https://scholarworks.law.ubalt.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2077&context=all_fac

This article addresses the implicit biases, cognitive schemas, and challenges that arise when mediators work with low-income parties. The article examines these issues in five parts by (1) examining norms of experience and the basic psychological principals that cause mediators to have distorted perceptions, (2) the day-to-day lives of individuals living in poverty, (3) presenting literature that explores the socioeconomic of judicial decision making to identify lessons that can be learned, (4) exploring the difficulties concerning mediator neutrality in light of a mediator's inherent implicit biases when working with low-income clients and (5) presenting proposals that may improve mediator effectiveness when mediating matters with low-income participants. This article also explores the unique characteristics that court alternative dispute resolution programs often have that can intensify the challenges for mediators in understanding the experiences of low-income parties.