The Hearts Negotiations Game
For instructorsA mobile-friendly two-party buyer and seller negotiation experience
What you'll teach
Negotiation
Bargaining Zone
Concession Patterns
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About The Hearts Negotiations Game
Hearts is an engaging simulation that involves students in a high-stakes art sale
This two-party, distributive exercise focuses on how the exchange of information and the exchange of prices influence outcomes. The web interface pairs students, and on their own devices (laptops/tablets/phones) students read private background information, answer short survey questions, and negotiate. In the negotiation, participants exchange messages and offers via a chat interface.
The exercise introduces foundational concepts in negotiation, such as a bargaining zone, the importance of initial offers, and characteristics of the negotiation dance. The exercise also highlights the importance of seeking information, perspective taking, and the unstable nature of negotiator satisfaction.
Course authors

What you'll teach
Introduces students to many key concepts in negotiation
- The zone of agreement
- The critical role of information exchange
- How to ask & answer questions
- BATNA
- Negotiation dance
Gives students insight into the psychological principles of the negotiation process, allowing students to think systematically about negotiation
- Negotiator aspirations
- Negotiator satisfaction
- Perspective-taking
- Information exchange and deception
- The zone of agreement
- The critical role of information exchange
- How to ask & answer questions
- BATNA
- Negotiation dance
- Negotiator aspirations
- Negotiator satisfaction
- Perspective-taking
- Information exchange and deception
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