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

Katherine A DeCelles¹, D Scott DeRue, Joshua D Margolis

¹Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E6, Canada. katy.decelles@rotman.utoronto.ca

The Journal of Applied Psychology

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Summary

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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.