Conflicting histories harm negotiations, researchers say

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-06/cmu-chh061715.php

Public Release: 17-Jun-2015
Carnegie Mellon University

The role of history in negotiations is a double-edged sword.

Although different sides can develop trust over time, there are also countless instances of prolonged feuds that developed because of conflicting histories. A prime example is World War II, which was fought in part to rectify perceived wrongs from the past. The phenomenon also extends to day-to-day situations such as sharing utility costs with a roommate or jockeying for position at grocery store checkout lanes.

New research published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization examines how past histories are harmful in negotiations, particularly when an event in the past benefited one party at the other's expense. In those situations, the party that got the short end of the stick tends to believe that they are owed retribution. The party that triumphed in the past, in contrast, tends to think that the past is irrelevant-- bygones should be treated as bygones.

"If you look at the history of world conflict, as well as conflicts between individuals, a surprising fraction revolves around different interpretations, and invocations, of the past," said George Loewenstein, the Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Economics and Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University.

•••••