The effectiveness of threats in negotiations was examined by exploring two factors likely to affect it: implicitness, or the extent to which the threat mentions what action the perpetrator would take if the target does not comply; and timing, or the time when the threat is stated. Participants were given a negotiation scenario that differed only by the nature of the threat made by their counterpart. The design was a 2 (implicit vs. explicit threat) × 2 (early vs. late threat) factorial design with a control condition (no threat). The study showed that early-implicit and late-explicit threats were both more likely to elicit concessions than early-explicit and late-implicit threats. The two more effective threats were also the ones that made the perpetrator seem less aggressive. Further, perceived credibility mediated the positive effect that late-explicit threats had over late-implicit threats in eliciting concessions. These results support the claim that whether making the threat's sanction implicit is effective depends on its timing, as the nature of bargaining moves and perceptions varies over time (Pruitt 1981). They suggest that the way in which a threat is stated may dramatically influence its effect on the target.Are threats effective in negotiations? This broad question has received much theoretical and empirical attention from negotiation and conflict researchers, as it is relevant to the issue of value claiming in negotiation (e.g., Bonoma and Tedeschi 1974;Pruitt 1981;Schelling 1960;Tedeschi, Schlenker, and Bonoma 1975). In general, past research suggests that threats increase the likelihood of concession making by the target (Rubin and Brown 1975), especially when they are seen as credible and not a mere bluff (for a classical review, see Tedeschi and Bonoma 1977). The purpose of this study is to investigate two factors relating to the way in which a threat is stated and the potential effect of these differences on the credibility and the effectiveness of the threat. Specifically, we examine how the implicitness and timing of a threat may affect the target's perception of the threat and, in turn, the degree to which he or she is willing to make concessions.
Effectiveness of threats: A social psychological viewThe empirical social psychological literature has isolated a series of factors that influence the effectiveness of threats as a way to encourage the target to make concessions. These can be mostly organized around two kinds of factors: factors relating to the perpetrator and factors