The Effects of Cognitive Appraisal and Emotion on Social Motive and Negotiation Behavior: The Critical Role of Agency of Negotiator Emotion

Abstract

This study presents an emotion-based model of the negotiation process and validates it using data from a dyadic negotiation simulation. We propose that cognitive appraisal of the situation generates one of four emotions (pride–achievement, gratitude, guilt–shame, and anger), depending on the valence and agency of the emotion. We also hypothesize that the effect of negotiator emotion on negotiation behavior is mediated by social motive. Structural equation modeling analyses of the data obtained from 322 participants supported most of the relationships hypothesized in the proposed model. Surprisingly, emotions with the same valence (positive or negative) exhibited contrasting relationships with collaborative and competitive motives, depending on their agency (caused by the self or the other). These findings highlight the importance of considering agency in any examination of the roles of distinct emotions in a negotiation setting. This study also offers a process-based account of how emotion is elicited and how it influences behavior in a negotiation situation.