Group Member Prototypicality and Intergroup Negotiation : How One's Standing in the Group Affects Negotiation Behavior

How does a representative's position in the group influence behavior in intergroup negotiation? Applying insights from social identity theory, the effects of group member prototypicality, process accountability, and group attractiveness on competitiveness in intergroup bargaining were investigated. As representatives of their group, participants engaged in a computer-mediated negotiation with a simulated outgroup opponent. In Exp. 1, representatives with a peripheral status in the group sent more competitive and fewer cooperative messages to the opponent than did prototypical representatives, but only under process accountability. Exp. 2 replicated this finding, and showed that, under accountability, peripherals also made higher demands than did prototypicals, but only when group membership was perceived as attractive. Implications for intergroup negotiation, group member prototypicality research, and impression management are discussed