The effect of social identity on decision making of negotiation outcome

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1819859 (Table of Contents)

Social identity influences the perception and action of individuals based on the context they are found in. Therefore, it is expected to be effective on conflict and the conflict resolution process. The present study examined whether reminders of social identity influences decision-making of individuals in a negotiation context. In an experimental design, participants who were primed with a social identity (n=81) were compared with a control group (n=83) with regards to their loss averse behavior in a negotiation task. Various negotiation contexts such as business, political and school contexts, were provided in order to observe the change in behavior. Participants reminded of their social identity were expected to present more loss averse behavior in each context. Participants additionally received the Group Integration Scale for manipulation check purposes. Several other control variables were measured via the Conflict Management Style scale; Kagitcibasi Self-Construal Scale, and the Locus of Control scales. Results revealed that across the three contexts, there were no differences between the experimental and control conditions in terms of their loss averse behavior. The implications of the findings are being discussed within the literature.