Buying Status: Experimental Evidence on Status in Negotiation

Abstract

Status is an important motivator of human behavior. This article examines the extent to which people are willing to adjust their negotiating behavior in response to their opponent's status level. The results of a series of experiments on the effect of status on student subjects' negotiating behavior are reported. The data suggest that status affects human interactions in a positive way, which causes people to seek status. It is, therefore, a successful advertising strategy to associate high status with consumption of a product.