Anger as a Trigger for Information Search in Integrative Negotiations

Research has shown that anger can be both detrimental in negotiations (increasing the chance of impasse or conflict) and helpful to the angry person (by eliciting concessions from the other party). Yet little work has examined the influence of anger on information search, an important ingredient to joint value creation in integrative negotiations. We propose that due to the signaling effects of anger, negotiators facing an angry partner are more likely to seek out diagnostic information about their partner’s preferences and priorities. In turn, this information should enable negotiators to reach higher joint gains. Across two studies, we find that negotiators facing an angry versus a happy counterpart seek out more information, which leads to increased value creation. However, in accordance with prior research, we find that this increased joint value does not translate to better individual outcomes for negotiators facing angry partners. We also contrast anger and happiness with emotional ambivalence, an ambiguous signal involving both negative and positive components. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.