Menu Search

Power and perspectives not taken. (2006)

“Experiencing power seems to almost instantly impair an individual’s ability to appreciate the perspectives of others. ..power leads individuals to anchor too heavily on their own vantage point, insufficiently adjusting to others’ perspectives.

 

Galinsky, A.D., Department of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University
Magee, J.C., Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University
Inesi, M.E. & Gruenfeld, D.H., Graduate School of Business, Stanford University

Psychological Science 17: 1068-1074.

In one experiment, the authors had participants draw the capital letter “E” on their foreheads with a marker. One way to complete the task is to draw an “E” as though the self is reading it, which leads to a backward and illegible “Ε” from the perspective of another person. The other way to approach the task is to draw the “Ε” as though another person is reading it. Powerful individuals were three times more likely to draw a self-focused “E.” Experiencing power seems to almost instantly impair an individual’s ability to appreciate the perspectives of others.

In Experiments 2a and 2b, high-power participants were less likely than low-power participants to take into account that other people did not possess their privileged knowledge, a result suggesting that power leads individuals to anchor too heavily on their own vantage point, insufficiently adjusting to others’ perspectives.

In Experiment 3, high-power participants were less accurate than control participants in determining other people’s emotion expressions; these results suggest a power-induced impediment to experiencing empathy.

An additional study found a negative relationship between individual difference measures of power and perspective taking. Across these studies, power was associated with a reduced tendency to comprehend how other people see, think, and feel.

Access the paper here: Power and perspectives not taken.

 

Leave a comment

Back to the top
We aim to have healthy debate. But we won't accept comments that are unsubstantiated, unnecessarily abusive or may expose the Trust in any way. All contributions are moderated before being published.

Comments are closed.