FALSE CONSENSUS, STEREOTYPIC CUES, AND THE PERCEPTION OF INTEGRATIVE POTENTIAL IN NEGOTIATION

We argue that negotiators' fixed-sum perceptions are caused by the sam e judgment process that creates false consensus. Bargainers' reliance on their own preferences as a cue to others' preferences leads them to anticipate a fixed-sum conflict. When presented with stereotypic cues , subjects in a negotiating experiment anticipated the variable-sum na ture of the task and subsequently realized highly efficient settlement s extremely quickly. Surprisingly, even when the party's preferences w ere unrepresentative of the stereotype, agreements were no less effici ent than in the absence of the cue. The implications of these findings for bargaining research and practice are discussed.