NCJ Number
102442
Journal
Mediation Quarterly Issue: 13 Dated: (Fall 1986) Pages: 43-52
Date Published
1986
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This paper discusses the potential for training disputants about conflict and conflict management, the basis for such training, and the current state of disputant training at dispute settlement centers in the United States and Canada.
Abstract
The goal of training disputants is to help them gain the skills and confidence to resolve disputes independent of a professional third party. Such training can occur in the context of mediation. Lewin's model of the social change process identifies three-phase change process: 'unfreezing,' occasioned by tension whose resolution requires behavioral change; 'changing,' which consists of modifying behaviors or attitudes to produce more satisfying results; and 'refreezing,' which involves routinizing the new behaviors. Conflict resolved through mediation can guide this change process so as to produce new behaviors in the disputants that facilitate conflict management. A survey of 188 dispute settlement centers in the United States and Canada (53 responded) inquired about the extent and manner of disputant training in mediation skills before, during, and after mediation. The centers train disputants most often before and during mediation. Training methods include explaining mediation and legal rights, modeling or demonstrating the art of mediation, and interpreting the mediation process as it occurs. Little is done to train disputants after mediation is completed. Research is needed to determine the effectiveness of various training methods used before, during, and after mediation. 1 figure, 1 table, and 7 references.