Effects on the subsequent performance of negotiators of studying issues or planning strategies alone or in groups.

In 3 successive experiments, as representatives of management or labor, 256 graduate business students bargained individually with counterparts on 9 issues. 2 of the 4 treatments of each experiment required groups of Ss to plan strategies or to study the issues without considering bargaining tactics. Various kinds of prenegotiation study groups were contrasted. Also, some Ss planned strategics or studied alone rather than in groups. In the 1st and 3rd experiments in which deadlines were imposed, those negotiators who had prepared themselves by planning strategies were more likely to deadlock, more so if they had planned in advance in groups rather than alone. Detailed analyses are presented of the effects of the treatments within each experiment on specific contract outcomes, the overall favorability to the company of the settlements, the departure of the agreements reached from community norms and the speed of settlement. The latter 2 outcomes (departure and speed) were highly correlated. Task-oriented negotiating pairs reached settlement closer to community norms while self-oriented negotiating pairs tended to agree more closely on the importance of the issues. Company and union representatives favored using different tactics with different concerns in mind. (Author)