Achieving optimal agreements

Focusing on promoting success rather than preventing failure can be a powerful tool for achieving one's goals at the bargaining table. Across two studies, the authors find that "promotion-focused" negotiators pay greater attention to their goals than do "prevention-focused" negotiators. Attending to goals not only leads negotiators to strive for and achieve them, and thereby accrue more advantageous distributive outcomes, but it also prevents them from simply settling for minimally-acceptable outcomes and compromises. A "promotion regulatory focus," defined in the article, leads negotiators to discover mutually beneficial trade-offs and achieve solutions optimal for both parties.