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Going far together by being here now: Mindfulness increases cooperation in negotiations
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
  • Theodore Charles MASTERS-WAAGE, Singapore Management University
  • Jared NAI, Singapore Management University
  • Jochen REB, Singapore Management University
  • Samantha SIM, Universidade Nova de Lisboa
  • Jayanth NARAYANAN, National University of Singapore
  • Noriko TAN, Singapore Management University
Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
submittedVersion
Publication Date
11-2021
Abstract

Integrating theorizing across the mindfulness and negotiation literatures, we hypothesize that mindfulness increases cooperation in negotiations. We further propose that processes of self-transcendence, self-regulation, and self-awareness mediate this effect. We test these hypotheses in five studies across different forms of cooperation, in both distributive and integrative negotiation contexts, and for both measured and experimentally induced mindfulness. In Study 1a, individuals higher on measured state mindfulness displayed greater cooperative orientation measured as preference for pareto-optimal agreements. In Study 1b, experimentally induced mindfulness led to greater cooperative orientation measured as the recall of cooperative heuristics. In Study 2, a distributive (fixed-sum) negotiation, dyads who engaged in a mindfulness practice before the negotiation were more likely to reach cooperative agreements with more equal distribution of the bargaining zone than control condition dyads. In Study 3, an integrative negotiation, dyads who engaged in a mindfulness practice before the negotiation were more likely to reach win–win agreements than control condition dyads. Finally, in Study 4, another integrative negotiation, we found that mindful dyads achieved greater joint gains and the effect was mediated by self-transcendence. Overall, results provide substantial evidence that mindfulness is an effective intervention for increasing cooperation in negotiations.

Keywords
  • Cooperation,
  • Cooperative orientation,
  • Distributive negotiation,
  • Integrative negotiation,
  • Mindfulness,
  • Negotiation,
  • Self-transcendence
Identifier
10.1016/j.obhdp.2021.09.001
Publisher
Elsevier
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2021.09.001
Citation Information
Theodore Charles MASTERS-WAAGE, Jared NAI, Jochen REB, Samantha SIM, et al.. "Going far together by being here now: Mindfulness increases cooperation in negotiations" Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Vol. 167 (2021) p. 189 - 205 ISSN: 0749-5978
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jochen_reb/76/