The Prosocial Side Of Power: When And Why Power Promotes Solidarity With Others

We examine the effect of power on powerholders’ selfish versus generous behaviors toward others. We argue that power in team contexts induces a sense of responsibility to those over whom one has power. This sense of responsibility produces a feeling of solidarity with the group in which power is embedded; that is, we argue that because powerholders feel responsible for their subordinates, they feel psychologically invested in their subordinate group members. This psychological investment in turn manifests in a positive effect of power on individuals’ willingness to invest their own resources in order to protect the interests of subordinate others. We demonstrate that this positive effect of power on responsibility and generosity emerges only toward those over whom the powerholder holds power. We examine these predictions in a series of four studies (three experiments and one field study), operationalizing resource investment in terms of both time and money. We discuss the implications of our findings for research on the social psychology of power and organizational theories of power.