In negotiation, consistency, or the consistency principle, refers to a negotiator's strong psychological need to be consistent with prior acts and statements. The ''consistency principle'' states that people are motivated toward cognitive consistency and will change their attitudes, beliefs, perceptions and actions to achieve it.

Robert Cialdini Robert Beno Cialdini (born April 27, 1945) is an American psychologist and academic. He is the Regents' Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University and was a visiting professor of marketing, business and psychology ...

and his research team have conducted extensive research into what Cialdini refers to as the 'Consistency Principle of Persuasion'. Described in his book ''

Influence Science and Practice ''Influence: Science and Practice'' () is a psychology book examining the key ways people can be influenced by "Compliance Professionals". The book's author is Robert B. Cialdini, Professor of Psychology at Arizona State University. The key pre ...

'', this principle states that people live up to what they have publicly said they will do and what they have written down. Cialdini encourages people to have others write down their commitments as a route to having others live up to their promises.

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Negotiation {{social-psych-stub