Taming Power: The Effects of Perspective Taking on Behavioral and Verbal Power Tactics.

Abstract

Social power can yield both positive and negative outcomes, but which factors contribute to these different outcomes is unclear. Drawing from previous research showing that power is related to decreased perspective taking behaviors (Galinsky, Magee, Inesi, & Gruenfeld, 2006), my dissertation turns this causal relationship around to examine how perspective taking affects power. Using multiple methodologies, the current studies explore how perspective taking relates to the recognition of power and the exercise of power. Two correlational studies found that dispositional perspective taking was positively associated with inclusive power recognition (Study 1) and soft/relational power tactics (Study 2), but negatively associated with the use of harsh/coercive power tactics. A quasi-experimental study found that dispositional perspective taking was positively associated with polite verbal power tactics, but only under conditions of high power (Study 3). Findings for Studies 2 and 3 were replicated in both student and working adult samples. Two experimental studies manipulated perspective taking to assess its direct effects on power tactics, and found that perspective taking yielded less harsh sanctioning decisions for individuals in the high power condition (Study 4); and perspective taking yielded more polite verbal tactics in email communication (Study 5). Interactions between perspective taking and power were consistent across business (Study 3) and academic settings (Study 4), and across verbal power tactics (Study 3) and behavioral power tactics (Study 4). Together, my dissertation findings demonstrate that perspective taking is associated with more inclusive power recognition and the use of more relational power tactics that consider the needs and feelings of others. By manipulating perspective taking in addition to measuring it as a stable individual difference, these studies show that perspective taking is malleable—perspective taking processes can be changed to facilitate more positive, relational power outcomes. Furthermore, interactions between perspective taking and power suggest that perspective taking is especially important in a high power context. These findings have significant implications for supervisor-subordinate relationships, organizational dynamics, and interventions; perspective taking may be one psychological process with the potential to mitigate harsh power tendencies and channel them into more socially constructive actions in organizational settings.