Social Power

Hi,

This week’s email is about how having power over others affects people.

Here are the key practical points you should know (mainly from this research article):

• Power can have positive effects on people, like increased creativity and mental flexibility, but also negative ones, like increased egocentricity and entitlement.

• Some effects of power can be either positive or negative (or both) depending on how they manifest. For example, having power often leads people to speak and act more quickly, due to increased reliance on gut feelings. This is a double-edged sword that can help make rapid decisions under difficult conditions, but can also lead to issues like careless mistakes.

• The more autonomy and less accountability people have, the more their power is likely to corrupt them. However, there are many other personal and situational factors at play, so people can exercise power responsibly even in challenging circumstances.

A closely related concept that I’ve written about is hubris.

As always, I’m happy to hear your thoughts.

Have a great week,
Itamar