Summary

This dissertation explores the conversational dynamics of negotiations by investigating how subtle, often peripheral socio-psychological cues shape negotiation outcomes. Across four empirical chapters, this dissertation investigates the influence of emotional expressions, visual appearance, vocal patterns, and verbal structure on economic and relational dynamics in negotiations. Chapter 2 presents a meta-analysis synthesizing the effects of five discrete emotional expressions (anger, disappointment, happiness, guilt, and sadness) on economic outcomes in negotiations, while identifying moderating conditions. The findings challenge the use of broad valence-based approaches, demonstrating that emotions of the same valence can have different, even opposite effects on the economic outcome of the expresser. Chapter 3 examines how attire signaling femininity leads to more favorable first offers from male counterparts. This effect is robust across four studies, including one laboratory study, one confederate study, one field study, as well as one study on a career network. Chapter 4 focuses on paraverbal features such as voice pitch and voice quality (i.e., jitter, shimmer, and harmonic to noise ratio). The results show that such vocal cues can predict objective and subjective outcomes in dyadic negotiations. Finally, Chapter 5 introduces the concepts of behavior announcements, showing how explicit verbal framing during interactions can increase perceived transparency and rapport. Together, these studies advance negotiation research by integrating insights from communication science and social psychology and call for a more perceptually rich view on negotiations. It opens pathways for future research that bridges micro-level interpersonal processes with broader organizational dynamics.