Space for power: feeling powerful over others' behavior affects peri-personal space representation

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Neuroscience
• Social Cognition

Background:

• Peri-personal space (PPS) is the egocentric space around an individual.
• PPS representation is crucial for social interaction and self-awareness.
• The influence of social power on PPS representation remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effect of social power on the representation of peri-personal space (PPS).
• To determine if feelings of power alter the differentiation between self-space and others' space.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a multisensory interaction task to assess PPS representation.
• Employed the Personal Sense of Power Scale to measure participants' feelings of power.
• Conducted two studies: one in a virtual social context and another in a non-social context after power induction.

Main Results:

• Individuals with a higher sense of social power exhibited less defined differentiation of their peri-personal space.
• This effect was observed in both social and non-social contexts, particularly after power reminders.
• Social power perception was found to blur the distinction between one's own PPS and others' space.

Conclusions:

• Social power significantly influences the multisensory representation of self-space.
• The perception of power over others' behavior leads to a less distinct boundary of personal space.
• This blurring effect has implications for understanding social cognition and interpersonal interactions.