Alternative Dispute Resolution Annual Conference for Northern California

Conference speakers will include Donna Shestowsky, Assistant (“Acting”) Professor of Law at UC Davis, School of Law and Jennifer Parlamis, Assistant Professor at University of San Francisco.

Professor Shestowsky presentation is titled “What ADR Specialists Need to Know About The Psychology of Persuasion”. She will discuss what psychological research has demonstrated about the techniques that “work” to persuade. She will present an overview of effective strategies and ways to use the strategies in the context of ADR procedures. This presentation will be useful to practitioners, and will also give ADR instructors ideas on how to expand their curriculum to include this under-represented topic.

Professor Parlamis presentation is titled “Letting off Steam or Just Steaming: the Influence of Venting Target and Offender Status on Venting”. She will discuss two studies that investigate whether venting (expressing anger) to different targets (e.g., to the offender or to a third party) influences the expression of attributions of responsibility and anger. She will also review the influence of offender status on venting. In addition, she intends to include a third study that examines the impact of different target responses to venting on the ventee’s anger.