CPN Negotiation Psychology & Cognitive Biases

Question 1

The anchoring bias in negotiation refers to which of the following phenomena?

Accepted Answer

Negotiators rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered when making decisions

Answer

Negotiators prefer to anchor agreements in writing rather than verbally

Answer

Negotiators favor deals that anchor benefits to future performance milestones

Answer

Negotiators anchor their BATNA to the other party's reservation price

Question 2

Which cognitive bias causes negotiators to unconsciously discard information that contradicts their existing beliefs about a deal?

Accepted Answer

Confirmation bias

Answer

Availability heuristic

Answer

Reactive devaluation

Answer

Overconfidence bias

Question 3

Loss aversion theory, as applied to negotiation, suggests that people weigh potential losses relative to equivalent gains in which ratio?

Accepted Answer

2:1 — losses feel roughly twice as impactful as equivalent gains

Answer

1:1 — losses and gains are weighted equally

Answer

5:1 — losses feel five times more painful than equivalent gains

Answer

0.5:1 — people are more motivated by gains than losses

Question 4

A negotiator who continues pursuing a deal primarily because of the time and resources already invested, even when the deal no longer makes economic sense, is exhibiting which bias?

Accepted Answer

Sunk cost fallacy

Answer

Reactive devaluation

Answer

Status quo bias

Answer

Escalation of commitment

Question 5

Reactive devaluation in negotiation occurs when a negotiator:

Accepted Answer

Automatically assigns less value to a proposal simply because the opposing party offered it

Answer

Overvalues a concession because it came with a high initial price

Answer

Reacts emotionally to an aggressive tactic and walks away from the table

Answer

Devalues their own BATNA after comparing it to the other side's offer

Question 6

Overconfidence bias in negotiation most commonly manifests as which of the following?

Accepted Answer

Negotiators overestimating the probability that an agreement will be reached on their preferred terms

Answer

Negotiators underestimating their own BATNA strength

Answer

Negotiators setting overly modest targets to avoid disappointment

Answer

Negotiators deferring decisions to third parties to reduce personal risk

Question 7

Which of the following best illustrates how the framing effect influences negotiation outcomes?

Accepted Answer

Presenting an offer as a loss avoidance tends to be more persuasive than framing it as a gain

Answer

Presenting the same economic offer as a gain leads to more acceptance than presenting it as avoiding a loss

Answer

Negotiators who frame issues broadly tend to reach agreements faster

Answer

The framing effect only applies to written negotiations, not verbal ones