Handshaking Promotes Cooperative Dealmaking

Handshaking Promotes Cooperative Dealmaking, according to a paper, by University of Chicago and Harvard business school professors.  The abstract:

Humans use subtle sources of information — like nonverbal behavior — to determine whether to act cooperatively or antagonistically when they negotiate. Handshakes are particularly consequential nonverbal gestures in negotiations because people feel comfortable initiating negotiations with them and believe they signal cooperation (Study 1). We show that handshakes increase cooperative behaviors, affecting outcomes for integrative and distributive negotiations. In two studies with MBA students, pairs who shook hands before integrative negotiations obtained higher joint outcomes (Studies 2a and 2b). Pairs randomly assigned to shake hands were more likely to openly reveal their preferences on trade-off issues, which improved joint outcomes (Study 3). In a fourth study using a distributive negotiation, pairs of executives assigned to shake hands were less likely to lie about their preferences and crafted agreements that split the bargaining zone more equally. Together, these studies show that handshaking promotes the adoption of cooperative strategies and influences negotiation outcomes.

Good Books for ADR

Books recommended by Prof. Richard Birke.

" if you want to know how to negotiate better, you need to understand how to make better decisions and what’s going on for the decision-makers across the table."

The full list is here.   I particularly value these two:

Robert Axelrod – The Evolution of Cooperation (how cooperation can emerge in competitive environments)

Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler – Nudge (how to get people to do things that are good for them)