Why do people feel the need to have power over others?

New research suggests being in charge is appealing because it offers freedom—not because it allows people to control others. Power is a force that needs an object: To have power, a person has to have it over something, or someone.

What does it mean to have power over someone?

The most commonly recognized form of power, ‘power over’, has many negative associations for people, such as repression, force, coercion, discrimination, corruption, and abuse. Having power involves taking it from someone else, and then, using it to dominate and prevent others from gaining it.

How power can affect people?

Sociocognitive research has demonstrated that power affects how people feel, think, and act. Power magnifies self-expression linked to active parts of the self (the active self), enhancing confidence, self-regulation, and prioritization of efforts toward advancing focal goals.

How does power change a person?

Power has also been shown to make people more strict in how they judge others and less likely to consider other people’s perspectives. Power also leads people to be more confident in their decisions and minimize the perceived impediments to their goals. Power also alters someone’s emotional experience.

How does power affect those who have it and those who don t?

How does power affect those who have it and those who don’t? The metamorphic effects of power can lead to both positive and negative consequences, such as creative thinking or cooperative behaviour versus selfish, corrupt, and risky behaviour.

What makes a powerful person?

Powerful people always expect the best. They believe in their own power to achieve their dreams, and they believe that others share that same power. They believe that nothing is out of reach and that belief inspires those around them to stretch for their own goals.

What do people who want power really want?

But a new study suggests that people who desire power are mostly looking to control one thing—themselves. The study authors, from the University of Cologne, the University of Groningen, and Columbia University, present two different conceptions of power—power as influence and power as autonomy.

What is power and why does it matter?

Power lends the power holder many benefits. Powerful people are more likely to take decisive action. In one simple experiment, it was shown that people made to feel powerful were more likely to turn off an annoying fan humming in the room. Power reduces awareness of constraints and causes people act more quickly.

How does power make you more powerful?

Powerful people are more likely to take decisive action. In one simple experiment, it was shown that people made to feel powerful were more likely to turn off an annoying fan humming in the room. Power reduces awareness of constraints and causes people act more quickly.

Is the desire for power misplaced?

All told, this research indicates that the desire for power may be somewhat misplaced: Generally, when people say they want power, what they really want is autonomy. And when they get that autonomy, they tend to stop wanting power.