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Power and the Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations

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Abstract

This study examines how the illusion of transparency in negotiation differs depending on whether one is the powerful or less powerful negotiator. The illusion of transparency is the tendency for individuals to overestimate the extent to which their internal states and intentions are apparent to an outside observer. Thus, this illusion equals the difference between perceived and actual transparency. We predict that less powerful negotiators experience more perceived transparency than do powerful negotiators and that powerful negotiators exhibit greater actual transparency than do less powerful negotiators. The main hypothesis that the illusion of transparency is greater for less powerful negotiators than for powerful negotiators was supported.

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Correspondence to Stephen M. Garcia.

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Garcia, S.M. Power and the Illusion of Transparency in Negotiations. Journal of Business and Psychology 17, 133–144 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016204417910

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1016204417910

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