“We All Suffered!”—The Role of Power in Rhetorical Strategies of Inclusive Victimhood and Its Consequences for Intergroup Relations

The Social Psychology of Collective Victimhood ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190875190.003.0016 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 337-358

Author(s):

Andrew McNeill ◽

Johanna Ray Vollhardt

Keyword(s):

Low Power ◽

High Power ◽

Intergroup Relations ◽

Power Dynamics ◽

Rhetorical Strategies ◽

Rhetorical Function

This chapter examines the different meaning and outcomes of inclusive victim consciousness, depending on who is claiming similarities with whom, and which power dynamics are involved. Drawing on perspectives in rhetorical psychology, the authors argue that these inclusive victimhood claims have a rhetorical function and are always expressed with an audience in mind. While this does not preclude authentic identification with other victim groups, there can also be a selective, strategic use of inclusive victim beliefs that does not result in empathy. For example, high power groups’ claims of having suffered similarly to other groups may serve to legitimize their conflict position or violence. The chapter reviews examples that illustrate the different effects of inclusive victim consciousness expressed by members of high-power groups in relation to other high-power or low-power groups, and by members of low-power groups in relation to high- or low-power groups.

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Feeling Guilty and Flattering God: The Mediating Role of Prayer

Journal of Psychology and Theology ◽

10.1177/0091647121992426 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 009164712199242

Author(s):

Beata Zarzycka ◽

Kamil Tomaka ◽

Katarzyna Zając ◽

Klaudia Marek

Keyword(s):

Low Power ◽

High Power ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Shame Proneness ◽

The Relationship ◽

Significant Mediator

Ingratiation refers to acts of flattery, typically given by a low-power person to a high-power one, performed to gain acceptance and approval. This study investigates ingratiation in the religious setting, asking whether people feeling high levels of guilt or shame tend to manifest such ingratiating behavior toward God. The study aimed to examine the mediating role of prayer in the relationship between guilt and shame and ingratiation toward God. A total of 148 respondents (80 women and 68 men) participated in the study. The Religious Ingratiation Scale, the Content of Prayer Scale, and the Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale were applied to the research. The results showed that feeling guilty increased the tendency to ingratiation toward God. Prayer was the significant mediator in this relationship. People high in guilt tend to flatter God by offering more adoration and fewer repine prayers.

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How power states and others’ statuses influence status consumption: The role of signaling effectiveness

International Journal of Market Research ◽

10.1177/1470785317751998 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 60 (5) ◽

pp. 531-546 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xiaotong Jin ◽

Wei Xu ◽

Yan Wang

Keyword(s):

Low Power ◽

High Power ◽

Interaction Effect ◽

Status Consumption ◽

Mediating Role ◽

Power Scale ◽

Moderating Role ◽

Practical Implications ◽

Fundamental Mechanism

This research aims to examine how power states and others’ statuses interact to influence status consumption. Specifically, consumers in low-power states are more inclined to engage in status consumption than those in high-power states when others’ statuses are superior. However, consumers in high-power states are more inclined to engage in status consumption than those in low-power states when others’ statuses are inferior. Signaling effectiveness plays a mediating role in the interaction effect of power states and others’ statuses on status consumption. Two studies were conducted to test our hypotheses. Study 1 tested how others’ statuses moderate the effects of power states on status consumption and how signaling effectiveness mediates the moderating role of others’ statuses on the effects of power states on status consumption. Study 2 further tested the two hypotheses in a different scenario through the sense of the power scale used to measure the power state. This research confirms the effects of power states on status consumption depending on others’ statuses and the fundamental mechanism of status consumption. The theoretical contributions and practical implications are of value for both researchers and managers.

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Powerful Individuals Behave Less Cooperatively in Common Resource Dilemmas When Treated Unfairly

Experimental Psychology (formerly Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Psychologie) ◽

10.1027/1618-3169/a000438 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 66 (3) ◽

pp. 177-186

Author(s):

Xiuxin Wang ◽

Mengli Wang ◽

Qian Sun ◽

Qianyun Gao ◽

Yongfang Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Distributive Justice ◽

Low Power ◽

High Power ◽

Social Dilemmas ◽

Third Parties ◽

Perceived Fairness ◽

Common Resource ◽

Sense Of Power ◽

Shed Light

Abstract. Previous research has suggested that power undermines cooperation in social dilemmas. However, the story may not be so simple. Guided by recent findings that power heightens sensitivity to unfairness, we examined the moderating effect of distributive justice on the association between power and cooperation. Across two experiments, when treated unfairly, high-power (vs. low-power) participants perceived greater unfairness. Moreover, high-power (vs. low-power) participants behaved less cooperatively not only when they interacted with the offender who treated them unfairly (Experiment 1), but also when they interacted with innocent third parties (Experiment 2). However, high-power and low-power participants showed no difference in perceived fairness and cooperation when treated fairly. These findings shed light on the association between power and cooperation by suggesting the modulating role of distributive justice, and they remind us that researchers should take participants’ personal sense of power into account when manipulating fairness.

