Process Frames

Competitive vs. Cooperative Approaches to Conflict

Morton Deutsch explains one of his basic principles of conflict resolution: how to get people to approach a conflict cooperatively rather than competitively.

Framing Differences

Suzanne Ghais suggests that language plays a role in the way parties approach mediation.
Leo Smyth talks about how framing influences conflict assessment.
Susan Dearborn talks about how metaphors can hinder productive discussion.
Roy Lewicki describes the different ways parties to environmental conflict framed the situation, and how these frames influenced what happened.

Cultural Differences

S.Y. Bowland talks about African American's lack of trust in the American justice system and its processes.
Jayne Docherty of Eastern Mennonite University points to varying types of rationality to explain differences in the way parties frame conflict.
Brazilian economist Olympio Barbanti talks about shortcomings of US conflict resolution models in the developing world.
Leo Smyth recommends that mediators avoid imposing their preconceived notions about the goals of intervention.
Sanda Kaufman observes that Westerners expect very quick results when it comes to conflicts and their resolution.
Elise Boulding on getting in the disputants' frame of mind.
Jayne Docherty of Eastern Mennonite University recommends that interveners engage in self-analysis exercises in order to better understand their own worldviews.
S.Y. Bowland tells a story of confusion about what mediators do and what they do not do.