Decision making in civil disputes: The effects of legal role, frame, and perceived chance of winning
Gilliland and Dunn tested how framing and legal role, plaintiff or defendant, affect whether simulated litigants accept a settlement offer. Positively framed litigants were more willing to settle whatever their role. In a second experiment, settlement depended jointly on frame and on the participant's perceived chance of winning, and a role effect that appeared overall disappeared once the perceived chance of losing was taken into account. Unlike earlier research, the study found no systematic effect of role. The authors suggest that settlement rates could be raised by manipulating frame and perceived chances.
Gilliland and Dunn tested how framing and legal role, plaintiff or defendant, affect whether simulated litigants accept a settlement offer. Positively framed litigants were more willing to settle whatever their role. In a second experiment, settlement depended jointly on frame and on the participant's perceived chance of winning, and a role effect that appeared overall disappeared once the perceived chance of losing was taken into account. Unlike earlier research, the study found no systematic effect of role. The authors suggest that settlement rates could be raised by manipulating frame and perceived chances.
Written from the abstract and results as shown in the Cambridge Core PDF of the paper, read 2026-10-28.
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https://cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/8A024EE909E55606A184A784200322F5/S1930297500000784a.pdf/decision-making-in-civil-disputes-the-effects-of-legal-role-frame-and-perceived-chance-of-winning.pdf