Conflict Resolution Education - National Criminal Justice Reference ...

Conflict resolution: A spectrum of processes that
all utilize communication skills and creative thinking
to develop voluntary solutions that are acceptable
to those concerned in a dispute. Conflict resolution
processes include negotiation (between two parties),
mediation (involving a third-party process facilitator),
and consensus decisionmaking (facilitated
group problem solving).
Consensus: An agreement reached by identifying
the interests of all concerned parties and then
building an integrative solution that maximizes
satisfaction of as many of the interests as possible;
a synthesis and blending of solutions.
Consequence: A result that logically follows an
action.
Cooperation: Associating for mutual benefit;
working toward a common end or purpose.
Culture: That part of human interactions and experiences
that determines how one feels, acts, and
thinks. It is through one’s culture that one establishes
standards for judging right from wrong, for
determining beauty and truth, and for judging oneself
and others. Culture includes one’s nationality,
ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic
background, physical and mental ability,
and age.
Deescalate: To engage in actions that decrease the
intensity of a conflict.
Disputant: One who is engaged in a disagreement
or conflict.
Diversity: The fact or quality of being distinct.
Empowerment: A method of balancing power in
a relationship wherein the lower party acquires
more power by gaining expertise, obtaining extra
resources, building interpersonal linkages, and/or
enhancing communication skills.
Escalate: To engage in actions that increase the
intensity of a conflict.
Evaluation: The assessment of an option or possible
conflict solution.
D–2
Facilitation: The use of a third party or parties to
provide procedural assistance to a group attempting
to reach consensus about a problem.
Framing: The manner in which a conflict solution
or issue is conceptualized or defined.
Ground rule: A basic rule of behavior spelled out
and agreed to at the beginning of a conflict resolution
procedure.
Hidden interest: A basic need or want that is not
immediately evident in a conflict situation, but that
must be recognized and addressed before meaningful
dialog can occur.
Integrative bargaining: The process of attempting
to address and satisfy as many interests or needs as
possible.
Interest: A substantive, procedural, or psychological
need of a party in a conflict situation; the aspect of
something that makes it significant.
Mediation: Intervention in a dispute by an impartial
third party who can assist the disputants in negotiating
an acceptable settlement.
Mediator: An invited intervener in a dispute whose
expertise and experience in conflict resolution techniques
and processes are used to assist disputants
in creating a satisfactory solution. The mediator is a
process guide whose presence is acceptable to both
disputants and who has no decisionmaking power
concerning the issues in the dispute.
Negotiation: An interaction between two or more
parties who have an actual or perceived conflict of
interest. In a negotiation, the participants join voluntarily
in a dialog to educate each other about their
needs and interests, to exchange information, and to
create a solution that meets the needs of both parties.
Option: An alternative course of action; a possible
solution that may satisfy the interests of a party to
a dispute.
Peace: A process of responding to diversity and
conflict with tolerance, imagination, and flexibility;
fully exercising one’s responsibilities to ensure that
all fully enjoy human rights.