Deutsch And The Krauss Experiment
Negotiation is often a very difficult art. In this article, we will look at the Deutsch and Krauss experiment.
The most interesting thing about the Deutsch and Krauss experiment is that it shows us how human beings feel about each other being rivals or a threat when they have the same goals. Those who are able to see each other as allies increase the likelihood that both sides will win.
Negotiation is an art we all practice from time to time. It has to do not only with commercial matters, but also with the way we juggle all our obligations and duties. The Deutsch and Krauss experiment focuses primarily on negotiations and the patterns that determine them.
The forerunners, Moran Deutch and Robert Krauss, decided to find out why the negotiations people try to make often fail. Thanks to the Deutsch and Krauss experiment, it was determined that two factors determine success or failure in interpersonal negotiation: Communication and threat.
They also confirmed that there are two ways to negotiate: cooperative and competitive.
By the first way, both parties will gain some benefits, but they will also have to give in in some areas.
By the other way, the deposit is raised in such a way that there are absolute winners and absolute losers. Let us see how the Deutsch and Krauss experiment reached these conclusions.
The first Deutsch and Krauss experiment
The first Deutsch and Krauss experiment established a game for two people. Both are owners of a trucking company. The goal is to drive as many trips as possible between point A and point B. There are two roads: a short road and a long road. However, the short road only goes in one direction and it can only be used by one truck at a time.
At the end of the short road, there is a door. It remains closed until the truck has already begun its turn back. The two people who are part of the game have no way of communicating with each other. They must interpret each other’s actions based on how they each play the game.
In the first series of experiments, the researchers found that the participants played the game by blocking the rival’s opportunities. They used the door as a means of forcing their opponent to use the long route and gain an advantage. By playing that way, both players achieved only a small dividend.
Second and third editions of the Deutsch and Krauss experiment
In the second part of the Deutsch and Krauss experiment, the rules remained, basically, the same, but headphones were introduced. It allowed both players to communicate with each other, to make the game more fluid.
Although they were able to communicate, they did not. Thereby, the results were, in general, the same as in the first experiment.
In the third experiment, Deutsch and Krauss introduced a new element. Now, the players had to talk to each other in order to continue with the activity. It did not matter what they said. The important thing was that they had to keep communicating.
The results of the third experiment varied. In some cases, the forced communication allowed them to make some minimal appointments, and it helped both of them increase their returns. In other cases, it had no effect and the yield was minimal, as in the first two experiments.
Conclusion of the experiment
The Deutsch and Krauss experiment showed that there were two styles of negotiation. The first one that we have mentioned above is the collaborative style. The primary characteristics are a higher level of communication, along with kindness and sympathy.
They tried to coordinate efforts, and saw the conflicting interests as a problem to be solved, and not as a threat.
The second style is the competing style. In this method, the communication they have seeks to hinder the other person. Communication is simply used as a weapon to confuse or cheat the opponent. This eliminates, after all, any kind of trust. And, therefore, it is an obstacle to reaching an agreement.
When competition comes into play, participants, as a rule, have to work twice as much. They do not share the work or benefit from the other person’s abilities as they would in the collaborative model. The disagreements and attempts to neutralize the opponent also limit their returns.
Taking everyone into consideration, the Deutsch and Krauss experiment shows that people, in general, enjoy using a competitive, negotiating style. The most important thing for them is to beat the other person. It becomes even more important than their own dividend.
As a result, any victory will be a very limited victory. When there is cooperation, part of the dividend is waived, but it requires less effort and you are guaranteed a partial victory.
