1388: Organizational Consequences of Misperceptions about Sensitive Topics (15809)

Participant(s)

• ZR

  Zhiying Ren

  The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania, United States

Presenter(s)

• LE

  Lauren Eskreis-Winkler

  Northwestern Kellogg School of Management

Participant(s)

• LP

  Luiza Peres

  Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern U.
• AF

  Ayelet Fishbach

  professor

Presenter(s)

• NG

  Nelly Arbel Groissman

  Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel

Participant(s)

• ED

  Eran Dorfman

  Technion - Israel Institute of Technology
• PF

  Paul Feigin

  Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
• AR

  Anat Rafaeli

  Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Israel
• EY

  Elad Yom Tov

  Bar Ilan U.

Organizer(s)

• EH

  Einav Hart

  George Mason U., United States
• ZR

  Zhiying Ren

  The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania, United States

Presenter(s)

• EH

  Einav Hart

  George Mason U., United States

Participant(s)

• JB

  Julia Bear

  Stony Brook U.-State U. of New York, United States

Presenter(s)

• TS

  Trevor Spelman

  Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, United States

Participant(s)

• AE

  Abdo Elnakouri

  Northwestern U.
• NK

  Nour Kteily

  Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, United States
• EF

  Eli Finkel

  Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern U.

Presenter(s)

• JA

  Jennifer Abel

  Harvard Business School, United States

Participant(s)

• JZ

  Julian Zlatev

  Harvard Business School, United States

Conversations addressing conflicts, disagreements, and sensitive topics are instrumental for both individual and team decision-making in organizational settings. Nevertheless, discussions of difficult or sensitive topics are often avoided due to a common misconception that such dialogues diminish decision-making efficiency, exacerbate conflicts, and strain relationships. In this symposium, we present novel research on organizational and interpersonal contexts where people fail to talk about and effectively manage sensitive topics. These topics are often controversial, including the request to initiate a negotiation, changing one’s political views, and engaging with large-scale societal problems through reporting or helping. In particular, the papers presented will show that people (1) overestimate how likely negotiation counterparts are to withdraw a deal if one attempts to negotiate, and as a result, avoid negotiating; (2) overestimate how likely ingroup members are to penalize one for changing one’s mind about controversial political topics, which leads to self-censorship; (3) have conflicting perceptions of victims’ motivations in reporting about similar events, which affects trust and perceptions of accuracy; (4) underestimate the sensitivity and impact of big problems, leading to lower helping; (5) may overestimate the mere effect of apologies on reducing medical lawsuits. Moreover, this set of papers shows the detrimental consequences of such misperceptions, particularly for missed opportunities for disclosure and for economic and relational benefits. Taken together, this symposium highlights the fraught nature of sensitive topics, and points to avenues for improving the effective flow of information within organizations.

Presentations:

• 11:30 – 13:00 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1388: Negotiators’ Inflated Perception of Their Likelihood of Jeopardizing a Deal (15809)
  

  Author: Einav Hart – George Mason U.

  Author: Julia Bear – Stony Brook U.-State U. of New York

  Author: Zhiying Ren – The Wharton School, U. of Pennsylvania
• 11:30 – 13:00 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1388: Intragroup Illusions: Overestimating the Social Costs of Political Belief Change (15809)
  

  Author: Trevor Spelman – Northwestern Kellogg School of Management

  Author: Abdo Elnakouri – Northwestern U.

  Author: Nour Kteily – Northwestern Kellogg School of Management

  Author: Eli Finkel – Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern U.
• 11:30 – 13:00 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1388: Motivated to Uncover the Truth: When Past Experiences of Victimization Boost Trust (15809)
  

  Author: Jennifer Abel – Harvard Business School

  Author: Julian Jake Zlatev – Harvard Business School
• 11:30 – 13:00 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1388: The Bigger the Problem the Littler (15809)
  

  Author: Lauren Eskreis-Winkler – Northwestern Kellogg School of Management

  Author: Luiza Peres – Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern U.

  Author: Ayelet Fishbach – professor
• 11:30 – 13:00 CT (GMT-5/UTC-5)

  1388: Apologies: Is Their Effect in Reducing Lawsuits for Medical Malpractice a Misperception? (15809)
  

  Author: Nelly Arbel Groissman – Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

  Author: Eran Dorfman – Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

  Author: Elad Yom Tov – Bar Ilan U.

  Author: Paul Feigin – Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

  Author: Anat Rafaeli – Technion Israel Institute of Technology