Essay On Implicit Bias In Mediation

Considering the fact that the average rate of a legal counsel is $350 per hour, very few clients can afford an extensive litigation despite their notions of righteousness and a desire for a justice to triumph. Mediating civil and family disputes offers a great alternative to the litigation and relieves the pressure off the Canadian justice system that is already over-burdened and backlogged. Whether parties enter mediation as a mandatory court ordered process as in civil cases, or whether parties enter mediation freely as in family law cases, the expectations of parties remain the same. Parties expect mediators to be neutral, impartial and objective when conducting mediation sessions, however, and to the dismay of many, even mediators are vulnerable and susceptible to implicit cognitive biases that guide their thinking processes and behaviour.

In this paper, I will attempt to examine the neutrality, impartiality, and objectivity of the mediator. I reason that it is quasi impossible for a mediator to maintain neutrality, impartiality, and objectivity considering the social science evidence on implicit biases that affect every human being across the cultural spectrum. I will rely on my knowledge of social sciences, on Psychology in particular, to draw inferences between inherent implicit biases and how they affect our decision making.

Implicit biases are deeply held attitudes and stereotypes that we have formed as a result of our day to day experiences. These implicit biases affect our thoughts, decision making and behaviour, and ultimately lead us to act in a specific manner despite the fact that we may aspire to the ultimate