Negotiation & Dispute Resolution: Interdisciplinary Research Seminar

Description of Negotiation and Dispute Resolution Fall Semester, 1998

Alternate Fridays throughout the year, starting September 18, 1:00-2:30, KSG Taubman Building 275; spring location at HLS, TBA.

Continuing throughout the year, this interdisciplinary research seminar will have a very different mission than in previous incarnations. Much more in the spirit of an active working group than a speaker series or lecture course, this year's seminar will be devoted to an exploration of the intersection of the elements of economic structure and the social psychology of negotiation. Many negotiation scholars have been intrigued by how aspects of economic structure (how distributive/integrative, two- or many-party, one-shot or repeated, whether information is asymmetrically held, etc. etc.) seem to be associated with different psychological dynamics (escalation, attribution, construal, reciprocity, trust, relationships, etc.) Through selected readings, presentation of works-in-progress and proposed work, as well as intensive discussion, the seminar will attempt to develop answers to the following questions:

What are the relevant elements of economic or game-theoretic structure for negotiation and conflict situations?
What are the relevant social psychological--especially social cognitive--concepts and dynamics for negotiation and conflict situations?
What systematic relationships between these economic and social-psychological aspects seem to be present?
How can these apparent relationships be tested? What research strategies/methodologies are most appropriate?

This research-oriented effort is inspired by the example of behavioral decision theory--which can be interpreted by analogy as the very fruitful theoretical and empirical development of the intersection of decision theory and individual cognitive psychology. The distinction, of course, is that the economic structure-social psychological nexus is more defined by interaction whereas behavioral decision theory looks at individual information processing and decision.

The seminar will begin with a general introduction to the topic. Subsequent sessions will seek to pair readings on specific elements of economic structure with corresponding social psychological phenomena. Potential participants should be aware that this is a research-oriented effort, not a systematic presentation of well-known results.

Requirements for those students taking the seminar for credit include attendance over the full year and a significant, instructor-approved research paper on an aspect of this topic.

Note: Following the first session, those wishing to take this seminar will be asked to submit a statement summarizing their background and explaining how it will further their academic research plans.