Addressing predictable irrationality: insights from practice

Watson, Robert

Addressing predictable irrationality: insights from practice

Master Thesis

2018

Publisher

University of Cape Town

Department

Department of Commercial Law

Faculty

Faculty of Law

Abstract

The traditional repertoire of techniques available to mediators is well-suited to assisting negotiators in resolving their disputes where those negotiators are acting in a manner approximating axiomatic rational behaviour. These techniques rely on parties acting in this manner and effectively and accurately uncovering, processing and calculating all the necessary information to make decisions in maximising their utility. Behavioural-Economists have made great progress in illustrating that human beings do not follow these axioms when making economic-decisions and have identified a number of ways in which we predictably deviate from that expectation of behaviour. These deviations can have significant effects on negotiations and mediation. This disjuncture between expected and actual behaviour provides us with an opportunity for development of additional techniques which can supplement our existing mediation-tools where appropriate. In their practice, experienced mediators have had to respond to these unexpected behaviours and have developed their own strategies for doing so. This learned-knowledge represents a rich potential source of strategic knowledge. Through a series of interviews, these lessons were distilled and, encompassing a brief theoretical discussion, an overarching strategy for interventions in such circumstances was identified. This paper represents a modest attempt at addressing this disjuncture and it is submitted that further opportunities for development exist.

Keywords

Dispute Resolution

Reference:

Collections

Masters

Full item page