Managing feelings, making deals: The emotion work of Italian commercial mediators

Alessandra Minissale

doi:10.35295/osls.iisl.2644

Authors

Alessandra Minissale Uppsala University/IGSG-CNR https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8606-7448

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl.2644

Keywords:

Commercial mediation, epistemic emotions, emotion management, impartiality, hope, doubt, empathy

Abstract

This article analyses the emotion work of commercial mediators, a category of legal professionals whose emotions have received scant attention in previous socio-legal research. To date, the law and emotion literature has extensively examined emotions in criminal proceedings, looking particularly at the emotions of judges, jurors, prosecutors, and lawyers. Far less is known about emotions in commercial dispute resolution, where conflicts are often assumed to be governed by emotionless rational calculation. Drawing on observations of commercial mediations and interviews with commercial mediators in Italy, the article shows different dimensions of mediators’ emotion work: navigating epistemic emotions, such as gut feelings and fear, managing professional identities, performing impartiality, and calibrating empathy. It further demonstrates how mediators instil feelings of hope and doubt in the parties to sustain engagement and loosen certainty. In this way, the article contributes to socio-legal scholarship on emotions in legal professions, dispute resolution, and economic conflicts.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Metrics

Global Statistics

37 Views	46 Downloads
83 Total

Author Biography

Alessandra Minissale, Uppsala University/IGSG-CNR

Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Sociology, Uppsala University, Sweden, and IGSG-CNR, Bologna, Italy

References

Alvesson, M., and Sköldberg, K., 2009. Reflexive methodology: New vistas for qualitative research. London: Sage.

Arango Muñoz, S., and Michaelian, K., 2014. Epistemic feelings, epistemic emotions: Review and introduction to the focus section. Philosophical Inquiries, 2(1), 97-122.

Arango-Muñoz, S., 2014. The nature of epistemic feelings. Philosophical Psychology [online], 27(2), 193–211. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2012.732002 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09515089.2012.732002

Astor, H., 2007. Mediator neutrality: Making sense of theory and practice. Social and Legal Studies [online], 16(2), 221–239. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663907076531 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663907076531

Bandes, S. A., and Feigenson, N., 2020. Virtual trials: Necessity, invention, and the evolution of the courtroom. Buffalo Law Review, 68(5), 1275-1352. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3683408

Barbalet, J., 1998. Emotion, social theory and social structure - A macrosociological approach. Cambridge University Press. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511488740

Bar-Tal, D., 2007. Sociopsychological foundations of intractable conflicts. American Behavioral Scientist [online], 50(11), 1430–1453. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207302462 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764207302462

Bergman Blix, S., 2009. Emotional Participation: The use of the observer’s emotions as a methodological tool when studying professional stage actors rehearsing a role for the stage. Nordic Theatre Studies, 21, 29–38.

Bergman Blix, S., 2015. Professional emotion management as a rehearsal process. Professions and Professionalism [online], 5(2), 1–15. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7577/pp.1322 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7577/pp.1322

Bergman Blix, S., and Minissale, A., 2022. (Dis)passionate law stories: The emotional processes of encoding narratives in court. Journal of Law and Society [online], 49(2), 245-262. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12355 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12355

Bergman Blix, S., and Minissale, A., 2025. The emotion regulation of performance work. In: J. Diefendorff et al., eds., Handbook of emotion regulation at work. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 183–203. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035314607.00019

Bergman Blix, S., and Törnqvist, N. 2025. Rational anger: An international comparison of legal systems [online]. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003330592 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003330592

Bergman Blix, S., and Wettergren, Å., 2018. Professional emotions in court. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315306759

Bourdieu, P., 2002. The forms of capital. In: N. Woolsey Biggart, ed., Readings in economic sociology. Malden: Blackwell, 280-291. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470755679.ch15

Bush, R. A. B., and Folger, J. P., 2005. The promise of mediation: The transformative model for conflict resolution. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Cominelli, L., and Lucchiari, C., 2017. Italian mediators in action: The impact of style and attitude. Conflict Resolution Quarterly [online], 35(2), 223–242. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21206 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21206

Cottingham, M., 2016. Theorizing emotional capital. Theory and Society [online], 45, 451–470. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-016-9278-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11186-016-9278-7

De Girolamo, D., 2013. The fugitive identity of mediation: Negotiations, shift changes and allusionary action. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203521700

de Sousa, R., 2009. Epistemic feelings. Mind and Matter, 7(2), 139–161.

