Power Makes You Selfish? When and How Power Affect Pro-Social Behavior

Power is the basic component of our society. In social psychology, the study of power usually focuses on the sense of power. Early research always focused on the negative effects of power, but it is difficult to explain the complex effects of sense of power. Therefore, from the perspective of moral self-image, this study attempts to integrate the differential effects of sense of power and explores its potential moderating and mediating role. Therefore, we use three studies to explore these effects and find that individual’s sense of power can reduce their pro-social behavior, while moral self-image can moderate this effect. In addition, the moderating effect of moral self-image is mediated by perceived responsibility.