Shrinithi Sathiyaseelan - Week #11: Psychology and Power
Photo Credit: https://www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/powerful-man
When examining people who are corrupted by their power or abuse it, we tend to attribute it to their personality. However, according to an article from LSE Business Review by a behavioral scientist, there is more when it comes to understanding the behavior of people in power. Psychologists define power in many different ways, but commonly accepted definitions are usually: one that has control over their own and others' resources (financial resources, land, food, or even recognition and status), and someone who has the capacity to influence someone else and stay uninfluenced by others.
Acquiring power comes with psychological consequences not just on those it is exerted on, but to those that hold it as well. Research shows that power holders get less distracted by surrounding information when asked to focus on tasks, and they are more focused on their own internal states and emotions than on those of others. They tend to display emotions only when they are really experiencing emotions (so they don't tend to give fake smiles when they are not actually happy, for example).
A study conducted by the author of the article showed that power also increased one's sense of uniqueness and feeling different from others, for both men and women. Power was apparently shown to decrease the sense of connectedness that men had with others, while it increased that sense in women.
Finally, power also affects the type of behaviors that people engage in. Research shows that power causes us to be more proactive and take initiative. They are also more likely to engage in socially unacceptable behaviors, like poor table manners.
The article then explains that training power holders to reconnect with others and develop them to exert more empathy can be a way to offset the negative influences on power.
Source:
https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/businessreview/2018/05/14/what-power-does-to-you-the-psychological-consequences-of-power/
Hey Shrinithi! Power certainly has some interesting effects. From your blog it is clear that with power certainly seems to come a level of self assuredness and self satisfaction. They seem to value their own emotions more than the perceptions of those around them, and that can certainly be useful when making decisions since everyone would have slightly conflicting ideologies. The fact that there is even a disparity between genders in the effect of psyche is certainly interesting. The effects in behavior though just seems like the people are becoming more self confident and less interested in people's opinions on them which seems counterintuitive since people with power are paid more attention than their less powerful counterparts. I suppose training them is really the only way as you say, and the more you know!!
ReplyDeleteHi Shrinithi, power is a really interesting concept that can be both beneficial and dangerous depending on the way it is used. The psychological benefits that power can have on people are fascinating, as it allows room for development in the individual's character. I like how the study does not emit a positive or negative connotation of power; rather it presents power in a rather neutral way. Power can be good or bad, it really depends on whose hands it falls into and how they use it.
ReplyDeleteHey Shrinithi, the negative effects of holding power is one that I have not thought about for a while, but upon you discussing such topic has really reminded myself of this. These stereotypes that you describe of people holding power, when applied to real life, really does show how true they are. I had thought about the world leaders of today, and I have realized that for all of them, I feel almost as if they are a completely different specie than I and will never relate with them. I definitely do not feel a similar connection with them than I might with one of my friends or my family members.
ReplyDeleteShrinithi, what an interesting post to read. I never knew that there were physiological implications for people holding power. Reading all the implications makes me nervous to have power. The fact that the power has the ability to affect your attention span, emotions, sense of uniqueness, and the behavior that people engage in is absolutely shocking and the fact it affects each gender differently is definitely unique. It makes me wonder why that is? Is there something different in men and women? Is that why power is always given to men? Is that women are always inferior when compared to men? This post is definitely thought provoking; thank you for writing it.
ReplyDeleteHey Shrinithi! Your analysis on the psychological effects of power amongst class hierarchies was quite interesting to read. Many times, confidence and manipulation are key characteristics that stem from one’s self assurance. A stable financial situation and a thriving one are vital suppliers to these qualities. It can be noticed that as our internal struggles persist, our ability to influence and control others and our surroundings decreases significantly. This is really fascinating and really highlights the psychological benefits and factors behind power. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeletePower is such an interesting topic because people will always have differing opinions on its effects and its advantages. The stark differences are interesting. I find that a lot of these psychological implications come from the place of “power makes it safe to do these things.” Power makes it safer for people to put themselves first, for people to act emotionally, when given the safety blanket of power and in turn, ingrained respect, people have less inhibitions in the workplace. It will be interesting to do a long-term study perhaps, does it even out over time? Is it just an impulsive reaction that after getting acclimatized people level out? The implications of power changing a person are answers for a lot of situations.
ReplyDeleteHey Shrinithi, I think power increasing one’s sense of uniqueness can be correlated to how with much power, you are essentially at a level where you have enough control and influence you basically have nothing to lose. As a result, you would care less about how people perceive you, making you more inclined to do whatever you want and take more initiative. What I learned from reading all the blogs about power is that power is like an empathy-drainer because of how much emphasis is placed on helping oneself to gain power. I also wonder what are the ways to train power holders from being void of empathy. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Shrinithi! Power is definitely a complicated topic to study as people react to holding power differently and even their definition of holding power varies. A common view accepted by society is that power often corrupts people and terrible consequences will occur if power is not kept in check. Although many instances in history prove this to be true, there are also examples of people who do good with their power and use it to improve people’s lives. As you said, power has a great influence on people and can change the way we think and act. Thank you for sharing!
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ReplyDeleteHi Shrinithi, from reading our group’s blog comments I completely agree that power can change one's mindset regardless of their personality or morals before they obtained power. For this reason, I agree with America’s policy of only allowing presidents two terms or 4 years to be president even though they are controlled by Congress. By switching out individuals who hold power, it prevents negative or disastrous effects from happening which helps everyone in society.
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