Subjective Effectiveness in Agent-to-Human Negotiation: A Frame x Personality Account

This paper presents an empirical examination on the role of framing as a persuasion technique in agent-to-human negotiations. The primary hypothesis was that when a software agent frames the same offer in different ways it will have different consequences for a human counterpart’s perceptions of the negotiation process and outcomes. A secondary hypothesis was that the subjective effectiveness of different frames will be influenced by the personality of the human counterpart. An experiment to test these hypotheses was conducted using a simulated software seller agent and a human buyer counterpart in a 4-issue negotiation task. The results demonstrated the influence of framing on human counterparts’ judgments of subjective effectiveness–an influence that was moderated by the personality variable Need for Cognition. The findings illustrate the strategic impact of framing and personality on satisfaction in negotiation, suggesting that these variables should be taken into account in designing negotiating agents.