Negotiation poses a unique challenge in the modern workplace which is likely to be
especially difficult for socially anxious individuals. Previous research has shown that
externally focused attention strategies are useful at alleviating social anxiety symptoms
and in helping improve negotiation outcomes; however this intervention has never been
examined amongst socially anxious negotiators. This study examined the effect of external- and self-focused attention manipulations on anxiety, perspective (observer-field), and monetary negotiation outcomes. Thirty-eight high social anxiety (HSA) and 52 low social anxiety (LSA) female participants completed a dyadic negotiation
simulation with a partner. The external-focus manipulation was successful at increasing attention focus in the desired direction, while the self-focus manipulation was not and, thus, was discarded from subsequent analyses. Results demonstrated that externally focused attention resulted in significant decreases in state anxiety during the negotiation and a significant shift in perspective from observer to field, for participants in both the HSA and LSA groups. However, these changes did not translate into better objective negotiation performance, as measured by the total commission (i.e., money) earned. The
implications of the results for social anxiety and the development of workplace
intervention programs are discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:WATERLOO/oai:uwspace.uwaterloo.ca:10012/5357 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Gavric, Dubravka |
| Source Sets | University of Waterloo Electronic Theses Repository |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
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