The self-regulatory and interpersonal consequences of the construal of power

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Kai Sassenberg
• Subject Area: Social Psychology, Industrial and Organisational Psychology
• Term: from 2016 to 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 288701222

Many social relations are characterized by social power: Some individuals have asymmetric control over resources (e.g., money, information) which other individuals depend on. This applies to societies, academia, public institutions, and other organizations. How does a powerful position alter social behavior? The media and public discussions often display social power as a corruptive force: Power-holders frequently seem to misuse their power to own ends (e.g., to secure personal benefits) while neglecting their responsibility for others. Substantial evidence from power research supports this idea: By providing relative freedom and opportunities, power seems to tempt individuals to act rather selfishly. Yet, there are also many examples of power-holders who seem highly sensitive to others and treat their subordinates considerately. Initial evidence, suggests, indeed, that power can - at times - be exercised responsibly thereby facilitating effective collaboration with subordinates. This highlights the importance of a responsible use of power to ensure organizational performance and the functioning of social relations. To today, however, a theoretical and empirical approach to explain when and how power-holders do become sensitive to others is lacking. The present research proposal addresses this gap. Social power (i.e., asymmetric control over others outcomes) provides the power-holder both with opportunities (e.g., to secure personal benefits) and responsibilities (e.g., to take care of oneself and others). Power-holders can be more or less aware of either of these two sides of power. In other words, high power can be construed (i.e., perceived) differently: as an opportunity or as a responsibility. How power is construed should, in turn, meaningfully impact the sensitivity to others in attention and behavior: Power construed as opportunity implies the experience of freedom and the possibilities to pursue one's current goals. As a consequence, power-holders construing their power as an opportunity should especially focus on and implement action towards the goal at hand (e.g., a current task), at the same time ignoring others' situation. In contrast, power construed as responsibility implies the experience of an inner obligation to take care of, for instance, decisions and those lower in power, in line with relevant standards (e.g., to act in an ethical manner). As such, power construed as responsibility should facilitate sensitivity to others. The present project tests this assumption by integrating construal of power into theories on social power. In doing so, we also investigate self-regulatory mechanisms (i.e., self-regulatory mode and implemental/deliberative mindset) and a moderator (i.e., positive/negative feedback) that may bring about these effects on sensitivity towards others. The project proposes and tests a theoretical framework that, for the first time, explains both potential positive and negative social implications of power.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Netherlands
• Cooperation Partners: Professorin Dr. Naomi Ellemers; Dr. Daan Scheepers
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Annika Scholl