Negotiation scholarship has focused extensively on what happens at the bargaining table—how parties make offers, manage conflict, and reach agreements. Far less attention has been paid to how parties get to the table in the first place. In this article, we argue that the journey to the table deserves greater scrutiny. We organize pre-table dynamics around three behaviors: signaling (communicating whether and how negotiation might proceed), seeking (approaching a counterpart to propose bargaining), and screening (deciding whether to engage with or withdraw from a seeker). We review recent and foundational work bearing on each, identifying where the field has made progress and where significant gaps remain. These pre-table processes have important implications for negotiated outcomes, for negotiations that never occur, and for understanding how opportunity and bias operate before parties ever sit down together.

Who behaves dominantly-and why? Much compelling prior research spotlights motivational sources. We focus here on beliefs, proposing that people are less likely to behave dominantly when they expect dominance to incur greater relationship costs. We posit that this situation-specific expectancy is shaped by a general competitive worldview, seeing the social world as a "competitive jungle." In five preregistered studies, we tested whether those with a competitive worldview expected dominance to incur less relationship harm and whether expected relationship harm predicted dominance. In Study 1 (N = 275), part- and full-time workers completed widely used scales of dominance and worldviews, allowing us to test our predicted effects and alternatives. Study 2 (N = 289) shifted from scales to employee-recounted acts of real-world managerial dominance. Studies 3A and 3B (N = 1192) featured a novel paradigm for capturing behavioral dominance, with participants role-playing as managers and employees in an incentive-compatible design. Study 4 (N = 492) manipulated expectancies to test their impact on behavior. We found support for our predictions across our studies, showing that a competitive worldview shaped relationship expectancies and that those who expected less relational damage from dominance were more likely to endorse or enact dominant behavior. These results emerged controlling for various motivational measures (e.g., relationship concern) and other expectancies (e.g., expected compliance), supporting a belief-based account of dominance that complements past work on motivational sources. Exploratory analyses suggested that those behaving dominantly may underestimate relational harm whereas those eschewing dominance may sometimes overestimate it.

Negotiation research has often emphasized the active bargaining phase (including offers, concessions, and settlements), paying less attention to the preceding processes that bring parties together. This paper investigates how sellers’ emotional attachment to their possessions influences the negotiation “sales funnel”—the process through which sellers engage and sort through the field of potential buyers to determine which ones “get to the table” and to whom they ultimately sell. We propose that sellers with higher attachment assign greater importance to a buyer’s caretaking attributes (e.g., intentions to care for and preserve the possession) and devote more time and effort to seeking out such buyers. Across four preregistered studies involving over 1,500 participants, we examined whether attachment led to such “caretaker effects” in real-world transactions and a controlled experiment. Study 1 surveyed recent sellers from online marketplaces, finding that those with higher attachment invested more effort in vetting buyers and weighing buyer caretaking attributes more heavily in their decisions. Studies 2 and 3 examined home sales, with surveys of recent home sellers and real estate agents replicating the caretaker effects in high-stakes transactions. Study 4 experimentally manipulated seller attachment in a novel simulated inbox paradigm, establishing a causal link between attachment and search/engagement behavior. Together, our findings go beyond the traditional emphasis of “how much” in negotiation research to focus instead on the “who,” demonstrating that seller attachment shapes the negotiation process by influencing how sellers search for, engage with, and select potential buyers.

In a large ( N = 1,600) nationally representative and longitudinal survey of the American population, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic we investigated whether dangerous or competitive worldviews shifted. Results show that across the span of one year (i.e., the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic), dangerous but not competitive worldviews, as measured via the dual-process of prejudice framework, significantly increased. This increase was significantly larger for conservatives, whites and older Americans. Further, those who endorsed both worldviews highly at T1 (April 2020) reported significantly smaller increases on average at T2 (August 2021), suggesting that the world was perceived as more dangerous and more competitive one year later particularly for those who saw it as safer and more cooperative at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight that worldviews are malleable, and that specific demographic characteristics and individual differences influence changes in worldviews across time.

