The constructive uses of deception: Skills, strategies, and techniques of the folkloric trickster figure and their application by mediators

Abstract

Abstract The effective management of conflict by a mediator requires the constructive use of deception. Rational discussion and logic are not sufficient to effect the changes in perspective required by disputing parties for conflicts to be settled. Deception is not only a normal but an essential activity for the survival and propagation of all life forms, including human beings. This is so even though the notion of deception has pejorative connotations, especially in Western cultures where rational analysis is most highly valued. Mediators, in particular, from their intuitive understanding of conflict, must recognize the valid and necessary uses of deception. In this regard, the folkloric trickster figure provides an important model of the skills, strategies, and techniques needed by present‐day mediators.