Looking for Redemption: ‘Normal’ Adversity and the Repair of Relationships

Although negotiation adversity comes in many forms, the consequences are predictable: Adverse events damage relationships and impede settlement. Negotiators, because they expect the worst of the other party, may approach each other anticipating adversity. Or, they may create moments of adversity during negotiations because they favor highly competitive tactics. In either case, the experience of adversity is likely to erode trust and trigger anger, establishing the preconditions for an escalatory spiral that causes irreversible damage to ongoing relationships. To overcome either form of adversity, negotiators may seek redemption by striving to rebuild or strengthen relational capital. Drawing on the four papers in this symposium, we identify two pathways to redemption: an internal pathway, defined by resources that reside within an individual and an external pathway, defined by the actions taken by the transgressor to offset the adversity. These papers explore internal and external pathways to redemption and, by examining the cognitions, emotions and actions that support post-adversity relationship repair, give insight into which pathway most effectively leads to redemption. Together, they highlight intriguing avenues for discussion about the most effective way to follow the path to redemption. We highlight counterpoints between our findings and past research on the efficacy of specific cognitive and reparative mechanisms; the possibility that redemption benefits from a fit between internal and external sources of adverse events and reparation; and, the need to better understand when reparative acts are perceived as authentic.