The questions posed in this article are related to gender stereotyping in a simulated mediation context: Do disputants perceive the role effectiveness of men and women mediators differently, and do men and women mediators enact intervention strategies differently during highly control-oriented mediation sessions? To answer these questions one mixed-sex group of subjects was trained to mediate roommate conflicts using an interventionist model of mediation (i.e., highly control oriented), whereas another mixed-sex group received no training. The data revealed that, although the trained mediators used equally controlling strategies, the males were perceived by the disputants as more controlling. In contrast, untrained female mediators were more controlling but they were perceived as less controlling. These results are related to current research in gender stereotyping.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Baxter, L.
, & Shepard, T. (1978). Sex-role identity, sex of other, and affective relationship as determinants of interpersonal conflict-management styles. Sex Roles, 4, 813-825.
2.
Bell, D. C.
, Chafetz, J. S., & Horn, L. H. (1982). Marital conflict resolution: A study of strategies and outcomes. Journal of Family Issues, 11, 131-146.
3.
Bernard, S.
, Folger, S., Weingarten, H., & Zumeta, Z. (1984). The neutral mediator: Value dilemmas in divorce mediation. Mediation Quarterly, 4, 61-47.
4.
Berryman-Fink, C. L.
, & Wilcox, J. R. (1983). A multivariate investigation of perceptual attributions concerning gender appropriateness in language. Sex Roles, 9, 663-681.
5.
Boster, F.
, & Stiff, J. (1984). Compliance-gaining message selection behavior. Human Communication Research, 10, 539-556.
6.
Conrad, C.
(1985). Gender, interactional sensitivity and communication in conflict: Assumptions and interpretation. Paper presented at the Speech Communication Association convention, Denver.
7.
Donohue, W. A.
(in press). Mediator communicative competence: A research program review. In K. Kressel & D. Pruitt (Eds.), The mediation of disputes: Empirical studies in the resolution of social conflict. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
8.
Donohue, W.
, Allen, M., & Burrell, N. (1985). Communication strategies in mediation. Mediation Quarterly, 10, 75-89.
9.
Donohue, W. A.
, Allen, M., & Burrell, N. (1988) Mediator communicative competence. Communication Monographs, 55, 104-119.
10.
Donohue, W. A.
, & Weider-Hatfield, D. (1988). Communication strategies in mediation. In A. Milne & J. Folberg (Eds.), Divorce mediation: Theory and practice. New York: Guilford.
11.
Folberg, J.
, & Taylor, A. (1984). Mediation: A comprehensive guide to resolving conflicts without litigation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
12.
Folger, J.
, & Bernard, S. (1985). Divorce mediation: When mediators challenge the divorcing parties. Mediation Quarterly, 10, 5-24.
13.
Gahagan, J.
, & Tedeschi, J. (1969). Shifts in power in a mixed-motive game. Journal of Social Psychology, 77, 241-252.
14.
Guetzkow, H.
(1950). Unitizing and categorizing problems in coding qualitative data. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 6, 47-58.
15.
Haynes, J.
(1981). Divorce mediation. New York: Springer.
16.
Hanisch, K.
, & Carnevale, J. (1988). Gender in negotiation and mediation and the perception of mediator bias. Paper presented at the Academy of Management convention, Anaheim.
17.
Hirschman, L.
(1974). Analysis of supportive and assertive behavior in conversations. Paper presented at the meetings of the Linguistic Society of America, San Francisco.
18.
Imler, J. R. (1980). The effects of occupational category, organizational level, organizational size, sex, and conflict opponent on the conflict-handling styles of hospital management personnel. Unpublished master's thesis, Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH.
19.
Jones, T.
(1987). Nonverbal vocal affect in divorce mediations: An examination of differences in use and sequential structuring in successful and unsuccessful sessions. Paper presented at the First International Conference of the Conflict Management Group, Fairfax, VA.
20.
Kelly, R.
, Osborne, W., & Hendrick, C. (1974). Role-taking and role-playing in human communication. Human Communication Research, 1, 62-74.
21.
Keltner, J.
(1987). Mediation. Annandale, VA: Speech Communication Association.
22.
Kilmann, R. H.
, & Thomas, K. W. (1977). Developing a forced-choice measure of conflict-handling behavior: The “mode” instrument. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 37, 309-325.
