Illusory Power Transference: The Vicarious Experience of Power

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Goldstein, Noah J.; Hays, Nicholas A.
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Los Angeles
• 刊物名称: ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCE QUARTERLY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-8392
• DOI: 10.1177/0001839212440972
• 发表日期: 2011
• 页码: 593-621
• 关键词: RESPONSE-TIME EVIDENCE; IN-GROUP; self-concept; INFLUENCE STRATEGIES; INTERGROUP BEHAVIOR; others; GENDER; me; INFORMATION; IMPACT

摘要

We use two experiments to investigate illusory power transference,'' in which individuals minimally associated with powerful others act as if they themselves are powerful outside the boundaries of the association. The experiments elicit this phenomenon through social comparison processes that result in individuals' perceptions of their own power assimilating toward the power of the powerful other, which is driven by the motivation to characterize oneself as powerful. We demonstrate that men who have a tenuous association with a powerful other (versus a powerless or equal-power other) felt more powerful and were more optimistic, confident, and risk seeking, even though they could not leverage the associate's power. Consistent with research suggesting that women are less motivated to characterize themselves as powerful, however, this effect did not emerge among women. A third experiment suggests that, besides underlying motivations, whether the association is cooperative or competitive determines if one's sense of power is likely to assimilate to, or contrast away from, the associate's level of power.