Overview of the Present Research
Handshaking Promotes Cooperative Dealmaking
Juliana Schroeder
Jane Risen
University of Chicago
Francesca Gino
Michael I. Norton
Harvard University
March 25, 2017
Abstract
Humans use subtle sources of information—like nonverbal behavior—to determine whether toact cooperatively or antagonistically when they negotiate. Handshakes are particularly consequential nonverbal gestures in negotiations because people feel comfortable initiating negotiations with them and believe they signal cooperation (Study 1). We show that handshakes increase cooperative behaviors, affecting outcomes for integrative and distributive negotiations. In two studies with MBA students, pairs who shook hands before integrative negotiations obtained higher joint outcomes (Studies 2a and 2b). Pairs randomly assigned to shake hands were more likely to openly reveal their preferences on trade-off issues, which improved joint outcomes (Study 3). In a fourth study using a distributive negotiation, pairs of executives assigned to shake hands were less likely to lie about their preferences and crafted agreements that split the bargaining zone more equally. Together, these studies show that handshaking promotes the adoption of cooperative strategies and influences negotiation outcomes.
Word Count: 150
Keywords: Handshake; Negotiation; Cooperation; Integrative; Distributive
Handshaking Promotes Cooperative Dealmaking
At the beginning of a contentious and high stakes negotiation regarding Iran’s nuclear program, American President Barack Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani scheduled a meeting. The meeting took months to arrange but it had only one item on the agenda: a handshake. This simple handshake was meant to facilitate future negotiations. When Rouhani refused to meet at the last moment, American pundits referred to the incident as the “historic non-handshake,” suggesting that negotiations would be irreparably damaged by the “non-gesture” (Landler, 2013, p. A9).
How could a simple handshake have such extreme consequences for the negotiation? We suggest that handshakes before negotiations—or the lack thereof—serve as subtle but critical indicators of negotiators’ social motives. In particular, handshakes signal willingness to act cooperatively during negotiations. We propose and show that handshakes increase cooperative behaviors at the bargaining table and, as a result, influence outcomes in both integrative and distributive negotiations.
Handshakes as a Signal of Negotiators’ Cooperative Motives
Unlike many other types of social interactions in which people seem willing to cooperate even with strangers (Fehr & Fischbacher, 2003; Henrich, 2012), negotiations are adversarial contexts that can instead induce the desire to compete (Pruitt, 1981). Negotiators’ social motives are critical predictors of their decisions to cooperate or to compete (Deutsch, 1949; Pruitt & Lewis, 1975; Pruitt & Rubin, 1986). These social motives, particularly in negotiations between people who do not already know each other, develop in part from immediate evaluations of the counterpart.
People are adept at drawing impressions of others in a short amount of time. Even in just 100 ms, below the level of consciousness, people form reliable judgments about how attractive, likable, trustworthy, competent, and aggressive a face is (Willis & Todorov, 2006) and these immediate inferences of competence can predict consequential outcomes such as who will win a political election (Todorov, Mandisodza, Goren, & Hall, 2005). With more time to observe someone’s expressive behaviors, including how they move and gesture, people derive a wealth of social information that is surprisingly accurate. For instance, strangers’ ratings of five minute videotaped clips of targets correlate with targets’ own self-ratings (Funder & Colvin, 1988). In a meta-analysis of 44 studies, the accuracy of people’s impressions were no different based on observations under half a minute in length compared to those based on longer observations of five minutes, suggesting that only about 30 seconds of information are necessary to form a relatively accurate impression of someone (Ambady & Rosenthal, 1992). Further, whereas people may rely on verbal information to judge others during longer interactions (Ames, Fiske, & Todorov, 2011; Hall & Schmid-Mast, 2007), when forming initial impressions people seem to rely more on nonverbal information (Argyle, 1988; DePaulo, 1992; De Gelder et al., 2010). For instance, ratings of 30 second silent clips of college teachers’ nonverbal behaviors predict endof- semester student and principal evaluations (Ambady & Rosenthal, 1993). This suggests that the nonverbal behavior someone displays within the first minute or less of a meeting can not only predict evaluations of that person but also future behavior toward the person.
According to the social meaning model (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1989), nonverbal behaviors comprise a socially shared vocabulary analogous to verbal communications. For example, individuals form reliable impressions of a relationship based on the nonverbal behavior of interactants in a photograph. Compared to observing common nonverbal behaviors such as proximity, eye contact, body lean, and smiling, observing people touching, in particular, leads to the strongest beliefs that the relationship involves intimacy, immediacy, emotionality, and dominance (Burgoon, Buller, Hale, & deTurck, 1984). Interpersonal touch generally plays a central role in social interaction, predicting outcomes ranging from tipping at restaurants (Stephen & Zweigenhaft, 1986) to maintaining loving relationships (Gallace & Spence, 2010; Harlow, 1958). But different types of touch convey different signals. For instance, holding hands conveys greater affection than shaking hands, but shaking hands conveys greater formality (Burgoon, 1991).
