Leiden University Student Repository

Hahne, Isabella (2024)

Beyond the Screen: Understanding the Role of Trust and Social Motive in Online and Offline Negotiation Dynamics

Bachelor thesis | Psychologie (BSc)

This thesis examines contemporary negotiations in an increasingly interconnected world. It investigates the impact of power dynamics, social motives, and trust in negotiations that take place online or in person. An experiment was conducted with groups of three friends in which participants were assigned to a social motive condition and played a negotiation game led by a powerful leader, either online or in person. Analyses of Variance and Covariance were done to test hypotheses aimed at investigating the research question: “What are the effects of different negotiation modes (online vs. face-to-face) on the negotiation outcome and how does providing instructions for negotiation behaviours (individualistic vs. cooperative) moderate these effects?”. The results show that cooperative groups achieve better results and have higher levels of trust. There was no significant impact of communication channels on joint outcome, so the medium through which the negotiation took place had no...Show moreThis thesis examines contemporary negotiations in an increasingly interconnected world. It investigates the impact of power dynamics, social motives, and trust in negotiations that take place online or in person. An experiment was conducted with groups of three friends in which participants were assigned to a social motive condition and played a negotiation game led by a powerful leader, either online or in person. Analyses of Variance and Covariance were done to test hypotheses aimed at investigating the research question: “What are the effects of different negotiation modes (online vs. face-to-face) on the negotiation outcome and how does providing instructions for negotiation behaviours (individualistic vs. cooperative) moderate these effects?”. The results show that cooperative groups achieve better results and have higher levels of trust. There was no significant impact of communication channels on joint outcome, so the medium through which the negotiation took place had no impact on the outcome. The study provides valuable insights and highlights the importance of creating a trusting and cooperative environment for optimal negotiation results.Show less

Author

Hahne, Isabella

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Supervisors

Steinel, W.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en