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Does power magnify the expression of dispositions?

Guinote, Ana, Weick, Mario, Cai, Alice (2012) Does power magnify the expression of dispositions? Psychological Science, 23 (5). pp. 475-482. ISSN 0956-7976. (doi:10.1177/0956797611428472) (KAR id:32471)

Abstract

Conventional wisdom holds that power holders act more in line with their dispositions than do people who lack power. Drawing on principles of construct accessibility, we propose that this is the case only when no alternative constructs are activated. In three experiments, we assessed participants’ chronic dispositions and subsequently manipulated participants’ degree of power. Participants then either were or were not primed with alternative (i.e., inaccessible or counterdispositional) constructs. When no alternatives were activated, the responses of power holders—perceptions of other people (Experiment 1), preferences for charitable donations (Experiment 2), and strategies in an economic game (Experiment 3)—were more in line with their chronically accessible constructs than were the responses of low-power participants. However, when alternatives had been activated, power holders’ responses were no longer more congruent with their dispositions than were the responses of low-power participants. We propose a single mechanism according to which power increases reliance on accessible constructs—that is, constructs that easily come to mind—regardless of whether these constructs are chronically or temporarily accessible.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1177/0956797611428472
Uncontrolled keywords: power, construct accessibility, dispositions, priming, automaticity
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Funders: [UNSPECIFIED] Economic and Social Research Council
[UNSPECIFIED] Sigma Xi Grant
Depositing User: Mario Weick
Date Deposited: 10 Dec 2012 10:39 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:10 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/32471 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Guinote, Ana.

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Weick, Mario.

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