The Impact of participants personality structure on Mediation Outcomes

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The Impact of participants personality structure
on Mediation Outcomes

• Presented By Jenny Ellison
• PPC Worldwide Org Development Team
• Curtin University
• LEADR 10th ADR Conference
• 9 11 Sept 2009

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Questions we ask ourselves

• Will the conflict get resolved if only one party
  is motivated to make it work?
• What happens if one or both of the parties are
  not emotionally ready to participate?
• How will a mediation work if both parties are
  inflexible or lack insight?

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Existing Research on Mediation

• Workplace mediation is a distinct discipline.
• Historically focuses on situational factors
• Few studies from a clinical perspective.
• Few studies that focus on the personality or
  emotional readinessof participants
• Little integration between mediation and
  psychological assessment

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Existing Research on Mediation

• Situational variables influence the mediation
  outcome more strongly than personality variables
  (Kressel Pruitt, 1989 Shell, 2001 Utley et
  al., 1989 Wall Lynn, 1993 Wall et al., 2001
  Womack, 1988).
• Personality factors impact on mediation outcome
  (King, 1990 Terhune, 1970 Utley et al., 1989)
  but one should also consider situational factors.
• Terhune (1970) Both personality and situation
  were the two main influences on behavioral
  conflict.
• King (1990) Conflict styles influence mediation
  outcomes however there was a need for measures
  that have greater reliability and validity.

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Research Question Methodology

• What is the relationship between personality
  patterns, defensive structures and mediation
  outcomes?
• An exploratory study
• Correlational design
• Opportunity sampling
• Five year period
• Online and Face to face administration of
  questionnaires

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Definitions of Terms Used in Hypotheses

• Clinical personality patterns schizoid,
  avoidant, depressive, dependent, histrionic,
  narcissistic, antisocial, sadistic, compulsive,
  negativistic and masochistic.
• Severe personality patterns borderline,
  schizotypal and paranoid.
• Immature defenses projection, passive
  aggression, acting out, isolation, devaluation,
  autistic fantasy, denial, displacement,
  dissociation, splitting , rationalization and
  somatization.
• Neurotic defenses undoing, pseudoaltruism,
  idealization and reaction formation.
• Mature defenses sublimation, humour,
  anticipation, suppression.

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Definitions of Terms Used in Hypotheses Cont

• Satisfaction with mediation outcome Satisfaction
  with agreement and emotional satisfaction.
• Satisfaction with mediation process Effective
  mediator, empowerment of client, impartiality of
  mediator, focus on issues and impact on work
  relationships.

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Hypotheses on Mediation Outcome

• Parties with inflexible personality patterns
  will be correlated with lower levels of
  satisfaction with the Mediation Process and
  Outcome.
• Parties that do not use constructive approaches
  or behavior in the workplace will be correlated
  with lower levels of satisfaction with the
  Mediation Process and Outcome.

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Research Measures and Quantitative Analysis

• Demographic details
• Millon Clinical Personality Inventory (MCMI-III)
• Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-IV)
• Client Assessment of Mediation Services (CAMS)
• Qualitative Analysis of 20 of sample
  (semi-structured interviews).
• Goal To add depth to the quantitative data in
  terms of themes meaning.

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Results to date

• The emerging trend indicates that 68 of
  participants indicated that their perception of
  the intensity of the conflict was over five on a
  scale of one to 10.
• 78 of the participants indicated that their
  level of motivation to resolve the conflict was
  over six on a scale of one to 10.
• These variables will be accounted for by
  controlling for variance in the statistical
  analysis.

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Results to date

• In figure 1, the percentage of participants that
  utilize immature, neurotic and mature defenses is
  presented.
• Twenty per cent of the sample utilize neurotic
  defenses, 78 utilize mature defenses and 2 of
  participants utilize immature defenses.

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Figure 1 - Defenses
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Mature Defenses - Constructive
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Neurotic Defenses- Destructive
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Immature Defenses - Destructive
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Results to date 45 participants

• Approximately 40 of the sample has a histrionic
  personality pattern, 35 of the sample have a
  narcissistic personality pattern and 20 have a
  compulsive personality pattern (Scores over 75 on
  the MCMI-III).
• Approximately 13 of the sample has a schizoid
  personality pattern and 11 have a masochistic
  and depressive personality pattern (Scores over
  75 on the MCMI-III)

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Results Personality and Defenses with Mediation
Outcome

• Sadistic personality masochistic personality
  styles correlate with low satisfaction with
  mediation outcome and process.
• Denial correlates with low satisfaction with
  mediation outcome and process.

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Practical Implications

• If the participant has a history of conflict in
  the organization, job or other jobs
  expectations are lower.
• If the conflict is a once off incident, there is
  more likelihood of resolving it.
• Knowledge of different styles (we are all
  primarily one) help us to know how the
  participant will assimilate an intervention.
• Mediators may need to take this into account and
  adjust the mediation process when these qualities
  are present in mediation participants.
• Mediators may need to consider alternative
  interventions before going ahead with workplace
  mediation.

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What is a difficult Personality ?

• An enduring pattern of inner experience and
  behaviour that deviates markedly from the
  expectations of the individuals culture, is
  pervasive and inflexible, has an onset in
  adolescence or early adulthood, is stable over
  time, and leads to distress or impairment
• (DSM-IV manual 1994)
• There are both positive and negative aspects
  to all personality styles.
• Each style represents adaptive patterns that fit
  certain environments and situations quite well,
  and others less well.
• No personality trait is uniformly good or bad.
  (Millon,1994)

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Why is it Important to Have an Understanding of
Difficult Personalities?