23.
Kramer, C.
(1974, August). Folk linguistics: Wishy-washy mommy talk. Psychology Today, pp. 82-85.
24.
Kramer, C.
(1975). Perceptions of female and male speech. Language and Speech, 20, 151-161.
25.
Kressel, K.
(1985). The process of divorce. New York: Basic Books.
26.
Kressel, K.
(in press). Research on divorce mediation: A summary and critique of the literature. Proceedings of the Transatlantic Conference on Divorce Mediation. Washington, DC: National Institute of Dispute Resolution.
27.
Kressel, K.
, & Pruitt, D. (1985). Themes in the mediation of social conflict. Social Issues, 41, 170-198.
28.
Lakoff, R.
(1975). Language and women's place. New York: Harper.
29.
Lyon, E.
, Thoennes, N., Pearson, J., & Appleford, R. (1985). A case study: The custody mediation services of the Family Division, Connecticut Superior Court. Conciliation Courts Review, 23, 15-26.
30.
McGillicuddy, N.
, Welton, G., & Pruitt, D. (1987). Third-party intervention: A field experiment comparing three different models. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 53, 104-112.
31.
Moore, C.
(1986). The mediation process. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
32.
Mulac, A.
, Bradac, J. J., & Mann, S. K. (1985). Male/female language differences and attributional consequences in children's television. Human Communication Research, 11, 481-506.
33.
O'Barr, W.
, & Atkins, B. (1980). “Women's language” or “powerless language”? In S. McConnell-Ginet, R. Borker, & N. Furman (Eds.), Women and language in literature and society (pp. 93-110). New York: Praeger.
34.
Pearson, J.
, Ring, M. L., & Milne, A. (1983). A portrait of divorce mediation services in the public and private sector. Conciliation Courts Review, 21, 1-24.
35.
Pearson, J.
, & Thoennes, N. (1984). The preliminary portrait of client reactions to three court mediation programs. Mediation Quarterly, 3, 21-40.
36.
Putnam, L.
, & Jones, T. (1982). Reciprocity in negotiations: An analysis of bargaining interaction. Communication Monographs, 49, 171-191.
37.
Rahim, M. A.
(1983). A measure of styles of handling interpersonal conflict. Academy of Management Journal, 26, 368-376.
38.
Renwick, P.
(1977). The effects of sex differences on the perception and management of superior-subordinate conflict: An exploratory study. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 19, 403-415.
39.
Rubin, J. A.
, & Brown, B. R. (1977). The social psychology of bargaining and negotiation. New York: Academic Press.
40.
Shockley-Zalabak, P.
(1981). The effects of sex differences on the preference for utilization of conflict styles of managers in a work setting: An exploratory study. Public Personnel Management Journal, 10, 289-295.
41.
Shockley-Zalabak, P.
, & Morley, D. (1984). Sex differences in conflict style preferences. Communication Research Reports, 1, 28-32.
42.
Shomer, R.
, Davis, A., & Kelley, H. (1966). Threats and the development of coordination. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 119-126.
43.
Sillars, A. L.
(1980). Attributions and interpersonal conflict resolution. Communication Monographs, 47, 180-200.
44.
Sillars, A. L.
(1981). The sequential and distributional structure of conflict interactions as a function of attributions concerning the locus of responsibility and stability of conflicts. In D. Nimmo (Ed.), Communication yearbook 4 (pp. 217-236). New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
45.
St. Lawrence, J. S.
, Hansen, D. J., Cutts, T. F., Tisdelle, D. A., & Irish, J. D. (1985). Situational context: Effects of perceptions on assertive and unassertive behavior. Behavior Therapy, 16, 51-62.
46.
Susskind, L.
(1985). Mediating public disputes: A response to the skeptics. Negotiation Journal, 1, 117-120.
47.
Tedeschi, J.
, Bonoma, T., & Lindskold, S. (1970). Threateners' defiance. Behavioral Science, 15, 171-179.
48.
Wallerstein, J.
, & Kelly, J. (1980). Surviving the breakup: How children and parents cope with divorce. New York: Basic Books.
49.
Williams, F.
, LaRose, R., & Frost, F. (1981). Children, television, and sex-role stereotyping. New York: Praeger.
