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Schwab SD, Singh M. How power shapes behavior: Evidence from physicians. Science 2024; 384:802-808. [PMID: 38753782 DOI: 10.1126/science.adl3835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024]
Abstract
Power-the asymmetric control of valued resources-affects most human interactions. Although power is challenging to study with real-world data, a distinctive dataset allowed us to do so within the critical context of doctor-patient relationships. Using 1.5 million quasi-random assignments in US military emergency departments, we examined how power differentials between doctor and patient (measured by using differences in military ranks) affect physician behavior. Our findings indicate that power confers nontrivial advantages: "High-power" patients (who outrank their physician) receive more resources and have better outcomes than equivalently ranked "low-power" patients. Patient promotions even increase physician effort. Furthermore, low-power patients suffer if their physician concurrently cares for a high-power patient. Doctor-patient concordance on race and sex also matters. Overall, power-driven variation in behavior can harm the most vulnerable populations in health care settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen D Schwab
- Department of Management, University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - Manasvini Singh
- Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Zhang H, Yang J, Ni J, De Dreu CKW, Ma Y. Leader-follower behavioural coordination and neural synchronization during intergroup conflict. Nat Hum Behav 2023; 7:2169-2181. [PMID: 37500783 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01663-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Leaders can launch hostile attacks on out-groups and organize in-group defence. Whether groups settle the conflict in their favour depends, however, on whether followers align with leader's initiatives. Yet how leader and followers coordinate during intergroup conflict remains unknown. Participants in small groups elected a leader and made costly contributions to intergroup conflict while dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) activity was simultaneously measured. Leaders were more sacrificial and their contribution influenced group survival to a greater extent during in-group defence than during out-group attacks. Leaders also had increased DLPFC activity when defending in-group, which predicted their comparatively strong contribution to conflict; followers reciprocated their leader's initiatives the more their DLPFC activity synchronized with that of their leader. When launching attacks, however, leaders and followers aligned poorly at behavioural and neural levels, which explained why out-group attacks often failed. Our results provide a neurobehavioural account of leader-follower coordination during intergroup conflict and reveal leader-follower behavioural/neural alignment as pivotal for groups settling conflicts in their favour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hejing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jiaxin Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Jun Ni
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Carsten K W De Dreu
- Social, Economic, and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making, Amsterdam School of Economics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Yina Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, and IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
- Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing, China.
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Does the sense of power influence reputational concern? Tests with episodic and semantic power priming. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2023. [DOI: 10.32872/spb.7779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Reputational concern shapes various social behaviours, since having a negative reputation often results in receiving negative social consequences such as ostracism and punishment. As such, individuals are motivated to avoid displaying socially disapproved behaviour. Previous studies have found that individuals with power (i.e., those who can asymmetrically influence others) tend to show various behaviours that would damage their reputation (e.g., aggression and exploitation). Taken together, we hypothesised that power would be associated with the extent to which individuals are concerned about their reputation. More specifically, we hypothesised that those who have a high and low sense of power would experience reduced and increased reputational concern, respectively. To test the relationship, we conducted three preregistered studies with commonly used power priming methods: episodic priming (Studies 1 and 3) and semantic power priming (Study 2). In Studies 1 and 2, the power priming methods failed to significantly influence the sense of power or reputational concern. In Study 3, we sought to overcome potential methodological issues with online episodic priming, and a modified high power episodic priming was successful. Yet, we did not find evidence for the hypothesised relationship between the experimentally induced sense of power and reputational concern. Our three studies offer valuable implications not only for further research on the relationship between reputational concern and power but also for the effectiveness of power priming methods.
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Interplay between different forms of power and meritocratic considerations shapes fairness perceptions. Sci Rep 2022; 12:11428. [PMID: 35794178 PMCID: PMC9259606 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15613-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Power imbalance often leads to unequal allocations. However, it remains largely unknown how different forms of power and meritocratic considerations interact to shape fairness perceptions. Using modified Ultimatum Games, we examined how two power forms-decision power and availability of attractive outside option-affect bargaining behavior and fairness perceptions, and how meritocratic considerations are incorporated into the fairness perceptions of powerful and powerless individuals. We identified an asymmetric power effect: having increased decision power or attractive outside options independently increased self-advantageous allocations and self-serving fairness perceptions, whereas the combined lack of both power forms led to self-disadvantageous allocations but had no influence on fairness perceptions. The power effect on fairness perceptions became symmetric when power was obtained through a meritocratic process (procedural justice). In contrast, relative contributions to resource production (distributive justice) did not moderate power effects. We provide causal evidence that the powerful, but not the powerless, strive to minimize cognitive dissonance between behavior and fairness perceptions by interpreting fairness in self-serving ways. This study contributes novel insights into the interplay between different power forms, the asymmetry of power effects, the moderating role of procedural justice, and the mediating role of behavior in the power-driven adjustment of fairness perceptions.
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Is it all about appearance? Limited cognitive control and information advantage reveal self-serving reciprocity. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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De Dreu CKW, Pliskin R, Rojek-Giffin M, Méder Z, Gross J. Political games of attack and defence. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2021; 376:20200135. [PMID: 33611990 PMCID: PMC7934902 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2020.0135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Political conflicts often revolve around changing versus defending a status quo. We propose to capture the dynamics between proponents and opponents of political change in terms of an asymmetric game of attack and defence with its equilibrium in mixed strategies. Formal analyses generate predictions about effort expended on revising and protecting the status quo, the form and function of false signalling and cheap talk, how power differences impact conflict intensity and the likelihood of status quo revision. Laboratory experiments on the neurocognitive and hormonal foundations of attack and defence reveal that out-of-equilibrium investments in attack emerge because of non-selfish preferences, limited capacity to compute costs and benefits and optimistic beliefs about the chances of winning from one's rival. We conclude with implications for the likelihood of political change and inertia, and discuss the role of ideology in political games of attack and defence. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carsten K W De Dreu
- Social, Economic and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.,Center for Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Ruthie Pliskin
- Social, Economic and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Michael Rojek-Giffin
- Social, Economic and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Zsombor Méder
- Social, Economic and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jörg Gross
- Social, Economic and Organizational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Abstract
Experimental games model situations in which the future outcomes of individuals and groups depend on their own choices and on those of other (groups of) individuals. Games are a powerful tool to identify the neural and psychological mechanisms underlying interpersonal and group cooperation and coordination. Here we discuss recent developments in how experimental games are used and adapted, with an increased focus on repeated interactions, partner control through sanctioning, and partner (de)selection for future interactions. Important advances have been made in uncovering the neurobiological underpinnings of key factors involved in cooperation and coordination, including social preferences, cooperative beliefs, (emotion) signaling, and, in particular, reputations and (in)direct reciprocity. Emerging trends at the cross-sections of psychology, economics, and the neurosciences include an increased focus on group heterogeneities, intergroup polarization and conflict, cross-cultural differences in cooperation and norm enforcement, and neurocomputational modeling of the formation and updating of social preferences and beliefs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric van Dijk
- Department of Psychology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands;
| | - Carsten K W De Dreu
- Department of Psychology, Leiden University, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands; .,Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Amsterdam, 1012 WX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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