CHAPTER 26
THE IMPACT OF HUMOR ON MEDIATION
Kevin W. Cruthirds*
I. Introduction
Mediation has become a commonly accepted form of alternative
dispute resolution. It involves the use of a neutral third-party mediator to
help the parties to a dispute reach a mutually satisfactory resolution.1 The
institutionalization of mediation in the private sector began with the
passage of the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947.2 During its
infancy, what made a good mediator was unknown to academia and the
general public. Julius Manson described a mediator’s professional
equipment as consisting of “subtle, formless personal elements whose
identification has baffled social scientists” and went on to identify 25
desirable qualities in a mediator, which he allocated to five categories:
character, intellectual, emotional, social, and technical (see Table 1).3
Eileen Carroll and Karl Mackie4 later came up with some similar
desirable qualities, like credibility, humility, diplomacy, intellectual
rigor, integrity, patience, persistence and energy. Since then, other than
experience5 and training, little has been added to the list of a mediator’s
