• About
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   Institutional Repository Home
    • Law School
    • Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Works
    • View Item
    •   Institutional Repository Home
    • Law School
    • Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Works
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Browse

    All of Institutional RepositoryCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDepartmentThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsDepartment

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    Psychological Barriers to Litigation Settlement: An Experimental Approach

    Guthrie, Chris
    Korobkin, Russell
    : http://hdl.handle.net/1803/5837
    : 1994

    Abstract

    The traditional economic model of settlement breakdown -- as developed by Priest and Klein -- provides an important first step in understanding why some lawsuits settle and others go to trial. Rational miscalculation undoubtedly pushes some litigants into court who might otherwise reach out-of-court settlement. Absent miscalculation, however, some litigants still find themselves in court. We have presented experimental evidence suggesting that these litigants may proceed to trial because psychological barriers to value maximizing behavior impede their settlement efforts. Indeed, our research empirically grounds the hypothesis that psychological barriers are powerful causal agents of trials. The usefulness of this evidence does not require rejecting economic thinking on the settlement-versus-trial question. On the contrary, the psychological barriers hypothesis complements economic thinking. The predictions of strategic bargaining theory - as developed by Cooter, Marks, and Mnookin - can be viewed as a refinement to the basis laid by economic models. By layering the variable of litigants' bargaining strategies on top of the variable of litigants' assessments of likely trial outcomes, strategic bargaining theory contributes to a richer understanding of the causes of trials. Empirically demonstrated psychological barriers can be understood as another analytical overlay.
    Show full item record

    Files in this item

    Thumbnail
    Name:
    Psychological_Barriers_to_Liti ...
    Size:
    5.401Mb
    Format:
    PDF
    Description:
    article published in law review
    View/Open

    This item appears in the following collection(s):

    • Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Works

    Connect with Vanderbilt Libraries

    Your Vanderbilt

    • Alumni
    • Current Students
    • Faculty & Staff
    • International Students
    • Media
    • Parents & Family
    • Prospective Students
    • Researchers
    • Sports Fans
    • Visitors & Neighbors

    Support the Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries

    Support the Library...Give Now

    Gifts to the Libraries support the learning and research needs of the entire Vanderbilt community. Learn more about giving to the Libraries.

    Become a Friend of the Libraries

    Quick Links

    • Hours
    • About
    • Employment
    • Staff Directory
    • Accessibility Services
    • Contact
    • Vanderbilt Home
    • Privacy Policy