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Rejection sensitivity hurts your open mind: Effects of rejection sensitivity and power position for wise reasoning in workplace conflicts

10.31234/osf.io/ack8n ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Anna Dorfman ◽

Harrison Oakes ◽

Igor Grossmann

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Low Power ◽

High Power ◽

Rejection Sensitivity ◽

Intellectual Humility ◽

Related Individual ◽

Workplace Conflicts ◽

Lower Performance ◽

Power Position

Six studies (N = 1,617) tested the role of dispositional rejection sensitivity (RS) and manipulated power position for wise reasoning among managers and subordinates in workplace conflicts: intellectual humility, consideration of change/multiple ways a situation may unfold, recognition of others’ perspectives, search for compromise/resolution, and outsider’s viewpoint. RS was systematically related to lower performance on each aspect of wise reasoning, above and beyond other threat-related individual differences. Effects of power position were modest and nuanced: Whereas low-(vs. high-) power position facilitated intellectual humility, consideration of change, and search for compromise, high-(vs. low-) power position facilitated consideration of others’ perspectives. We discuss implications for understanding the influence of rejection-related tendencies and power on reasoning processes in social conflicts.

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The Malleability of Stereotype Effects on Spontaneous Trait Inferences

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000288 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 (1) ◽

pp. 3-18

Author(s):

Meifang Wang ◽

Feng Yang

Keyword(s):

Low Power ◽

High Power ◽

Past Research ◽

Gender Stereotype ◽

Baseline Condition ◽

Spontaneous Trait Inferences ◽

Trait Inferences ◽

Sense Of Power ◽

Moderating Role

Abstract. Past research has demonstrated that perceivers are more likely to draw spontaneous trait inferences (STIs) from stereotype-consistent behaviors than from stereotype-inconsistent behaviors. Four studies were conducted to examine the moderating role of power in stereotype effects on STIs. Priming power using the scrambled sentence task, Study 1 found that high-power participants drew STIs from elderly stereotype-consistent but not from elderly stereotype-inconsistent sentences, while low-power participants did not draw STIs from elderly stereotype-consistent or stereotype-inconsistent behaviors. Study 2 replicated the findings of Study 1 by exploring the moderating role of power in gender stereotype effects on STIs. Measuring participants’ dispositional power via the Personal Sense of Power, Study 3 found that dispositional power also moderated the effects of gender stereotype on STIs. Study 4 found that compared with the baseline condition (no-power manipulation), the low-power condition inhibited STIs from stereotype-consistent behaviors, but the high-power condition did not facilitate STI formation from stereotype-consistent behaviors. The current study is the first to show that power influences the reliance on stereotypes when spontaneously inferring traits from behaviors.

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Reducing Prejudice Through Narratives

Journal of Media Psychology Theories Methods and Applications ◽

10.1027/1864-1105/a000249 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (4) ◽

pp. 185-195 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Emily Moyer-Gusé ◽

Katherine R. Dale ◽

Michelle Ortiz

Keyword(s):

Intergroup Relations ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Intergroup Contact ◽

Contact Hypothesis ◽

Muslim Americans ◽

Intergroup Anxiety ◽

Intergroup Interactions

Abstract. Recent extensions to the contact hypothesis reveal that different forms of contact, such as mediated intergroup contact, can reduce intergroup anxiety and improve attitudes toward the outgroup. This study draws on existing research to further consider the role of identification with an ingroup character within a narrative depicting intergroup contact between Muslim and non-Muslim Americans. Results reveal that identification with the non-Muslim (ingroup) model facilitated liking the Muslim (outgroup) model, which reduced prejudice toward Muslims more generally. Identification with the ingroup model also increased conversational self-efficacy and reduced anxiety about future intergroup interactions – both important aspects of improving intergroup relations.

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Less Power, Greater Conflict

Social Psychology ◽

10.1027/1864-9335/a000327 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 47-62 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Petra C. Schmid

Keyword(s):

Low Power ◽

High Power ◽

Goal Pursuit ◽

Goal Conflict ◽

Personal Goals ◽

Multiple Goals ◽

Objective Performance ◽

The Future ◽

The Way

Abstract. Power facilitates goal pursuit, but how does power affect the way people respond to conflict between their multiple goals? Our results showed that higher trait power was associated with reduced experience of conflict in scenarios describing multiple goals (Study 1) and between personal goals (Study 2). Moreover, manipulated low power increased individuals’ experience of goal conflict relative to high power and a control condition (Studies 3 and 4), with the consequence that they planned to invest less into the pursuit of their goals in the future. With its focus on multiple goals and individuals’ experiences during goal pursuit rather than objective performance, the present research uses new angles to examine power effects on goal pursuit.

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