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

Anchoring bias occurs when the first number or piece of information presented disproportionately influences subsequent judgments and offers.

Question 2

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

Accepted Answer

Confirmation bias

Answer

Confirmation bias leads negotiators to seek out and give extra weight to information that supports their pre-existing positions while ignoring contradictory evidence.

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

Kahneman and Tversky's prospect theory shows losses are psychologically about twice as powerful as equivalent gains, making people risk-averse when framed around 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

The sunk cost fallacy causes negotiators to irrationally factor in past, unrecoverable investments rather than evaluating the deal purely on future costs and benefits.

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

Reactive devaluation is the tendency to discount or dismiss a proposal solely because it originated from an adversarial or opposing party.

(CPN) Certified Professional Negotiator Practice Test

(CPN) Certified Professional Negotiator Practice Test

CPN Negotiation Psychology & Cognitive Biases