A new study from Leuphana University Lüneburg and the University of Hildesheim reveals some eye-opening insights into how people negotiate across generations and what it means for the future.
When dealing with big issues, like the ones coming up at the UN Climate Conference in Dubai, decision-makers often turn to negotiations to find solutions. But these agreements don’t just affect the people involved now—they have a big impact on generations down the line. So, negotiators end up facing conflicts on two fronts: with the folks they’re dealing with today and with the interests of people who haven’t even been born yet.
Immediate needs
The study, which looked at 524 participants in five different social experiments, found something not-so-great: People negotiating for the present tend to put their own immediate interests first, even if it’s not great for future generations.
Here’s what they found:
- Me-First Deals: If negotiators today had to give up something to help out future generations, the agreements usually favored the present group’s benefits.
- Ignoring the Future: Even when today’s negotiators just had to think about what future generations want without giving up anything themselves, they still tended to focus on short-term gains.
- Sticking to Self-Interest: This preference for present interests over future generations held up even when the consequences for the future got really bad.
The study is basically saying we need to do something about this. It’s a wake-up call, saying we have to find ways to make sure we’re treating present and future interests more fairly. It also reminds the decision-makers that they’ve got a big responsibility to think about the long-term impact of their choices on generations to come.
