Leadership negotiation. Summary chapter 5

Summary Chapter 5
Perception, Cognition, and Emotion

In this chapter, the authors describe how perception, cognition, and emotion are the basic building blocks of all social encounters, including negotiation. Perceptual distortions include four types; stereotyping, halo effect, selective perception, and projection. Framing also influences perceptions in negotiation. Framing is defined as "the subjective mechanism through which people evaluate and make sense of situations, leading them to pursue or avoid subsequent actions".

Cognitive biases tend to impede negotiator performance and include;
‐ Irrational escalation
‐ Mythical fixed-pie
‐ Anchoring & Adjust
‐ Issue framing
‐ Info availability
‐ Winner’s curse
‐ Overconfidence
‐ Law of small numbers
‐ Self-serving biases
‐ Endowment effect
‐ Ignoring other’s cognitions
‐ Reactive devaluation

The role of mood and emotion has been researched extensively during the last decade, according to the author. The difference between mood and emotion is based on three characteristics, specificity, intensity, and duration. Negotiations create both positive and negative emotions which. in turn, influence outcomes.

From my personal experience in negotiating contracts, for example, it is helpful when:
‐ both sides have similar frames that can adjust as negotiations evolve
‐ irrational escalation of commitments is avoided, no matter how much a positive outcome is desired
‐ keeping a realistic view of the endowment effect
‐ positive feelings are maintained throughout the negotiation

If these points are kept in mind, a successful outcome, or "win-win" for both parties is more likely.