Professional mediators' judgments of mediation tactics: Multidimensional scaling and cluster analyses.

Abstract

The contingency approach to research on mediation has become increasingly popular in recent years. In building contingency models, researchers have used general mediation strategies to organize mediation tactics. However, none of the extant organizing schemes have been verified empirically. In the present study, 54 active professional mediators sorted 36 mediation tactics into as many mutually exclusive categories as they wanted. A matrix of tactic similarities was derived from the aggregate data. Multidimensional scaling and clustering analyses were used to identify structure in the matrix. The best scaling solution yielded three dimensions, labeled substantive-reflexive, affective-cognitive, and forcing-facilitating. Hierarchical clustering provided strong support for Kressel and Pruitt's (1985) categories: reflexive, substantive, and contextual.

Auditor Tactics in Negotiations: A Research Note

“…(1991) is seminal in the psychology literature and their paper, which identified 36 tactics used by professional mediators who were members of an international organization involved in dispute resolution, has been widely cited in that discipline's literature. Our study finds that the professional mediation tactics identified by McLaughlin et al . (1991) can be adapted to the audit setting.…”

“…Their list was developed from interviews with 40 professional mediators, content analysis of extensive mediator transcripts, case studies of negotiation and the research literature. From this base, McLaughlin et al . (1991) constructed their mediation instrument which comprised 36 negotiation tactics.…”

Conflict and Its Management

“…For example, mediators use certain coercive tactics (substantive pressing) to move a disputant off a position, and they also employ more gentle ones (substantive suggesting) to nudge the disputant into a new position (McLaughlin, Carnevale & Lim, 1991). Do these tactics and strategies work?…”

Crisis Bargaining and Third-Party Mediation: Bridging the Gap

“…For example, Wall and Rude (1985), relying upon a factor analysis, found techniques that are frequently employed together in these three groups: logical, aggressive, and paternalistic. Th e "technique similarity" approach places techniques together that share conceptual or operational similarities, other than the mediation goal (Carnevale and Pruitt 1992;Honeyman 1991;Kolb 1987a;McLaughlin, Carnevale and Lim 1991;Silbey and Merry 1986;Touval and Zartman 1989). Finally, the "similar goals" approach classifies mediation techniques according to their intermediate goals in the mediation process (Carnevale and Henry 1989;Elangovan 1995;Kressel 1972;Kressel andPruitt 1985, 1989;Lewicki and Sheppard 1985).…”