A counterpart’s feminine face signals cooperativeness and encourages negotiators to compete

Gladstone, E and O'Connor, K (2014) A counterpart’s feminine face signals cooperativeness and encourages negotiators to compete. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 125 (1). pp. 18-25. ISSN 0749-5978

Abstract

Early on, negotiators take each other’s measure, drawing inferences that shape subsequent decisions and behaviors. In two studies, we investigate whether impressions based on the facial femininity of counterparts affect negotiators’ behaviors. In our first experiment, we tested whether negotiators would choose counterparts with more feminine-featured faces over those with less feminine faces. As predicted, regardless of counterpart sex, negotiators preferred counterparts with more feminine-featured faces. When choosing agents, however, this preference reversed, indicating strategic decision making on the part of negotiators. In a second experiment, we tested our underlying claim that facial femininity evokes stereotypes of cooperativeness. It did, and in keeping with our main hypotheses, negotiators demanded more from their feminine-featured counterparts.