Social Decentering

Mnookin, Peppet, and Tulumello (1996, 2000) studied empathy’s impact on negotiation as it related to assertiveness. Empathy and assertiveness are often viewed as competing approaches to negotiation. For example, highly assertive negotiators would use competitive styles while highly empathic negotiators would be accommodative (Mnookin et al., 1996, 2000). Mnookin et al. argued that the strongest negotiators are strong in both empathy and assertiveness. Such a combination involves a negotiator engaging in listening and demonstrating a nonjudgmental understanding of the other’s needs, interests, and views without a statement of agreement but with an expectation for reciprocation from the other when the negotiator asserts her or his own needs, interests, ...