Meaning Making in Dispute Resolution

Dr Rosemary Howell

Where this comes from

Mindfulness – my theme last 'kon gres

Paying attention in a particular way

Being present

Heightened awareness – extracting more value as conflict specialists

Commitment to building repertoire continuously

My goals for this session

Share some research about what meaning making is and what it

contributes to our thinking

Consider the relationship between meaning making and narrative

Explore meaning-making as a way to build our power to persuade and

our willingness to be persuaded

Be a catalyst for considering ways in which we might build repertoire

Meaning-makingWhat is it?

At its most basic - How we draw together knowledge, experience,

relationships and the self to make sense of the world

Attracts research across many fields - learning and development,

psychology, literature and art appreciation

But – with a few exceptions, largely absent from the conflict resolution

literature

Our conscious mind

Prefers to be linear and logical

Drawn from our need to make

sense of information

We are more aware of ‘making sense’ than ‘making meaning’

So meaning making is:

The product of our unconscious mind working behind the scenes

Always in play but rarely recognised

Where does our insight into meaning making come from?Robert Kegan – teaching and learning scholar

We actively construct our own reality or meaning making

Meaning making is a lifelong activity evolving in stages

Each stage a new solution to tension between:

our desire for inclusion and connectedness and

our desire to be distinct, individual and autonomous

This tension produces continuing internal negotiation

As his ideas developed he looked atHow our developing narrative presents us with an immunity to change

His immunity map charts ‘processes of dynamic equilibrium which, like

an immune system, powerfully and mysteriously tend to keep things

pretty much as they are’

Proposes a process to shift us from an ‘habitual and unreflective pattern

to a more deliberate and self-reflective pattern’

Some contemporary examples of changing the narrative to overcome immunity to change

Changing the narrative of vaccination deniersResearchers Dr Sue Rodgers and Professor Robert Booy investigated:what could persuade this group to see things differently?They concluded that vaccination deniers:

are immune to persuasion by scientific evidence and facts

carry a strong personal narrative of myth and misinformation which is resistant to

challenge

can be engaged in a new story or counter-narrative that:

Opens a small space into their world

Helps fill the space with a new or alternative story

Semiotics – how meaning is created and communicated• Origins in the academic scrutiny of how visual and linguistic signs and symbols

create meaning

• Development via anthropology and psychology (examining people’s behaviour)

• Sociology and philosophy (inquiry into culture and society)

• Cultural analysis via films, literature and art criticism

• Moved to the dark side in researching, analysing (and manipulating) consumer

behaviour and brand communications

Semiotics asserts that:

Actions and thoughts are governed by a complex set of messages

and conventions

We tend to interpret them instinctively and instantly

Meaning making is a combination of the apparent meaning plus the

context

In the absence of context, how do we make meaning?

Extra seat on a motorcycle

And this is the universalsign for …

Until we add contextAnd then …

Or maybe …

Thinking Fast and Slow – Daniel KahnemanAssociative memory continually constructs a meaningful

interpretation of what is happening at any momentThese automatic and often unconscious processes explain the

heuristics of judgementMeaning making is associated with thinking fastJumping to conclusions is efficient only if the conclusions are likely to

be correctBoth fast and slow thinking are available to us – more deliberate and

wiser choices would encourage meaning making when it is useful

Kahneman comments that

Meanings are often ambiguous but we jump to a meaning-making

conclusion by drawing on:

the surrounding context

recent events

experience from our own history

Neuroscience

Narrative = a cognitive structure for meaning making

The narrative structure = a mental tool for framing the world so we

can understand it

‘Meaning-making in Conflict’Professor Julie Macfarlane – in ‘Why do People Settle’ Meaning making in conflict is highly personalIn disputes, meaning is constantly being made and remadeAs conflict escalates, disputants interpret others’ behaviour in ways

that ‘fit’ their assumptions and theories – ‘dissonance reduction’Reinforced by our ability to be highly selective – usually

unconsciously – about what we notice and interpret in the behaviour of the other party

So where does this take us?There is considerable evidence that meaning making is at work all the time.What tools might we use to bring it front of mind so that we might:

• Explore meaning-making as a way to build our power to persuade and our

willingness to be persuaded?

• Consider ways in which we might change the frame to help us and our clients deal

with immunity to change and confront cognitive dissonance?

And what is getting in the way of our doing this?

And what is stopping us?continuing resistance to ‘Beyond neutrality’ concepts - restrains us

from examining our narrativeInsisting we are ‘neutrals’ when scrutiny of our own narrative may

well reveal we are notNarrative mediation proponents have set the conversation back by

appearing to promote ‘revolution’ over ‘evolution’ and failing to be inclusive

The drive for ‘process efficiency’ has removed many opportunities for the narrative to emerge

7 things we could do differently nowValue the power of heightened awarenessBe curious about narrativeReview the processes we use as conflict specialistsListen and watch for signals, symbols, context and narrative that are

always at workBuild a reflective practiceConsider the role of supervision, mentoring and coaching Commit to lifelong repertoire-building

1.Value the power of heightened awareness

Find a mindful practice that suits our behavioural style

Express the commitment to be present

2. Be curious about narrative

Find an authentic way to share your narrative

Find appropriate, situation-specific language to ask clients about

their narrative

Seek to expose narrative frames that are supporting immunity to

change and framing for ‘fit’

3. Review the processes we use as conflict specialists

Does narrative have a place in the processes we choose and use?

How has the frame been affected by developments such as:

downgrading intake processes?

shuttle mediation?

4. Listen and watch for signals, symbols, context and narrative that are always at work

Review tools that support this process – see the work of

Professor Chris Argyris:

The ladder of judgement and the reflexive loop

Double loop learning

5. Build a reflective practice

Learning from the reflective questions:

what happened?

What surprised me?

What worked?

What might I do differently and better?

What is my learning?

6. Consider the role of supervision, mentoring and coaching

Sharing the reflective space

Other voices to ask questions about context and narrative

Opportunity to role play different narratives

7. Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to building our repertoire

Sharing with other professionals at ‘Kon gres

Learning and exchanging ideas in a safe space

Exposure to thought leaders

Final QuestionsSession close