SINS Scale
Robinson, Lewicki and Donahue created the SINS scale (Self-reported Inappropriate Negotiation Strategies Scale), which elegantly summarizes more common deceptive negotiation tactics and acts as a tool for negotiators to measure their proneness to use those tactics.
The Five Factors of Deceptive Negotiation Tactics are:
The Five Factors of Deceptive Negotiation Tactics are:
- Traditional competitive bargaining Tend to be generally accepted negotiation tactics. For example, the negotiator purposely deceives his or her opponent by utilizing an "anchoring strategy" in the initial proposal, i.e. attempting to mask a BATNA from the opponent.
- Attacking an opponent's network Proactively trying to manipulate an opponent's network during a negotiation. For example, the negotiator tries to influence the other side's management to align with his or her position.
- False promises Make false commitments that knowingly cannot be fulfilled. For example, the negotiator promises a performance level in a product that he or she knows cannot be obtained.
- Misrepresentation Using misleading information to gain leverage in the negotiation. For example, the negotiator uses data out of context that doesn't reflect the typical performance of a product being negotiated.
- Inappropriate information gathering Using unethical means to gather information to gain a better position. For example, a negotiator leverages his or her relationships to obtain inside data on the other side's BATNA.
To see HOW YOU RANK on the SINS scale, please take the survey on page 16 of Robinson, Lewicki and Donahue's famous publication found below and compare your results to other persons who took the survey on Page 9. Feel free to use our SINS Scale Calculator (also found below) to calculate the scores from your survey.
sins_survey_calculator.xlsx | |
File Size: | 38 kb |
File Type: | xlsx |
sins_scale_article.pdf | |
File Size: | 4798 kb |
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MEDITATE on your results and ask yourself:
- How did you compare to people from similar or different demographics?
- Why do you believe you scored higher or lower compared to people of similar or different demographics?
- What behavior might you try to change?
- How would you change these behaviors?
Some INTERESTING TRENDS surfaced in the SINS Model research:
- One of the most striking results was the comparison between men and women. On four of the five factor scales, women were less accepting of the tactics than were men!
- There were no significant differences between ethnic groups in their endorsement of tactics comprising of any of the five factor scales.
- Western Europe emerged as more likely to endorse ethically marginal tactics than other groups. Subjects from US and Canada, despite the stereotype of the "tough" cowboy negotiator, were far less willing to endorse tactics than were participants from other parts of the world, notably Western Europe.
- Engineers and other applied scientists, emerged as more likely to endorse unethical negotiation strategies, particularly when compared to arts, business and economics majors.
- The older people were, and the more experience they had working, the more weary they were of unethical bargaining tactics.
- Prior negotation experience produced interestingly mixed results. Participants with more prior experience with negotiations tended to score lower for Factor 1, but higher for Factor 3.
- The more self-rated cooperative individuals were, the less willing they were to endorse these tactics.
*Sources of all content found on Sources page.