Go Ahead and Ask for an Absurdly High Salary

Job candidates who jokingly requested ridiculously high salaries received 9% higher wage offers than candidates who made no such jokes, according to a simulation conducted by Todd J. Thorsteinson of the University of Idaho. In the experiment, students applied for imaginary jobs as administrative assistants, stating that their previous salary level had been $29,000; those who kiddingly said they’d like to earn $100,000 were offered an average of $35,385, compared with $32,463 for the nonjokers. In a negotiation, an initial offer—even one offered in jest—can serve as an "anchor," affecting the eventual outcome, Thorsteinson says.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1559-1816.2011.00779.x/abstract