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This study utilized a sample of 2052 participants from government and enterprise sectors to explore the distinct effects of power and sense of power on cognitive flexibility. It also delves into how the three dimensions of reward sensitivity and the comprehensive measure of punishment sensitivity mediate this relationship. The key findings are as follows: (1) There is no significant direct correlation between power and sense of power. (2) Both power and sense of power are substantial positive predictors of cognitive flexibility, with middle- and upper-level employees demonstrating significantly greater cognitive flexibility than their lower-level counterparts, and sense of power having a more pronounced positive influence than objective power. (3) Drive and fun-seeking mediate the relationship between sense of power and cognitive flexibility, yet only when sense of power is the independent variable. (4) No mediating effects are observed for the dimensions of reward sensitivity or punishment sensitivity when power is the independent variable. Exploring reward and punishment sensitivity in the context of power's influence on cognitive flexibility in real organizational settings is of paramount importance. This enhances our understanding of the intricate ways in which power dynamics shape individual behaviors and cognition across diverse cultural landscapes and provides actionable insights for refining organizational management and leadership strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power, the capacity to influence others while resisting their attempts at influence, has implications for a wide variety of individual‐ and relationship‐level outcomes. One potential mechanism through which power may be associated with various outcomes is motivation orientation. High power has been linked to greater approach‐oriented motivation, whereas low power has been linked to greater avoidance‐oriented motivation. However, current research has mostly relied on artificially created relationships (and the power dynamics therein) in the lab to assess the associations between power and motivation orientations. Utilizing the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat framework, the current study examined how power is related to physiological responses indicative of psychological challenge (i.e., approach) and threat (i.e., avoidance) during discussions of problems outside of the relationship between romantic partners. The primary hypothesis that higher power would be associated with more approach‐oriented challenge and less avoidance‐oriented threat was supported via self‐reports, but not via physiological assessments. Instead, physiological assessments revealed that for those disclosing problems to high‐power partners, greater power was associated with reactivity consistent with more avoidance‐oriented threat and less approach‐oriented challenge. This is the first research to examine associations between power and in vivo indices of challenge and threat during interactions between romantic partners. It advances our understanding of how power elicits motivation orientations and influences the stress response system by highlighting the importance of situational attributes (e.g., role during a conversation) that may undermine power during disclosures with a high‐power partner. This study incorporates the Biopsychosocial Model of Challenge and Threat with the Approach‐Inhibition Theory of Power using a dimensional, dyadic approach to assess power in pre‐existing relationships. We highlight the importance of co‐examining self‐report and physiological markers of stress. Despite self‐reports suggesting people high in power appraised a conversation as challenging, physiological findings revealed a specific context during which greater power was unexpectedly associated with physiological markers of threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of loneliness has dramatically increased in recent decades, rendering it a significant worldwide risk factor for both physical and mental health. This study examined the relationship between sense of power and loneliness in two cultures. It was hypothesized that high sense of power is associated with reduced loneliness, and that this relationship is mediated by perceived social support and the individual's self-construal (relative independent self-construal for the West and relative interdependent self-construal for the East). Two studies and 476 participants (200 from the U.K. and 276 from the Chinese mainland) completed the Sense of Power Scale, UCLA Loneliness Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Self-Construal Scale. Results from the multiple mediation analyses supported the hypotheses. It showed that power is negatively related to loneliness across cultures. Also, a high sense of power was related to greater perceived social support and individual's dominant self-construal which decreased loneliness. These findings contribute to the understanding of social power and loneliness from a cross-cultural perspective, shed light on practices in social and personal relationships, provide explanations for loneliness in interpersonal relationships, and provide potential buffers against loneliness that can increase positive emotions and wellbeing in social life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A higher level of intelligence can improve adolescents’ interactions with intelligent online services, although overemphasizing intelligent online services may nullify their sense of autonomy and in turn affect their acceptance intention. Enterprises have therefore focused on the best ways through which to provide intelligent online services. Based on the technology acceptance model, this study constructs a theoretical model of the impact of perceived control and power on adolescents’ acceptance intention of intelligent services. Through a scenario experiment involving an intelligent online recommendation service, 195 participants were obtained to test the model. The results show that the adolescents’ perceived control affects their acceptance intention of intelligent online services through their perceived usefulness. The adolescents’ sense of power moderates the influence of perceived control on perceived usefulness. This study supplements the research on intelligent online services and provides a reference for online merchants seeking to design such service processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the "Computers are social actors" paradigm, this study brings the concept of power to human–computer interactions in tourism. Building on theories of social power and deliberate practice, the authors examine psychological effects of expert power of online travel review platforms (influencer) and its interaction effects with the power of users (influenced). Two expert platform attributes are conceptualized: specialization and experience. A significant interaction effect was identified between platform specialization, platform experience, and user power on perceived information-task fit using a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment. When users are powerful, specialization affected perceived