Existing theories present a mixed account of how perceivers' views of a target person's antagonism relate to their perceptions of the target's general competence and leadership effectiveness. We argue that, rather than being universal, the relationship between these perceptions varies according to perceivers' idiosyncratic worldviews. In particular, we theorize and find across seven studies (total N = 2,065) that competitive worldview (CWV) serves as a lens through which perceivers interpret and evaluate others' antagonistic behavior. Our studies reveal that those who see the social world as a competitive jungle (i.e., high CWV) have more positive views of the competence and leadership of antagonistic individuals than those who see the social world as cooperative and benign (i.e., low CWV). We also find that CWV shapes the antagonism that perceivers attribute, post hoc, to successful leaders during their rise to the top. Finally, we consider workplace implications, finding that CWV moderates the relationship between managers' antagonistic behavior and a range of employee outcomes, including motivation and job satisfaction. Overall, we argue that individuals' folk theories of the social world (and CWV in particular) can help scholars more fully understand how basic dimensions of social perception relate to one another across perceivers. Practically, worldview-dependent social perception might help explain how and why potentially antagonistic leaders might be excused, tolerated, or even endorsed by the people around them. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Extant psychological research has highlighted that perceiving the world as a dangerous or as a competitive place influences major sociopolitical attitudes and ideologies. However, considerably less emphasis has been placed on how these perceptions change over time. We hypothesized that such perceptions of the world might be particularly susceptible to changes during a time of high uncertainty such as the early onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a large (N = 1600) and nationally representative sample of the American population, results show that across the span of one year (i.e., the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic), dangerous but not competitive worldviews significantly increased. Results highlight that this increase was significantly larger for conservatives, whites and older Americans. Further, those who endorsed both worldviews highly at T1 (April 2020) reported significantly smaller increases on average at T2 (August 2021), suggesting that the world was perceived as more dangerous and more competitive one year later particularly for those who saw it as safer and more cooperative at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight that worldviews are malleable, and that specific demographic characteristics and existing worldview beliefs could influence the degree to which worldviews change across time.

The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed stark regional variation in the spread of the virus. While previous research has highlighted the impact of regional differences in sociodemographic and economic factors, we argue that regional differences in social and compliance behaviors-the very behaviors through which the virus is transmitted-are critical drivers of the spread of COVID-19, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic. Combining self-reported personality data that capture individual differences in these behaviors (3.5 million people) with COVID-19 prevalence and mortality rates as well as behavioral mobility observations (29 million people) in the United States and Germany, we show that regional personality differences can help explain the early transmission of COVID-19; this is true even after controlling for a wide array of important sociodemographic, economic, and pandemic-related factors. We use specification curve analyses to test the effects of regional personality in a robust and unbiased way. The results indicate that in the early stages of COVID-19, Openness to experience acted as a risk factor, while Neuroticism acted as a protective factor. The findings also highlight the complexity of the pandemic by showing that the effects of regional personality can differ (a) across countries (Extraversion), (b) over time (Openness), and (c) from those previously observed at the individual level (Agreeableness and Conscientiousness). Taken together, our findings support the importance of regional personality differences in the early spread of COVID-19, but they also caution against oversimplified answers to phenomena as complex as a global pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Negotiation is a fundamental interpersonal tool and managerial skill, through which individuals and groups obtain some of their most consequential outcomes. Developing a deeper understanding of negotiation behavior involves understanding both the mechanics of negotiation – which strategies are effective and what negotiators expect – and the broader context in which the negotiation occurs. The papers in this symposium investigate individual differences and group-level differences in negotiators’ expectations, the negotiation process, and negotiators’ subsequent outcomes. We present novel research studies with field and experimental data and qualitative investigations that describe how negotiators’ individual characteristics (e.g., personality, gender, and minority status) and the negotiation context (e.g., importance of issues or relationships, stereotype congruence) impacts negotiators’ expectations, behavior, and outcomes. This set of research papers provides a broad perspective on how factors outside the negotiation table shape negotiators’ expectations, the negotiation process itself, and the consequences for negotiators’ expectations and their long-term, post-negotiation outcomes. Consistency, presence, and contagion in negotiator behavior across partners: A round-robin study Presenter: Hillary Anger Elfenbein; Washington U. in St. Louis Presenter: Jared R. Curhan; MIT Sloan School of Management Presenter: Noah Eisenkraft; U. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Negotiation as a Tool for Perseverance in Counterstereotypical Careers Presenter: Hannah Riley Bowles; Harvard U. Presenter: Deborah Wu; U. of Massachusetts, Amherst Presenter: Bobbi Thomason; Pepperdine Graziadio Business School Presenter: Nilajana Dasgupta; U. of Massachusetts, Amherst When Bargainers Disclose Their Priorities: The Expectations and Reality of Information Sharing Presenter: Daniel Ames; Columbia Business School Relational Concerns and the Economic Value of Negotiated Agreements Presenter: Einav Hart; George Mason U.

