Summary

Negotiations are more than an exchange of offers - they are social interactions in which people actively try to shape how the other side feels and responds. A negotiator might appeal to guilt, offer flattery, or use other emotional strategies to influence the outcome. But when do these tactics work, and when do they backfire?

This PhD project investigates how emotional appeal strategies affect negotiation behaviour and outcomes. What psychological mechanisms explain their effects: do they change how we feel, how we perceive the other party, or both? Are some people more susceptible to certain tactics than others? And can we capture these dynamics as they unfold during the negotiation itself?

The project combines controlled experiments with computational text analysis, behavioural process measures, and field-based data collection to develop a methodologically diverse approach to studying interpersonal influence in negotiations.