Mind & EverydayFact
Whoever names a number first usually wins.
In 2001 Galinsky and Mussweiler had pairs negotiate over a factory. When the buyer made the first offer, the final price averaged about 20 million; when the seller started, about 25 million. The first offer works as an anchor around which both sides keep reasoning – even when it is barely justified.
Useful: Make the first offer, ambitious but defensible – or openly name the other side’s anchor as an anchor.
Source: doi.org