Humility in Negotiations

Abstract: Our study explores the role of intellectual humility in managing competitive dynamics in negotiations. While humility has been shown to enhance cooperation and foster collaboration in various contexts, its impact on highly competitive negotiations remains unclear. Through a survey and a series of experimental studies, we aim to examine the prevalence of concerns about displaying humility in competitive negotiations and test its causal influence on negotiation outcomes and psychological processes. We will investigate how humility shapes the outcomes of competitive negotiations and whether the effect of humility depends on trait-based humility. Additionally, we will evaluate whether these effects are contingent on the counterpart’s trait-based humility. By uncovering the mechanisms through which humility operates in competitive contexts, our research seeks to advance our understanding of humility within negotiation dynamics and offer strategies to improve economic and subjective values in negotiations.

Keywords: Negotiation; humility; perception; conflict resolution