Del Mar, M., 2017. Imagining by feeling: A case for compassion in legal reasoning. International Journal of Law in Context [online], 13(2), 143–157. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744552317000088 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744552317000088

Douglas, K., and Coburn, C., 2014. Attitude and response to emotion in dispute resolution: The experience of mediators. Flinders Law Journal, 16(1), 111–144.

Fine, G. A., and De Soucey, M., 2005. Joking cultures: Humor themes as social regulation in group life. Journal of Humor Research, 1(18), 1–22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/humr.2005.18.1.1

Fisher, R., and Ury, W., 1981. Getting to yes: Negotiating agreement without giving in. London/New York: Penguin Group.

Flam, H., and Kleres, J., 2015. Methods of exploring emotions. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315756530

Flower, L., 2018. Doing loyalty: Defense lawyers’ subtle dramas in the courtroom. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography [online], 47(2), 226–254. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241616646826 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241616646826

Flower, L., 2023. The digital courtroom: Participation, attendance, engagement and consumption. London: Routledge.

Gaffney, I., 2022. Impartiality and neutrality in mediation. Journal of Mediation & Applied Conflict Analysis [online], 8(1), 59–71. Available at: https://doi.org/10.33232/jmaca.8.1.57 DOI: https://doi.org/10.33232/JMACA.8.1.57

Goffman, E., 1961. Interaction ritual. New York: Pantheon Books.

Goffman, E., 1967. Interaction ritual: Essays on face-to-face behaviour. New York: Anchor Books.

Greco, S., Cigada, S., and Jermini-Martínez Soria, C., 2024. The naming of emotions in dispute mediators’ strategic manoeuvring: A case study using a French language corpus. Text and Talk [online], 44(1), 25–46. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1515/text-2021-0044 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/text-2021-0044

Grillo, T., 1991. The mediation alternative: Process dangers for women. Yale Law Journal [online], 100(6), 1545–1610. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13051/8616 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/796781

Harris, L. C., 2002. The emotional labour of barristers: An exploration of emotional labour by status professionals. Journal of Management Studies [online], 39(4), 553–584. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.t01-1-00303 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.t01-1-00303

Hedenus, A., and Backman, C., 2020. Acting on a hunch: Cybervetting and the role of emotions in job recruitment. Emotions and Society [online], 2(1), 41–60. Available at: https://doi.org/10.51952/UFQA8044 DOI: https://doi.org/10.51952/UFQA8044

Hine, C., ed., 2005. Virtual methods: Issues in social research on the Internet. London: Bloomsbury Academic.

Hochschild, A. R., 1983. The managed heart. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Holmes, M., 2010. The emotionalization of reflexivity. Sociology [online], 44(1), 139–154. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038509351616 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038509351616

Irvine, C., and Farrington, L., 2017. Mediation and Emotions: Perception and Regulation. In: H. Conway and J. Stannard, eds., The emotional dynamics of law and legal discourse. Oxford: Hart, 211–239.

Jameson, J. K., Bodtker, A. M., and Linker, T., 2010. Facilitating conflict transformation: Mediator strategies for eliciting emotional communication in a workplace conflict. Negotiation Journal [online], 26(1), 25–48. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1571-9979.2009.00252.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1571-9979.2009.00252.x

Kalter, M., et al., 2021. A matter of feelings: mediators’ perceptions of emotion in hierarchical workplace conflicts. Frontiers in Psychology [online], 12(June), 1–13. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.629768 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.629768

Kemper, T. D., 2011. Status, power and ritual interaction. A relational reading of Durkheim, Goffman and Collins. 2nd ed. London: Routledge.

Kim, J., Kim, S., and Byun, M. K., 2020. Emotional distancing in nursing: A concept analysis. Nursing Forum [online], 55(4), 595–602. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12475 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/nuf.12475

Kleres, J., and Wettergren, Å., 2017. Fear, hope, anger, and guilt in climate activism. Social Movement Studies [online], 16(5), 507–519. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2017.1344546 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14742837.2017.1344546

Kłos, P., 2023. Decision-making approach in the process of mediation. Studia Iuridica Lublinensia [online], 32(4), 47–70. Available at: https://doi.org/10.17951/sil.2023.32.4.47-70 DOI: https://doi.org/10.17951/sil.2023.32.4.47-70

Lively, K. J., 2002. Client contact and emotional labor. Upsetting the balance and evening the field. Work and Occupations [online], 29(2), 198–225. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888402029002004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0730888402029002004

Maroney, T. A., 2011. The persistent cultural script of judicial dispassion. California Law Review [online], 99(2), 629–681. Available at: https://doi.org/10.15779/Z38K98M

Maroney, T. A., 2012. Angry judges. Vanderbilt Law Review, 65(5), 1207–1286.