Social neuroscience research has demonstrated that those who are like-minded are also 'like-brained.' Studies have shown that people who share similar viewpoints have greater neural synchrony with one another, and less synchrony with people who 'see things differently.' Although these effects have been demonstrated at the 'group level,' little work has been done to predict the viewpoints of specific 'individuals' using neural synchrony measures. Furthermore, the studies that have made predictions using synchrony-based classification at the individual level used expensive and immobile neuroimaging equipment (e.g. functional magnetic resonance imaging) in highly controlled laboratory settings, which may not generalize to real-world contexts. Thus, this study uses a simple synchrony-based classification method, which we refer to as the 'neural reference groups' approach, to predict individuals' dispositional attitudes from data collected in a mobile 'pop-up neuroscience' lab. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy data, we predicted individuals' partisan stances on a sociopolitical issue by comparing their neural timecourses to data from two partisan neural reference groups. We found that partisan stance could be identified at above-chance levels using data from dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. These results indicate that the neural reference groups approach can be used to investigate naturally occurring, dispositional differences anywhere in the world.

The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed stark regional variation in the spread of the virus. Combining self-reported personality data (3.5M people) with COVID-19 prevalence rates and behavioral mobility observations (29M people) in the US and Germany, we show that regional personality differences can help explain the early transmission of COVID-19; this is true even after controlling for a wide array of important socio-demographic, economic, and pandemic-related factors. We use specification curve analyses to test the effects of regional personality in a robust and unbiased way. The results indicate that in the early stages of COVID-19, Openness-to-experience acted as a risk factor while Neuroticism acted as a protective factor. The findings also highlight the complexity of the pandemic by showing that the effects of regional personality can differ (i) across countries (Extraversion), (ii) over time (Openness) and (iii) from those previously observed at the individual level (Agreeableness and Conscientiousness).

Purpose The purpose of the authors' research study is to identify the impact of life cycle stage on firm acquisitions. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a series of empirical databases to identify characteristics of acquirers and their targets. The authors then use logistic regressions and joint tests to identify significant differences between declining and non-declining acquirers. Findings The authors find that declining acquirers are more likely to pursue diversifying acquisitions and to pay for the acquisition with stock considerations. Acquisitions by declining acquirers result in positive abnormal returns initially, but post-acquisition returns are negative. Research limitations/implications - The authors' primary limitation is their data, which only includes public acquirers and targets, and runs fromJanuary 1, 1988 to December 31, 2010. Practical implications - The authors' research suggests that regulators, stakeholders and prospective stakeholders should consider the life cycle stage of an acquiring firm in setting expectations about motivations for and likely performance subsequent to the acquisition. Originality/value The authors' paper is the first to consider the effect of firm life cycle stage on the motivation and subsequent success of an acquisition. Given the tremendous impact to shareholders of such significant transactions, understanding the acquisition process more completely is important to capital markets participants.

Building on prior research documenting an association between analyst forecasts and non price loan characteristics, we predict and find that the precision of the private information in analysts' earnings forecasts is associated with price characteristics of private debt contracts and that this association varies in predictable ways. Specifically, we predict and find that the association between analysts' forecast prediction and interest rates is only statistically significant when formal loan terms do not require collateral, when information asymmetry may be at its strongest. Furthermore, we find statistical significance that indicates that during periods of heightened uncertainty, such as during the financial crisis, analysts' forecast precision is no longer associated with loan spreads, suggesting that lenders may include different inputs in their information set for decision-making during periods of high uncertainty, and may choose to be more selective in these periods. We conjecture that our findings may in turn be applicable during the current period of heightened uncertainty caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Overall, our empirical results build on our understanding of the impact of analysts' earnings forecasts on private lenders' loan contracts, and we provide further evidence that banks consider information provided by analysts when designing loan contracts for borrowers.

This paper investigates circumstances under which earnings management influences subsequent risk assessments. We predict and find a positive association. That is, earnings management is positively related to an increase in perceived risk in a subsequent period, although our findings are nuanced. Specifically, we examine the association between earnings management and a decline in and Best's Capital Adequacy Relativity (BCAR) and the regulatory-based Risk-Based Capital (RBC) in subsequent periods. In a sample of property and casualty insurance companies during the period of 2008-2012, we estimate the level of earnings management for each firm in that sample year and use it to predict declines in assessed risk in the following period. We find that subsequent BCAR ratings are statistically sensitive to earnings management, while the more mechanical RBC appears not to be statistically associated. However, in a subsample of firms nearing financial distress, we find that both BCAR and RBC are subsequently statistically associated with earnings management. Although perhaps not intended to be a standalone predictor of insolvency, both measures appear to provide important information to both regulators, investors, customers and other stakeholders. We note limitations, including a relatively brief sample, and mention that the RBC formula has since been revised.

