Early words that work: When and how virtual linguistic mimicry facilitates negotiation outcomes

By Roderick I. Swaab, William W Maddux, Marwan Sinaceur. 2011

116 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract We hypothesized that in online, virtual formats, negotiators receive better outcomes when mimicking their counterpart's language; furthermore, we predicted that this strategy would be more effective when occurring early in the negotiation rather than at the end, and should also be effective across both independent and interdependent cultures. Results from two experiments supported these hypotheses. Experiment 1 was conducted in Thailand and demonstrated that negotiators who actively mimicked their counterpart's language in the first 10 min of the negotiation obtained higher individual gain compared to those mimicking during the last 10 min, as well as compared to control participants. Experiment 2 replicated this effect in the United States (with Dutch and American negotiators) and also showed that trust mediated the effect of virtual linguistic mimicry on individual negotiation outcomes. Implications for virtual communication, strategic mimicry, and negotiations are discussed.

Subfields: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, Language and Linguistics, Sociology and Political Science

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5583310f3a8a4c528b7e63ad13c182b18d8b1ad8

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In Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

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Citations in the corpus

Building and maintaining rapport in investigative interviews (2014, result): “In negotiations, mimicking in the early to middle stages was found to lead to better outcomes for the mimicker, whereas late mimicry led to decreased trust and poorer outcomes (Swaab, Maddux, & Sinaceaur, 2011).”
The antecedents and consequences of human behavioral mimicry. (2013, background): “Mimickers experienced higher individual and dyadic gains and were more willing to come to an agreement with others regarding a difficult decision, and the relationship was mediated by interpersonal trust (see also Swaab et al. 2011).”
A recipe for friendship: Similar food consumption promotes trust and cooperation (2017, unknown): “…(Stel, van Baaren, & Vonk, 2008; van Baaren, Holland, Kawakami, & van Knippenberg, 2004), interpersonal trust (Maddux, Mullen, & Galinsky, 2008; Swaab, Maddux, & Sinaceur, 2011), and compliance with a salesperson's recommendations (Jacob, Guéguen, Martin, & Boulbry, 2011; Tanner, Ferraro,…”