Cultural Aspects of Disputing Cultural Aspects of Disputing Sally Engle Merry Merry, Sally Engle. Cultural Aspects of Disputing. Program on Conflict Resolution. Conflict resolution techniques used in the United States reflect the cultural norms of this society. She compares the American framework with that of Asian-Pacific societies.
Culture reveals itself through explicit rules of behavior and implicit meanings.
It frames one's perceptions of self and others. Concepts of Disputing and Dispute Resolution. The metaphor for American mediation is the contract. The main goal of the process is to satisfy parties' interests and reach win-win agreement. Even agreements between parents and teenagers are written in a contractual form which sets up rules for their interaction.