Does power corrupt or enable? When and why power facilitates self-interested behaviour. (2012)

“..the psychological experience of power is associated with greater self-interest only in the presence of a weak moral identity… the psychological experience of power is associated with less self-interest in the presence of a strong moral identity.

DeCelles, K.A., Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto
DeRue, D.S., Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
Margolis, J.D., Harvard Business School
Ceranic, T.L., School of Business Administration, University of San Diego.

Journal of Applied Psychology 97(3): 681-689.

Does power corrupt a moral identity, or does it enable a moral identity to emerge?

Drawing from the power literature, the authors propose that the psychological experience of power, although often associated with promoting self-interest, is associated with greater self-interest only in the presence of a weak moral identity. Furthermore, they propose that the psychological experience of power is associated with less self-interest in the presence of a strong moral identity.

Across a field survey of working adults and in a lab experiment, individuals with a strong moral identity were less likely to act in self-interest, yet individuals with a weak moral identity were more likely to act in self-interest, when subjectively experiencing power.

Finally, we predict and demonstrate an explanatory mechanism behind this effect: the psychological experience of power enhances moral awareness among those with a strong moral identity, yet decreases the moral awareness among those with a weak moral identity. In turn, individuals’ moral awareness affects how they behave in relation to their self-interest.

Access the full paper here: Does power corrupt or enable?