Culture and getting to yes : The linguistic signature of creative agreements in the United States and Egypt

Abstract

We complement the dominant rational model of negotiation found in the West with a new honor model of negotiation found in many Arabic-speaking populations and illustrate the linguistic processes that facilitate creativity in negotiation agreements in the United States and Egypt. Community samples (N = 136) were recruited in the United States and Egypt and negotiated an integrative bargaining task, Discount Marketplace. Analyses of categories of the Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) and our own newly developed honor dictionary illustrate that the same language that predicts integrative agreements in the United States, namely, that which is rational and logical (cognitive mechanisms, LIWC), actually backfires and hinders agreements in Egypt. Creativity in Egypt, by contrast, reflects an honor model of negotiating with language that promotes honor gain (i.e., moral integrity) and honor protection (i.e., image and strength). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Stuck in the Past? The Influence of a Leader’s Past Cultural Experience on Group Culture and Positive and Negative Group Deviance

“…Second, cultural tightness is a well-established cultural concept that has strong explanatory power in predicting behaviors. For example, Gelfand and her colleagues (e.g., Gelfand et al, 2017;Gelfand et al, 2011;Gelfand, Severance, Lee, Bruss, Lun, Abdel-Latif et al, 2015;Harrington & Gelfand, 2014) found that members in tight (versus loose) cultures are more (versus less) likely to regulate their behavior, demonstrate prevention-focused (versus promotion-focused) behaviors, and adopt a more adaptive (versus innovative) approach in deriving organizational solutions, and tend to be less (versus more) creative in their jobs (see for a further review, Gelfand et al, 2006). Furthermore, such predictive validity of cultural tightness has been consistently shown in several different social contexts (e.g., 33 nations in Gelfand et al, 2011).…”

The social and cultural psychology of honour: What have we learned from researching honour in Turkey?

“…In a currently ongoing programme of research, we are conducting a series of studies in Turkey and southern US to start teasing apart differences and similarities between these two contexts in which previous research has shown the salience of honour in individualsÕ social lives. Future research is needed to examine how findings obtained in other honour cultures in relation to social psychological behaviours, such as negotiation, creative agreements, collaboration, and conflict management (e.g., Aslani et al, 2016, Gelfand et al, 2015, Ramirez-Marin & Shafa, 2017, would replicate in the Turkish cultural settings.…”

“…These features contrast with the Christian, economically developed, more legally sound, and culturally Western settings of southern US and Spain, where most of social psychological research on honour has taken place (e.g., Brown, 8 2016;Cohen, Nisbett, Bowdle, & Schwarz, 1996;Ramirez-Marin & Shafa, 2017;Rodriguez Mosquera, Manstead, & Fischer, 2002a, 2002b. It could be argued that Turkey is similar to other Middle Eastern (e.g., Qatar) and North African (e.g., Egypt) cultural contexts (e.g., Aslani et al, 2016;Gelfand et al, 2015), but TurkeyÕs secular outlook (at least until recently) and strong political, economic, and cultural ties with the West make Turkey different from these (and other Middle Eastern) contexts, as well. Finally, individuals residing in Turkey differ in educational attainment, occupational status, family and friendship ties and religious and gender-role values from their immigrant counterparts in Europe (e.g., in Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium; see Guveli et al, 2016) who have participated in honour-related research (e.g., Rodriguez Mosquera, Fischer, Manstead, & Zaalberg, 2008, Shafa, Harinck, Ellemers, & Beeersma, 2014Shafa, Harinck, Ellemers, & Beersma, 2015;van Osch, Breugelmans, Zeelenberg, & Boluk, 2013).…”

Normatively Speaking: Do Cultural Norms Influence Negotiation, Conflict Management, and Communication?

“…Consistent with the cultural norms of dignity, face, and honor, a recent paper shows that Q&A strategy helps U.S. negotiators reach creative agreements, but the same strategy is not functionally equivalent in Egypt. This article identifies a strategy based on moral integrity (honor gain) to be positively associated with creative agreements in Egypt (Gelfand et al., ). Taken together, the evidence of these papers raises an important question: How do negotiators in face and honor cultures create value?

RQ1: Is there a norm for creating value negotiation strategy in face and honor cultures?

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