Emotion deception in negotiations and bargaining

Abstract

This dissertation examines the role of emotion misrepresentation in negotiations and bargaining, offering insights into how negotiators perceive and use emotion deception strategies. Part I investigates how negotiators perceive and respond to counterparts who deceptively or genuinely communicate anger or happiness. Chapter 2 showed that perceptions and responses to emotion communication varied depending not only on its perceived authenticity but also on the specific type of deception employed. Chapter 3 extends this to social evaluations of morality, sociability, and competence. The findings demonstrated that the perceptions varied on these evaluative dimensions and these dimensions are differently prioritized when selecting an opponent versus a representative. Part II shifts the focus to how negotiators themselves use emotion misrepresentation strategies, particularly regarding supplication and appeasement emotions. Chapter 4 investigates the disparity between the experience and communication of these emotions and how these strategies differ across negotiation stages. The findings showed that negotiators exaggerated supplication, rather than appeasement, emotions during, rather than after, negotiations to secure better outcomes. Chapter 5 addresses cultural variations by comparing Chinese and U.S. negotiators. The findings showed similarities and differences in using these strategies between negotiators from different countries.