Investigating the Role of Positive Emotions in Bilateral Negotiations: A Pilot Study

Abstract

This pilot study aimed to assess loving-kindness meditation as a mood induction procedure and investigate the role of positive emotions on different aspects of negotiation processes and outcomes. Thirty-eight undergraduate psychology students formed dyads and were assigned to one of three conditions: in the first condition, positive emotions were induced to both parties in each dyad; in the second condition, positive emotions were induced to one of the two counterparts, and in the third condition, individuals were not exposed to any emotional manipulation. The effectiveness of the meditation practice was assessed using SPANE-8 to measure participants’ emotions and a negotiation simulation followed using a widely used cell phone negotiation exercise. The results showed that loving-kindness meditation led to increased levels of positive emotions and decreased levels of negative emotions. Also, it was found that positive emotions relate to increased cooperation potential and reduced possibilities for exit decisions, while it was also found that the higher the levels of positive emotions, the less negotiation time is needed for individuals to reach an agreement. The hypotheses about the relationship of positive emotions with negotiators’ first offer, aspirations, expectations, individual gains, and joint gains were not confirmed.