Does power corrupt or enable? When and why power facilitates self-interested behavior.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Moral Psychology

Background:

• The relationship between power and self-interest is complex.
• Existing research often links power to increased self-interest.
• The role of moral identity in moderating this relationship requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how the psychological experience of power interacts with moral identity.
• To determine whether power corrupts or enables moral identity.
• To explore the moderating effect of moral identity strength on power's influence on self-interest.

Main Methods:

• A field survey of working adults.
• A laboratory experiment.
• Measurement of subjective power experience, moral identity strength, moral awareness, and self-interested behavior.

Main Results:

• Power was associated with greater self-interest only when moral identity was weak.
• Power was associated with less self-interest when moral identity was strong.
• Power enhanced moral awareness in those with strong moral identity but decreased it in those with weak moral identity.

Conclusions:

• The effect of power on self-interest is contingent upon the strength of an individual's moral identity.
• Power does not inherently corrupt but rather amplifies existing moral identity tendencies.
• Moral awareness mediates the relationship between power, moral identity, and self-interested behavior.