5 Powerful Psychological Negotiating Tactics
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There's some interesting psychology that goes into salary negotiation. Here's some new research that shows just how effective certain psychological strategies can be, and some tactics that make them less effective.
Not all of the advice on salary negotiation is worth mentioning here, if it works at all, since much of it is just regurgitated cliches that get passed along endlessly. However, there are some recent psychology studies that do provide scientific insight into how salary negotiations play out, what people do that can result in higher pay, and how those in-the-know might identify and counter those negotiation tactics. Here's five steps that you need to know:
1: Setting A High Anchor Number
When you mention a number, it effectively 'anchors' the conversation as a starting point from which all further discussions proceed. This 'anchoring' is a powerful tactic that has an immediate psychological effect that shouldn't be discounted. In a study from the Journal of Applied Social Psychology that simulated salary negotiations the researches found that when the anchor number is set high, the final agreed upon number is very likely to be higher. In this research, two studies were conducted to examine the effects of implausible anchors on initial salary offers. Participants provided a salary offer to a candidate after receiving a relevant anchor and an implausible anchor. The results of Study 1 indicated that a high implausible anchor influenced salary offers, even in the presence of the relevant anchor. Study 2 examined whether a more extreme implausible anchor would also affect salary offers. The results indicated that both the high anchor and the extremely high anchor led to...
