My research is focused on understanding individual cooperation in group settings. When do people choose to cooperate with other group members (such as their team members on a work project)? When do they limit their cooperation to members of their own group, and when do they extend this cooperation to include members of other groups as well (e.g. other departments within the same organization)? When are they willing to forego self-interest to help their group and perhaps even harm other groups? When are they willing to invest in an uncertain future to benefit unknown others? (E.g. climate change dilemma's). And how do they navigate these competing forces of cooperation and competition in negotiations?
Additionally, I conduct research on curbing intragroup conflicts through adequate conflict management strategies and am particularly interested in how minorities in organizations deal with frequent micro-aggressions at work.
I mainly use experimental research to investigate factors promoting either parochial cooperation—investing in the own group potentially at the expense of the other party - or universal cooperation—investing in both parties together and looking for a mutually beneficial solution. To distinguish and measure these forms of cooperation, I have developed an experimental paradigm (Aaldering & Böhm, 2019; Aaldering, Ten Velden, Van Kleef, & De Dreu, 2018).
My negotiation research approaches these forms of cooperation from a different perspective. I investigate dynamics between representatives and on the one hand their constituencies, who expect their (often mixed) interests to be represented, but on the other hand the representative of the other group, with whom an agreement needs to be reached. Here, I have investigated how cooperative vs. competitive communication from the constituency affects negotiated agreements (Aaldering & De Dreu, 2012; Aaldering & Ten Velden, 2018). I am additionally interested in understanding how representatives balance different interests within their constituency with their own interests (Aaldering, Van Kleef, Greer, & De Dreu, 2013) and how they gain approval from their constituency after an agreement has been reached. Much of this research is experimental but I also other explore other methods to investigate these dynamics.
I am additionally open to exploring qualitative research methods in studying group and conflict dynamics.
A final and new research area of interest for me is students' self-regulation; how can students learn how to set goals, monitor their progress towards these goals, reflect on this progress, adapt either behavior or goals when necessary, and learn from this experience for the future, to increase their feelings of autonomy, competence and belonging and study motivation more generally.
General Research Interests
Intra- and Inter-group Conflict, Cooperation and Competition, Negotiation, Social Decision Making, Social Dilemmas, Experimental Games
