Misperceptions About Sensitive Topics and Their Social Consequences

Authors:

Abstract: Conversations addressing conflicts, disagreements, and sensitive topics are instrumental for both individual and team decision-making in organizational settings. Nevertheless, discussions of difficult or sensitive topics are often avoided due to a common misconception that such dialogues diminish decision-making efficiency, exacerbate conflicts, and strain relationships. In this symposium, we present novel research on organizational and interpersonal contexts where people fail to talk about and effectively manage sensitive topics. These topics are often controversial, including initiating a negotiation, changing one’s political views, disclosure of information, and engaging with large-scale societal problems through reporting or helping. Moreover, this set of papers shows the detrimental consequences of such misperceptions, particularly for missed opportunities for disclosure and for economic and relational benefits. Taken together, this symposium highlights the fraught nature of sensitive topics, and points to avenues for improving the effective flow of information and constructively managing conflict.

Track: COMM

Keywords: Interpersonal Interactions; Communication; Negotiations