The many faces of framing in negotiation

Abstract

The purpose of this book is to present a sampling of perspectives on the way that frames are used in research on negotiation and mediation. The authors have accomplished this purpose. We are treated to a rich menu of approaches that emphasize the concept of frames. The menu makes evident that the concept is elastic. It is used in different ways to provide an opening for the development of perspectives that reflect particular epistemological arguments. A number of the authors confront these differences by offering comparisons between their own and other approaches (see, for example, the contrast between cognitive and interactional approaches in the Dewulf et al., chapter). The comparisons illuminate a major contribution made by this book: to enliven the debate about how negotiation is to be construed. This commentary contributes to the debate by capturing the central themes of each chapter, elucidating dimensions that distinguish among the chapters, raising questions about missing links to similar concepts in the literature, and suggesting new directions for research on framing from relevant social science literatures. We begin with a discussion of the chapter themes in terms of framing metaphors.