Researchers have discovered that humans have a limited capacity for maintaining focus in complex, stressful situations such as negotiations. Consequently, once a negotiation is under way, we gravitate toward the single focal point that has the most psychological significance for us. Once most people set a firm bottom line in a negotiation, that becomes their dominant reference point. They measure success or failure with reference to their bottom line. Having a goal as your reference point, by contrast, prompts you to think you are facing a potential “loss” for any offer you receive below your
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