Power Increases Perceptions of Others’ Choices, Leading People to Blame Others More

• Published in: Social psychological & personality science Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 170 - 177
• Main Authors: Yin, Yidan, Savani, Krishna, Smith, Pamela K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-01-2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Blame; Perceptions; Power; blame; power; agency; choice
• ISSN: 1948-5506; 1948-5514
• DOI: 10.1177/19485506211016140

Under what circumstances do people adopt a choice mindset? Three studies (two preregistered) tested whether higher power leads people to construe others as having more choice. When power was either measured (Study 1) or manipulated (Studies 2 and 3), high-power perceivers viewed others, even low-power others (Study 3), as having more choice than did low-power perceivers. Consequently, high-power individuals blamed others more for poor performance (Studies 1–3), and were more likely to punish them (Studies 1 and 2). The findings document a direct link between power and choice by showing that the psychological consequences of a choice mindset (i.e., greater blame) can be evoked by power and that effects of power (e.g., on blame) can be mediated by perceptions of choice.