Cheating at the Top: Trait Dominance Explains Dishonesty More Consistently Than Social Power

• Published in: Personality & social psychology bulletin Vol. 48; no. 12; pp. 1651 - 1666
• Main Authors: Kim, Kyoo-Hwa, Guinote, Ana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-12-2022; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Cheating; COVID-19; Deception; Disengagement; Dishonesty; Dominance; Emotions; Humans; Morals; Power, Psychological; Prestige; Selfselection; Social power; power motivation; social power; dominance; dishonesty; Covid-19
• ISSN: 0146-1672; 1552-7433
• DOI: 10.1177/01461672211051481

Power has long been associated with dishonesty. Here, we examined the contributions of personal and structural factors associated with power. Across five studies (N = 1,366), we tested the hypothesis that being dominant, more than having power and felt prestige, predicts dishonesty in incentivized tasks, moral disengagement, and breaking of Covid-19 containment rules. Dominance and dishonesty were positively associated (Study 1). Furthermore, dominance contributed to the positive relationship between occupational power and dishonesty in natural settings (Studies 2 and 5). Different types of power had inconsistent effects on dishonesty (Studies 3 and 4). Prestige was unrelated to dishonesty. Dominant individuals were overrepresented at the top, suggesting that the association between power and dishonesty may derive from self-selection processes, rather than power itself.