The Use of Consistent Logic Priming as a Negotiation Strategy

Abstract: Various forms of priming are routinely employed during negotiations. In two experiments, this study uses consistent logic priming to demonstrate that if a primer applies the focal negotiation logic to an immoral context, the same logic is less likely to subsequently be persuasive when applied to an unrelated negotiated topic. In Experiment 1, subjects were more likely to agree with the following in the absence of a primer that applied the same focal negotiation logic to the use of child labor: “It is OK for the U.S. to have carbon emissions that exceed international climate policy standards. We need to do so in order to remain competitive economically with other countries that also produce carbon emissions that exceed international climate policy standards.” In Experiment 2, the results were replicated using a slave labor primer.

Keywords: Consistent logic priming; Negotiation primer; Priming