This dissertation aims to compare the interpersonal effects of different negative emotions in negotiations, by focusing on two of the most often communicated and experienced emotions in negotiations: anger and disappointment. The results of four empirical chapters show that anger is an emotion that communicates power. Opponents in negotiations give in to angry negotiators to avoid negative consequences such as impasse. When opponents do not have to care about these negative consequences, anger backfires. Disappointment, on the other hand, is an emotion that communicates weakness. Opponents give in when this communicated weakness evokes guilt. When it does not evoke guilt, communicating disappointment backfires. Neuroimaging results have also shown that the communication of anger, more so than the communication of disappointment, evokes a concern for the self in opponents. This dissertation thus not only shows that the interpersonal effects of anger and disappointment differ, but also what their underlying mechanisms are and what the different consequences are for behavior. By taking a close look at how these two emotions affect others’ behavior and underlying neural mechanisms, this dissertation provides a more in-depth view of the social functions of negative emotions.
