Chapter 5: Perception, Cognition, and Communication

Chapter 5: Perception, Cognition, and Communication

Communication is at the heart of the negotiating process. This chapter focuses on the processes by which negotiators communicate their own interests, positions, and goals and in turn make sense of those of the other party and of the negotiation as a whole. Weather the intent is to command and compel, sell, persuade or gain commitment, how parties communicate in negotiation would seem to depend on the ability of the speaker to encode the thoughts properly as well as on the ability of the listener to understand and decode the intended messages. There are two critical sub-processes of communication: perception and cognition.

·        Perception is defined as the process of screening, selecting and interpreting stimuli so that they have meaning to the individual. The complexity of environments makes it impossible to process all of the available information, so perception becomes selective, focusing on some stimuli while turning out others. As a result people have several shortcuts in their perceptual systems that allow them to process information more readily. Unfortunately these shortcuts come with cost-perceptual errors such as stereotyping, halo effects, selective perception or projections which typically occur without people being aware that they are happening.

·        Rather than being perfect processors of information, negotiators have a tendency to make systematic errors when they process information. These errors, labeled cognitive biases, tend to impede negotiator performance: the irrational escalation of commitment, mythical fixed pie belief, the process of anchoring and adjustment, issue and problem framing, negotiators overconfidence, the winner’s curse, self-serving biases, ignoring others’ cognitions, the law of small numbers and reactive devaluation.

Failures and distortions in perception, cognition and communication are the most dominant contributors to breakdowns and failures in negotiations. Three main techniques have been proposed for improving communication in negotiation: the use of questions, listening and role reversal. Stimulus Attention Recognition Translation Perception Behavior

Question

1. What is communicated during negotiation?

Most of the communication during negotiation is not about negotiator preferences. The blend of integrative versus distributive content varies as a function of the issues being discussed, but it also clear that the content of communication is only partly responsible for negotiation outcomes. For example, one party may choose not communicate certain things (e.g, the reason she chose a different supplier), so her counterpart (e.g., the supplier not chosen) may be unaware why some outcomes occur. There are five categories of communication that take place during negotiations:
1. Offers and Counteroffers
2. Information about Alternatives (BATNA)
3. Information about Outcomes
4. Social Accounts
5. Communications about Process

2. MOOD, EMOTION, AND NEGOTIATION

The role of mood and emotion in negotiation has been the subject of an increasing body of recent theory and research during the last decade. The distinction between mood and emotion is based on three characteristics: specificity, intensity, and duration. Mood states are more diffuse, less intense and directed at more specific targets. There are any new and exciting developments in the study of mood, emotion, and negotiation, and we can present only a limited overview here. The following are some selected findings.
1. Negotiations create both positive and negative emotions
2. Positive emotions generally have positive consequences for negotiations
- Positive feelings are more likely to lead the parties towards integrative
- Positive feelings promote persistence
- Positive feelings result from fair procedures during negotiation
3. Negative Emotions Generally Have Negative Consequences for Negotiations.
4. Emotions can be used strategically as negotiation tactics