Self-control signals and affords power

J Pers Soc Psychol. 2024 Jan 25. doi: 10.1037/pspi0000457. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTWhom do we perceive as more powerful and prefer to give power to: Those who have self-control or those who lack it? Past theory and research provide divergent predictions. Low self-control can be seen as a form of disinhibition, and disinhibition has been associated with greater power. However, high self-control can be seen as a form of agency, which is associated with greater power. Across seven studies, we found that individuals who exhibited high self-control were seen as more powerful, and given more power, than individuals who exhibited low self-control. This result held when the low or high self-control behavior was chosen either quickly or slowly (Studies 3 and 4), and when exhibiting low versus high self-control entailed the same action but different goals (Studies 5 and 6). Study 6 demonstrated important implications of our findings for goal setting: People were perceived as more powerful and given more power when they had a modest goal but exceeded it than when they had an ambitious goal but failed to meet it, even though in both cases they performed the same action. A meta-analysis of our mediation results showed that people perceived individuals higher in self-control as more assertive and competent, which was associated with greater power perception and then with greater power conferral. Perceived competence also directly mediated the effect of self-control on power conferral...
Source: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Source Type: research