BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Decision Neuroscience
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2025.1604389
This article is part of the Research TopicThe brain and social interactions: from paradigms of social emotion recognition to hyperscanningView all articles
Social influence in persuasion and negotiation: A hyperscanning EEG and autonomic measures study
Provisionally accepted
- 1International Research Center for Cognitive Applied Neuroscience, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
- 2Research Unit in Affective and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Milan, Lombardy, Italy
- 3Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milano, Italy
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Effective negotiation relies on integrating diverse perspectives to reach a common resolution. While previous research examined the neural and autonomic underpinnings of persuasion and negotiation separately, little is known about how prior persuasive roles influence subsequent negotiation dynamics. This study employs a hyperscanning electrophysiological (EEG) and autonomic recording paradigm to investigate whether central and autonomic activity vary depending on the negotiation stages and the speaker-listener role. Participants first engaged in a Persuasion Phase (PP), assuming either the role of persuader or receiver, before transitioning to a collaborative Negotiation Phase (NP), in which they had symmetrical roles (as member 1 and member 2) and interacted across three negotiation stages: the Stage of Personal Declaration (SPD); the Stage of Interactive Negotiation (SIN); the Stage of Consensus Finalization (SCF). Results revealed significant EEG modulations across negotiation stages, with delta and theta oscillations in the left frontal region reflecting cognitive monitoring and social decision-making processes during the SCF. Alpha activity suggests a more passive role for members 1 (former persuaders) in the SCF, while members 2 spoke, with increased beta power indicating cognitive control and social engagement during this stage. Also, gamma oscillations showed different activations for distinct roles highlighting cognitive integration of perspectives and arguments during the three negotiation stages. Finally, autonomic data showed heightened SCL activation in the SPD for members 1 when members 2 spoke, signaling increased arousal when encountering counterarguments. These findings provide novel insights into the neural and autonomic correlates of negotiation, emphasizing the impact of prior persuasive experiences.
Keywords: social influence, negotiation, hyperscanning, EEG, autonomic measures
Received: 01 Apr 2025; Accepted: 08 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Balconi, Rovelli and Angioletti. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Katia Rovelli, International Research Center for Cognitive Applied Neuroscience, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Milan, 20123, Lombardy, Italy
Laura Angioletti, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milano, Italy
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