a positive emotional
climate. This role of the mediator is closely related to the function of a
process organizer. It is not about creating an idyll or a soft relaxing
atmosphere. During mediation it is possible to perform rigid behavior and harsh
words of anger and confrontation. But all negotiation strategies must be in
constructive way. The role of the mediator is to keep even tough but
constructive cooperation between the parties, avoiding mutual insults and
humiliation of one of the parties. Procedural agreement adopted during the
opening remarks of the mediator, is a good tool for managing the psychological
climate. The professional mediator always can make the tension and stiffness of
the talks to fade away before long. Then the parties discuss and generate
mutual commitments in a peaceful manner. Of course, the mediator should perform
the function of emotional climate creator throughout the whole mediation.
The mediation
helps the parties to shift from conflict confrontation and negative attitudes
to a constructive interaction. It is possible to reach conflict resolution when
the parties will be able to remove negative emotions. From this moment the
parties begin to make private negotiations. In this situation the mediator may
be involved in the negotiations only for avoid any difficulties from the part
of the disputants. Only the parties are in charge of actual result of the
agreement set.
Mediation - is
consequent and purposeful creation of a situation in which human’s mentality
and behavior experiences some changes and corrections. It is defined as special
type of psychological behavior of parties in the mediation, specific from the
behavior of people in the course of the arbitral tribunal or psychological
training.
References
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