Mediation Blog
The Hummingbird
The other day, I opened one of the French doors in our house to let the dog outside where he proceeded to sun himself. Unbeknownst to me, a hummingbird took the open door as an [Read More]
Avoidance
Anyone studying conflict resolution quickly learns that there are five styles to resolving conflicts: avoidance, competition, collaborating, accommodating and compromising (styles) Avoidance “… is knowing that there is a conflict but choosing not to deal [Read More]
Consistency
In his book, Influence- Science and Practice, Robert B. Cialdini (4th ed. Allyn and Bacon, Boston 2001) discusses six psychological principles that impact  us every day. One of them is Commitment and Consistency:  “ [Read More]
Substantive Fairness
Suppose you are mediating a divorce in which the wife agrees to accept 25% of the community assets in settlement even though a court would award her 50%. She wants the matter concluded as quickly [Read More]
Do You Agree with ChatGPT’s ranking of the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators?
 Last week I posted a blog discussing which standards in the Model Standards of Conduct for Mediators might be the most important. While each of us, undoubtedly, has a different opinion, for fun I [Read More]
Which Standard is Most Important?
Last semester, one of my students took the wrong take home exam. So, I prepared a special make up exam which was simple yet required a lot of thought: Rank in terms of importance five [Read More]