• An understanding of personality structure
  provides an opportunity to maintain realistic
  expectations of an individuals capacity to deal
  with their current circumstances (Mc Williams,
  1994)

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Core issues of clients with inflexible
personality patterns

• What does our experience as mediators tell us to
  expect with inflexible personalities?

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Core issues of clients with inflexible
personality patterns

• Core Patterns
• A lack of self-awareness
• A lack of flexibility
• Responses
• Rigid behaviour stuck in a pattern
• Distress to self and distress to others
• Inducing a negative response in others that
  confirms their distorted view

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Underlying motivation of clients with difficult
personality patterns

• Underlying motivation
• A fear of loss of control / helplessness
• A fear of not being taken seriously
• A fear of not being supported / abandoned
• Behaviours
• Justification rather than problem solving
• Defensive rather than constructive

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Right Brain / Left Brain

• Research indicates clear differences between the
  left and right brain
• Left brain is logical, aware, rational, verbal
  and calm
• Right brain is reactive, emotional, unaware
• People with inflexible personality patterns tend
  to get stuck in right brain and cannot access
  left brain

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Which means.....

• Mediators need to
• Show empathy and respect
• Set Limits clients cannot set them themselves
• Provide structure Identify participants needs
  in behavioural terms

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Do Not...

• Keep the focus on negative feedback about past
  behaviours
• Try to use logical arguments
• Attack the persons character
• Use aggressive tone or body language
• Assume the behaviour is intentional or that they
  are trying to be difficult it is a protective
  defense

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Applying Clinical Lore to enhance mediation skills

• Clients with Histrionic Personality Patterns
  (PPs)
• Signs
• A strong need for approval.
• Can be flighty and theatrical.
• Attitude to Mediator
• May try to manipulate in order to gain approval.
• May be overly friendly with the agenda of forcing
  nurturance.

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Applying Clinical Lore to enhance mediation
skills Cont

• Clients with Histrionic PPs
• Approach by Mediator
• DO Listen with attention and respect for the
  EXPERIENCE of the client.
• DO Acknowledge and validate the persons
  experience to an APPROPRIATE level
• DO Help the client identify their authentic
  needs.
• DO Maintain guidelines and ground rules for the
  process.
• DO NOT shift the focus to the other party.
• DO NOT listen for EVIDENCE of the other parties
  behavior

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Applying Clinical Lore to enhance mediation
skills cont Clients with Narcissistic PPs

• Signs
• May adopt a stance of superiority.
• May resist personal exploration and be indignant
  regarding implications of deficiencies.
• Attitude to Mediator
• May question the need for a mediator.
• May try to get the mediator to realise that the
  problem is due to the imperfection of the other
  party.

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Applying Clinical Lore to enhance mediation
skills Cont

• Clients with Narcissistic PPs
• Approach by Mediator
• DO Listen with attention and respect for the
  EXPERIENCE of the client.
• DO Acknowledge and validate the persons
  experience to an APPROPRIATE level
• DO Try to shift the focus to the other party by
  encouragement to think through other persons
  experience and needs in the pre-mediation.
• DO Set limits without resorting to an attacking
  stance

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Self Applying Clinical Lore to enhance mediation
skills Cont

• Clients with Masochistic PPs
• Signs
• A Martyr / An injustice collector.
• May seem like easy prey in the workplace.
• Attitude to Mediator
• May accept unqualified blame and apologise for
  unproven behavior.
• Will not accuse or reprimand other people in the
  workplace.
• Will submit rather than make an appropriate
  request.

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Applying Clinical Lore to enhance mediation
skills Cont

• Clients with Masochistic PPs
• Strategies for Mediator
• Encourage client to not allow him/herself to be
  victimised.
• Encourage authentic expression of own needs.
• Expect resistance to suggestions for
  assertiveness.
• Remain warm and empathic to support client to
  overcome self blame and ask for what his/her
  needs.

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Applying Clinical Lore to enhance mediation
skills Cont

• Clients with Sadistic Ps
• Signs
• Power oriented people.
• Very little empathy for the experience of others.
• Could be abusive, destructive, explosive and/or
  manipulative to others especially when in a
  powerful position.
• Attitude to Mediator
• May be brusque or belligerent.
• Will rarely concede on an issue despite evidence.
• May want to show up or humiliate the other
  party.
• May become vindictive when pushed on personal
  matters.

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Applying Clinical Lore to enhance mediation
skills Cont

• Clients with Sadistic PPs
• Strategies for Mediator
• Appeal to his/her self interest or self
  preservation tactics.
• Encourage client to display behaviors that will
  be rewarded rather than penalised in the
  workplace.
• Explore alternative interventions as prognosis
  for mediation is poor.

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General Strategies

• In all cases of personality issues it is really
  important to develop a trusting relationship in
  the pre mediation.
• Utilise your insight as a mediator into the
  participants lack of insight or blind spots
  to support your client and improve the mediation
  process and outcome.
• All clients will respond more effectively if the
  mediator is supportive and adapts strategies to
  fit the individual clients personality.

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General Strategies

• It is imperative to assess viability of a
  mediation at the pre mediation stage in terms of
  motivation and emotional readiness.
• FIRST DO NO HARM!!!!
• Refer back to the organisation if it seems
  unlikely that mediation will be successful