The present research examines intercultural accuracy—people's ability to make accurate judgments about outgroup values—and the role of social projection processes. Across four studies, U.S. and British participants showed low overall levels of intercultural accuracy for Chinese students’ individualistic and collectivistic values. In line with recent changes toward individualism in China, we observed different levels of intercultural accuracy, hinging on whether the criterion values of Chinese were assessed before (2001) or after (2015) this shift. Important for the study of social projection, we observed that U.S./British participants projected their values onto the outgroup. Social projection tendency (measured in Study 2 and manipulated in Study 3) was associated with greater intercultural accuracy. The relationship between projection and accuracy also depended on the shifts in individualistic values of Chinese. Important for the study of intergroup relations, accuracy was positively associated with interest in future relationships with the Chinese.

Abstract The ability of an insurer to pursue and collect money from responsible third parties for paid claims is referred to as subrogation. For some insurers, the amount to be recovered may be significant and, if accrued for, represents an estimate that could be used by management to affect earnings. This study investigates factors associated with insurers’ choice to accrue subrogation for statutory accounting. For statutory accounting, where insurers can choose whether to accrue subrogation or exclude it as an offset to the claims liability, we find that publicly-traded (mutually-owned) insurers are significantly more (less) likely to accrue subrogation than privately-owned insurers. In addition, we find that publicly-traded (mutual) insurers with weak ratings are less (more) likely to accrue subrogation. Finally, we find that insurers with large amounts of subrogation are more likely to accrue subrogation, consistent with these types of insurers having the strongest incentive to influence earnings through the subrogation accrual. Our results provide evidence suggesting that insurers respond to their incentives when choosing whether to accrue subrogation for statutory reporting.

We hypothesize and find that the existence of a board risk committee is positively related to A.M. Best’s Financial Strength Ratings, a measure widely used in the insurance industry to assess financial health. Using a sample of insurance firms from 2007 to 2013, we measure the impact of board risk committees on financial strength ratings and performance after controlling for various factors such as corporate governance characteristics. We find that firms with board risk committees report higher financial strength ratings, but only in the post-financial crisis period. Also, the formation of a board risk committee is positively associated with an increase in financial strength ratings from the year prior to committee formation to the year after committee formation. Further, we find that the presence of a board risk committee is not related to short-run firm performance benefits and that it takes five years for the presence of a board risk committee to be associated with future performance. Overall, our results provide evidence suggesting board risk committees are effective and beneficial from the standpoint of rating agencies and long-term financial performance.

Expectancies play an important and understudied role in influencing a negotiator's decision to be deceptive. Studies 1a–1e investigated the sources of negotiators' expectancies, finding evidence of projection and pessimism; negotiators consistently overestimated the prevalence of people who share their views on deception and assumed a sizable share of others embrace deceptive tactics. This phenomenon generalized beyond American samples to Chinese students (Study 1d) and Turkish adults (Study 1e). Study 2 demonstrated that pessimistic expectancies about others' ethics positively predicted the degree to which negotiators were dishonest, above and beyond their own stated ethical views, and that it did so across both distributive and integrative negotiations. Study 3 provided evidence of a causal relationship between expectancies of others' ethical views and dishonest behavior by manipulating expectancies. Study 4 provided additional evidence of this causal relationship in a live, dyadic exchange where performance was incentive compatible. Negotiators' deceptive behavior was shaped by their pessimism about others' ethical standards. We consider the implications of these findings for preventing deception in negotiations.

Activity in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during persuasive messages predicts future message-consistent behavior change, but there are significant limitations to the types of persuasion processes that can be invoked inside an MRI scanner. For instance, real world persuasion often involves multiple people in conversation. Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) allows us to move out of the scanner and into more ecologically valid contexts. As a first step, the current study used fNIRS to replicate an existing fMRI persuasion paradigm (i.e. the sunscreen paradigm) to determine if mPFC shows similar predictive value with this technology. Consistent with prior fMRI work, activity in mPFC was significantly associated with message-consistent behavior change, above and beyond self-reported intentions. There was also a difference in this association between previous users and non-users of sunscreen. Activity differences based on messages characteristics were not observed. Finally, activity in a region of right dorsolateral PFC (dlPFC), which has been observed with counterarguing against persuasive messages, correlated negatively with future behavior. The current results suggest it is reasonable to use fNIRS to examine persuasion paradigms that go beyond what is possible in the MRI scanner environment.