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Effects of familiarity and liking on negotiating perceptions and behaviors are explored in two experiments, one focusing on prenegotiation expectations and perceptions (experiment 1), the other on negotiation processes and outcomes (experiment 2). Both experiments were embedded in the context of a simulation of conflict between groups resembling the Greek and Turkish communities in Cyprus. Results obtained in the two experiments showed different effects for the familiarity and liking variables: Analytically distinct effects for these variables on prenegotiation perceptions contrasted with the combined effects on negotiating behavior and postnegotiation perceptions. In experiment 1, liking influenced expected movement from initial positions, perceptions of the opponent, and types of strategies prepared for the negotiation; familiarity had its primary impact on perceptions of the situation as being conducive to agreement. Results of experiment 2 showed that reducing either liking or familiarity served to reduce willingness to reach compromise agreements, whether actual or desired. These results suggest that the positive effects obtained for a facilitation condition reported in an earlier study by Druckman, Broome, and Korper (1988) may have been due to the combination of familiarity and liking produced by the experimental manipulation. Implications of the results obtained in both experiments are discussed in terms of changing expectations and uncertainty reduction. Further analyses of negotiating process dynamics would elucidate the difference between reaching agreements in the short run and developing relationships between groups over the long term.

Three conditions are compared for their effects on attempts to resolve differences on issues concerning both values and interests. Two of the conditions were designed to facilitate resolutions in different ways: One reflected the “values-first” approach while the other allowed the parties to concentrate on their interests apart from differences in values (“interests-first”). Both approaches produced more resolutions and more improved perceptions of the negotiating climate than a third condition in which interests derived directly from values that were not the focus of prenegotiation exercises designed to increase understanding. However, the processes by which dyads in the two conditions achieved resolutions differed. Dyads in the values-first condition were more cooperative in the discussions from their initial positions than were those in the interests-first condition. Implications of these results for models of negotiation and for long-term intergroup cooperation were discussed along with suggestions for further analytical work.

Empathy, associated with many important aspects of communication behavior, is generally held to be difficult, if not impossible, in intercultural encounters. It is argued in this essay that previous definitions of empathy have not been useful for intercultural communication because of (a) an overemphasis on accuracy, (b) an inappropriate focus on affect, and (c) the improper portrayal of empathy as an ability or a skill. A relational view of empathy is advocated for intercultural encounters, with emphasis on a productive rather than a reproductive approach to understanding. Relational empathy de-emphasizes similarity, concentrating instead on the development of a "third-culture" between the communicators, thus providing a basis for building shared meaning in the intercultural situation. This view of empathy has several pedagogical benefits for intercultural communication instruction.

Although the conflict on the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus has resisted for decades attempts by third parties to negotiate a political solution, and in spite of communication barriers that until recently made contact between ordinary citizens extremely difficult, a number of initiatives have brought together groups of citizens who have formed interpersonal alliances across the buffer zone that divides the island. This article focuses on one of these citizen groups that met over a nine-month period, examining in detail the phase of the group's work in which participants created a 'collective vision statement' to guide their peacebuilding efforts. The group encountered many difficulties, ranging from internal dissent to outside pressures, but it was able to work through them by employing a structured methodology for dialogue that gave voice to individual contributions and promoted a consensus that reflected the variety of needs and opinions within the group. The vision statement created by the group was instrumental in its future work, in which the group developed and implemented a collaborative action agenda for peacebuilding activities. It is suggested that such vision statements, developed through a consensus process that assists groups in managing their discussions fruitfully, help focus the group toward a common set of goals, while preserving individual views and perspectives.