Mayer, B. S., 2012. The dynamics of conflict resolution: A practitioner’s guide. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell.

McKay, C., and Macintosh, K., 2024. Digital vulnerability: People-in-prison, videoconferencing and the digital criminal justice system. Journal of Criminology [online], 57(3), 313-333. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/26338076231217794 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/26338076231217794

Minissale, A. (forthcoming) “To trust or not to trust?” The epistemic and moral dimensions of distrust in Italian commercial mediations. (Accepted for the Winter issue) Journal of Law and Society.

Minissale, A., 2023. Emotions in legal decisions. The construction of objective narratives in Italian criminal trials. PhD dissertation, Uppsala University.

Minissale, A., 2024. Scrutinising gut feelings: Emotional reflexive practices in Italian courts. Emotions and Society [online], 6(1), 7–25. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1332/26316897Y2023D000000010 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/26316897Y2023D000000010

Minissale, A., and Bergman Blix, S., 2025. Beyond a reasonable doubt: The emotive-cognitive evaluation of intent and credibility. International Journal of Law in Context [online], 21(4), 691–710. Available at: https://doi.org/doi:10.1017/S174455232510013X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S174455232510013X

Moore, C. W., 2014. The mediation process: Practical strategies for resolving conflict. 4th ed. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Morton, A., 2009. Epistemic emotions. In: P. Goldie, ed., The Oxford handbook of philosophy of emotion. Oxford University Press, 385–399. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199235018.003.0018

Nordquist, C. Y., 2025. The weight of the bargain investigating prosecutors’ emotions in plea bargaining interactions in a United States criminal court. Doctoral Monograph, Uppsala University.

Nordquist, C. Y., and Bergman Blix, S., 2022. Expanding emotional capital in court. Frontiers in Sociology [online], 7, 1–12. Available at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2022.1078813 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2022.1078813

Raines, S. S., Kumar Pokhrel, S., and Poitras, J., 2013. Mediation as a profession: Challenges that professional mediators face. Conflict Resolution Quarterly [online], 31(1), 79–97. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21080 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21080

Roach Anleu, S., and Mack, K., 2021. Judging and emotion. London: Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315180045

Rossner, M., Tait, D., and McCurdy, M., 2021. Justice reimagined: Challenges and opportunities with implementing virtual courts. Current Issues in Criminal Justice [online], 33(1), 94–110. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2020.1859968 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2020.1859968

Scarduzio, J. A., 2011. Maintaining order through deviance? The emotional deviance, power, and professional work of municipal court judges. Management Communication Quarterly [online], 25(2), 283–310. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318910386446 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0893318910386446

Scheer, M., 2012. Are emotions a kind of practice (and is that what makes them have a history)? A Bourdieuian approach to understanding emotion. History and Theory [online], 51(2), 193–220. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2303.2012.00621.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2303.2012.00621.x

Schreier, L. S., 2002. Emotional intelligence and mediation training. Conflict Resolution Quarterly [online], 20(1), 99–119. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.13 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.3890200108

Shipman, S., Waters, B., and Wood, W., 2018. Brown & Marriott’s ADR principles and practice. 4th ed. London: Sweet & Maxwell.

Silva, L., 2024. Is anger a hostile emotion? Review of Philosophy and Psychology [online], 15(2), 383–402. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-021-00557-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13164-021-00557-2

Snider, K. M., Devereux, P. G., and Miller, M. K., 2022. Judges’ emotion: an application of the emotion regulation process model. Psychiatry, Psychology and Law [online], 29(2), 256–273. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2021.1904454 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13218719.2021.1904454

Terpe, S., 2016. Epistemic feelings in moral experiences and moral dynamics of everyday life. Digithum [online], 18, 5–12. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7238/d.v0i18.2874 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7238/d.v0i18.2874

Törnqvist, N., and Wettergren, Å., 2023. Epistemic emotions in prosecutorial decision making. Journal of Law and Society [online], 50(2), 208–230. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12421 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12421

Wettergren, Å., 2025. Emotionalising hope in times of climate change. Emotions and Society [online], 7(1), 133–151. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1332/26316897Y2024D000000021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/26316897Y2024D000000021

Zumeta, Z., 1998. Styles of mediation: Facilitative, evaluative and transformative mediation. Journal of the Du Page County Bar Association, 11, 2–5.