In Western cultures, a handshake is a common greeting used in both approaching and closing salutations (Astrom, 1994). In contrast to other types of nonverbal gestures—even those that involve touch, like holding hands or hugging, which may convey greater affection but are also less commonly used as a greeting between strangers—we predict that people will feel most comfortable initiating a handshake at the beginning of a negotiation (Hypothesis 1).
Handshakes not only send a friendly greeting but can also indicate a sociable personality (Chaplin, Phillips, Brown, Clanton, & Stein, 2000). In one study, a firm handshake was positively related to extraversion and emotional expressiveness and negatively related to shyness and neuroticism (Chaplin et al., 2000). Individuals who follow common prescriptions for shaking hands, such as having a firm grip and looking the other person in the eye, receive higher ratings of employment suitability in job interviews (Stewart, Dustin, Barrick, & Darnold, 2008). Witnessing individuals shaking hands in a business setting leads observers to more positively evaluate the relationship and show increased activation in their nucleus accumbens, suggesting people feel rewarded for merely watching others shake hands (Dulcos, Sung, Argo, Flor-Henry, & Dulcos, 2012). These studies indicate that handshakes convey a message of warmth and friendliness. In the context of a negotiation, this message could further suggest a willingness to cooperate. In fact, Neale and Northcraft (1991) suggested that negotiators who have a friendlier and less contentious style of interaction encourage a higher level of trust, cooperation, and information exchange in their counterparty, and are thus more likely to reach integrative agreements. We predict that, of the relevant nonverbal behaviors that people would feel comfortable doing at the start of a negotiation, people would believe a handshake is most likely to indicate cooperative motives (Hypothesis 2).
To consider not only whether but also how handshakes promote cooperation, we utilize two paradigmatic adversarial scenarios: integrative and distributive negotiations. In integrative negotiations, parties’ interests are neither completely opposed nor completely compatible, allowing negotiators to mutually benefit by making efficient trades (Fisher & Ury, 1981; Pruitt, 1981; Raiffa, 1982). Cooperative motives produce higher joint outcomes in integrative negotiations due to parties’ increased willingness to openly reveal their priorities, facilitating mutually beneficial trades (De Dreu, Weingart, & Kwon, 2000; Thompson, Mannix, & Bazermann, 1988; Weingart, Bennett, & Brett, 1993; Weingart, Hyder, & Prietula, 1996). In social interactions and in negotiation more specifically, both seeking and providing information tends to be reciprocated, which encourages open information exchange (Thompson & Hastie, 1990; Weingart, Bennett, & Brett, 1993). Truthful information about the counterparty’s preferences allows negotiators to maximize joint gains in integrative negotiations (Murnighan, Babcock, Thompson, & Pillutla, 1999). In fact, misperceptions of the counterparty’s interests are a primary cause of suboptimal negotiation outcomes (Thompson & Hastie, 1990). We predict that, because handshakes convey and incite cooperative motives, they would manifest in the consequential cooperative behavior of open priority exchange in integrative negotiations (Hypothesis 3a). More open priority exchange between the interactants who shake hands should then result in higher joint outcomes (Hypothesis 3b).
In contrast, distributive or “zero-sum” negotiations—in which the parties’ interests are completely opposed—are characterized by a different set of strategies such as appearing firm and even lying about one’s interests (Pruitt & Lewis, 1975). Whereas negotiators may show cooperative behaviors in integrative negotiations, they are more likely to show antagonistic behaviors in distributive negotiations. In such negotiations, having cooperative motives may reduce these antagonistic behaviors and encourage negotiators to more highly value fairness and joint welfare (Giebels, De Dreu, & Van de Vliert, 2000; Kelley & Thibaut, 1978; Van Lange, 1999). We predict that shaking hands prior to distributive negotiations would lead negotiators to engage in fewer antagonistic behaviors such as lying about their interests (Hypothesis 4a). Reduced lying should then result in more equitable outcomes for negotiators who shake hands (Hypothesis 4b).
Overview of the Present Research
We test these predictions in five studies. Study 1 examines whether handshakes are uniquely relevant for negotiations in contrast to other nonverbal gestures because people feel most comfortable initiating them at the start of a negotiation (Hypothesis 1). It also examines whether people have the intuitive belief that a handshake signals cooperation (Hypothesis 2). Studies 2a and 2b consider the relationship between shaking hands and integrative negotiation outcomes. In these studies, MBA students choose to shake hands or not prior to negotiating and we measure the negotiation consequences of handshaking.
To causally test whether handshakes improve negotiation outcomes, and to test for our predicted mediators, we assign pairs to shake hands or not in Studies 3 and 4. Study 3 tests the effect of a handshake in an integrative negotiation that we videotaped in order to code for our predicted mediator of open priority exchange (Hypotheses 3a and 3b). Study 4 tests the effect of a handshake in a distributive negotiation in which we also measure lying behavior (Hypotheses 4a and 4b). Across these studies, we expect to find that handshakes are uniquely relevant nonverbal gestures in negotiations that signal cooperative motives, leading to improved and more equitable outcomes in integrative and distributive negotiations, respectively.
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