information-task fit for low-experience platforms; no significant effect was evident for high experience platforms. When users are powerless, specialization did not affect perceived information-task fit, regardless of experience condition. Perceived information-task fit mediated the effect of specialization on intention to use. The findings contribute to power discourses by exploring the workings of expert power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated why women may have lower desires and intentions to apply to become a member of a leadership group (i.e., committee) than men when the majority of its members are men. In four studies, we examined the interaction between gender and gender composition of the leadership group on leader candidates' sense of power, desire to lead, and intentions to apply to become a member of a leadership group. Informed by research on gender, perceived power, and the model of goal-directed behavior, we found that women, compared to men, expected lower sense of power when considering applying to a majority-male (vs. gender-balanced) online leadership committee (Study 1A, N = 294; Study 1B, N = 278). This pattern observed for women in majority-male leadership committees was not, however, evident for men in majority female leadership committees (Study 2, N = 560). Furthermore, women's lower sense of power explained why they expressed lower desires to lead and intentions to apply for a majority-male leadership committee compared to men. Finally, we found that increasing women's sense of power increased their desires and intentions to lead in a majority-male committee (Study 3, N = 460). We contribute to understanding why there still exists a discrepancy in the number of men versus women in leadership groups despite ongoing efforts to reduce it. We hope readers will apply these findings by identifying ways to increase women leader candidates' sense of power in order to increase women's representation on leadership committees and groups (e.g., boards). Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ 's website at http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/0361684320939065 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research suggests that sense of power is associated with happiness and mental illness. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship is relatively unexplored. This study aimed to examine whether proactive coping mediated the relationship between power and mental illness and between power and happiness. Specifically, we predicted that power—which is associated with goal-oriented tendencies, high-level construals, and positive characteristics—activates the use of proactive coping strategies, which in turn leads to greater happiness and less mental illness. By carrying out a survey (Study 1, N = 150) and an experiment (Study 2, N = 143), we found results that were consistent with our predictions. Overall, this study demonstrates the psychological mechanisms behind the influence of power on happiness and mental illness from the perspective of coping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we present the development of the Spanish version of the Generalized Sense of Power Scale — individuals’ perception about their ability to influence others. After examining evidence of content validity, in two studies we investigated the psychometric properties of the Generalized Sense of Power Scale (GSPS) and its relationship with other theoretically related variables. In Study 1, we found through an exploratory factor analysis that the factorial structure of the GSPS presents two differentiated factors: sense of soft power and sense of harsh power. In Study 2, a confirmatory factor analysis replicated this finding, and we also found the expected correlations between these two factors and other theoretically related variables. Furthermore, we found that these two factors showed adequate internal consistency in both studies. All in all, our results suggest that the Spanish version of the GSPS is an instrument that is able to measure the generalized sense of power. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Empathy is a critical competency in medicine. Prior studies demonstrate a longitudinal decrease in empathy during residency; however, they have not included pediatric residents. The relations among the expression of empathy, sense of power (ability to influence other's behavior), and personality traits in residents also have not been addressed. Lastly, there are no data on how residents compare with the general nonmedical population in their expression of empathy. The purposes of our study were to assess whether empathy, sense of power, and personality type were statistically correlated; if resident empathy declines over time; and how resident empathy compares with that of nonmedical peers. Methods: In 2010, a cohort of individuals entering pediatric residency were given three validated survey instruments at the beginning of their first and third years of training to explore longitudinal changes in empathy, sense of power, and major personality traits. Results: We found no decrease in resident empathy in 2 years of pediatric training, no changes in their sense of power, and no statistically significant correlation between empathetic tendencies and sense of power. When compared with the general nonmedical population, pediatric residents rated themselves higher in empathy. As expected, the two components of empathy (empathic concern and perspective taking) were moderately correlated. Of the major personality traits, only agreeableness showed significant correlation with empathy. Conclusions: Pediatric resident empathy did not decrease longitudinally, unlike studies in other residents. There was no inverse relation between self-perceptions of sense of power and empathy as is present in the business literature. Finally, pediatric resident empathy was significantly higher when compared with a general nonmedical population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sense of power refers to the perception that one can control and influence others' states by providing or withholding valued resources in an asymmetrical way, and which has been associated with greater hope. However, little is known about the neural bases underlying this association. The present study aimed to examine these phenomena in 261 healthy adolescent students by assessing resting-state brain activity (i.e., the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations, ALFF) and connectivity (i.e., resting-state functional connectivity, RSFC). Whole-brain correlation analyses revealed that higher levels of perceived power were linked with reduced ALFF in the left thalamus and increased RSFC between the left thalamus and left superior temporal gyrus. Mediation analyses further showed that perceived power mediated the influence of the left thalamus activity on hope. Our results remained significant even after controlling for the head motion, age, and gender. Our findings contribute to the neurobiological basis of a sense of power and the neural mechanism underlying the relationship between a sense of power and hope. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]