The difference between mood and emotion is based on three characteristics: specificity, intensity, and duration. Mood states are less intense, and more enduring than emotion states, which tend to be more intense and directed at more specific targets. Emotions play important roles at various stages of negotiation interaction. Negotiations can create positive and negative emotions.

Positive emotions can result from being attracted to the other party, feeling good about the development of the negotiation process and the progress that the parties are making, or liking the results that the negotiations have produced. In contrast, negative emotions can result from being turned off by the other party, feeling bad about the development of the negotiation process and the progress being made, or disliking the results. Positive emotions generally have positive consequences for negotiations, and can lead toward a more integrative process, create a positive attitude for the other side, promote persistence, and set the stage for successful negotiations. Fair procedures during the negotiation and favorable social comparisons usually lead to positive emotions.

Negative emotions, on the other hand, lead to negative consequences for negotiations. These emotions lead to distributive bargaining, undermine negotiators’ ability to properly analyze the situation, conflict may escalate when negative emotions are high, and may not lead to an agreement. Competitive mindset, deadlock, and the mere prospect of beginning negotiation can potentially lead to negative emotions in negotiation. Positive and negative emotions can also have reverse effects on negotiation. Positive emotion may lead to negative consequences, and vice versa. Effective negotiators are able to adjust their messages to adapt to what they perceive as the other party’s emotional state.