Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Conflicting Social Motives In Negotiating Groups, Laurie Weingart, Jeanne Brett, Mara Olekalns, Philip Smith

Mara Olekalns

Negotiators’ social motives (cooperative versus individualistic) influence their strategic behaviors. This study used multi-level modeling and analyses of strategy sequences to test hypotheses regarding how negotiators’ social motives and the composition of the group influence group members’ negotiation strategies. Four-person groups negotiating a 5 issue mixed-motive decision making task were videotaped, transcribed, and coded. Group composition included two homogeneous conditions (all cooperators and all individualists) and three heterogeneous conditions (3 cooperators/1 individualist; 2 cooperators/2 individualists; 1 cooperator/3 individualists). Results showed that cooperative negotiators adjusted their use of integrative and distributive strategies in response to the social motive composition of the …