Understanding the Brain's Role in Negotiation and Conflict

Key Points and Main Ideas

• Negotiations as conflicts: High emotional impact on humans; importance of managing personal and partner's emotions.
• Importance of brain functions: Understanding what happens emotionally and how to influence it.

Fundamental Brain Parts

1. Prefrontal Cortex (Logic center): Involved in logical tasks (e.g., writing, using Excel).
2. Limbic System (Emotional center): Divided into positive and negative emotions.

Limbic System Details

• Hippocampus: Represents positive emotions and produces dopamine (self-produced happiness drug).
• Amygdala: Represents stress and negative emotions (e.g., anger, sadness, fear); produces noradrenaline/adrenaline.

Brain's Response to Impulses

• Brain reacts by processing sensory impulses and making quick decisions for survival.
• Amygdala's role: Dominates initially to secure survival by assessing threat.
• Prefrontal Cortex Activation: Only after the amygdala or hippocampus has processed the impulse.

Stress Hormones and Decision Making

• Cortisol's role: Peaks in morning, affects risk-taking behavior.
• Judges' decision-making study: Higher cortisol levels in the morning led to higher rate of releasing prisoners.
• Impulse-Control vs. Impulse-Steered Behavior: Fight, flight, or freeze reactions based on stress.

Strategies for Constructive Negotiation

• Overtrain to construct cooperative communication patterns even under stress.

Performance and Brain Activation

• Sustainable performance stems from engaging the hippocampus.
• Two options to activate the brain: Provide something desired (reward) or present a sanction.

Brain Training and Resilience

• Stress can grow the amygdala (e.g., PTSD in Iraq veterans).
• Conscious exercises can strengthen the hippocampus, leading to better negotiation resilience.
• Subconscious impact: Major influence on conscious behavior, but can be consciously managed.

Conclusion

• Importance of training communication patterns to stay effective during high-stress negotiations.