The Cognitive Demands of a Negotiation Curriculum: What Does It Mean to “Get”Getting to YES?

Abstract

A leading theory of human development — constructive‐developmental theory — posits that people make meaning in qualitatively different ways through the course of their lives and that their meaning‐making capacities continue to evolve even in adulthood. This article begins with a brief introduction to constructive‐developmental theory, including its roots in Jean Piaget's work on child development and Robert Kegan's more recent work on adult development. The author then explores the different ways in which students at different developmental stages might make sense of the same negotiation concepts. The article discusses some implications of these diverse understandings for negotiation teachers in terms of goal setting, evaluation, teaching methods, and transformational learning. It then concludes with a suggestion for more research on the connections between constructive–developmentalism and negotiation pedagogy.