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Seeing Theory in Practice: An Analysis of Empathy in Mediation
Author(s) -
Della Noce Dorothy J.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
negotiation journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.238
H-Index - 32
eISSN - 1571-9979
pISSN - 0748-4526
DOI - 10.1111/j.1571-9979.1999.tb00196.x
Subject(s) - empathy , mediation , psychology , philosophy of law , social psychology , epistemology , sociology , political science , law , philosophy , comparative law
cush and Folger (1994) in The Promise of Mediation acticulated distinctions between Individualist and Relational ideology, and linked them to specific theoretical orientations to mediation practice, problem‐solving and transformative, respectively. Yet, a question persists as to whether these distinctions produce any material differences in practice. This question is approached here through an examination of a single construct in the mediation literature, empathy. The author proposes that the Individualist and Relational ideological frameworks have material implications for the concept and the practice of fostering empathy between the parties to a mediation: The problem‐solving framework fosters a social interaction which can be understood as transactional empathy while the transformative framework fosters an interaction described as relational empathy.