Personality Engineering with AI Agents: A New Methodology for Negotiation Research
According to canonical negotiation theory, success in negotiation depends on balancing competing demands such as empathizing and asserting, concern for other and self, and being soft on people while hard on the problem. Humans struggle with these tensions, limiting rigorous testing of theories. AI agents, with their precision, consistency, and scalability, enable a new class of experiments. This paper introduces 'personality engineering,' a methodology that uses AI agents to precisely parameterize, manipulate, and evaluate negotiator personality. It proposes the interpersonal circumplex (warmth and dominance) as a foundational coordinate system. This approach offers rigorous methods for testing classic theories and a practical guide for designing AI negotiation agent personalities.
[2605.20554] Personality Engineering with AI Agents: A New Methodology for Negotiation Research
[Submitted on 19 May 2026]
Title:Personality Engineering with AI Agents: A New Methodology for Negotiation Research
View a PDF of the paper titled Personality Engineering with AI Agents: A New Methodology for Negotiation Research, by Michelle A. Vaccaro and Jared R. Curhan
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Abstract:According to canonical negotiation theory, people's success in a negotiation depends on how well they balance competing demands--empathizing and asserting, demonstrating concern for other and concern for self, being soft on the people and hard on the problem. Yet people struggle to manage these tensions, so researchers have lacked the ability to rigorously test the field's prescriptions under controlled conditions. AI agents do not face the same limitations, and their precision, repertoire, consistency, and scalability enable a new class of experiments to contribute to negotiation theory. In this article, we introduce personality engineering: a methodology that uses AI agents to precisely parameterize, manipulate, and evaluate negotiator personality. We propose using the interpersonal circumplex--and its two core dimensions of warmth and dominance--as a foundational coordinate system for the field. This approach offers both a rigorous methodology for testing classic negotiation theories and a practical guide for designing the personalities of AI negotiation agents.
Subjects:
Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI); Human-Computer Interaction (cs.HC); Social and Information Networks (cs.SI)
Cite as: arXiv:2605.20554 [cs.AI]
(or arXiv:2605.20554v1 [cs.AI] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2605.20554
arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)
Submission history
From: Michelle Vaccaro [view email] [v1] Tue, 19 May 2026 23:11:19 UTC (480 KB)
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