The more power, the less compassion
Powerful people have difficulty relating to others’ emotions
Powerful people are less able to relate to others’ emotions than those without much power. That was the conclusion of a study conducted by psychologist Gerben van Kleef (University of Amsterdam) together with a number of colleagues at the University of California in Berkeley.
Powerful people are less able to relate to others' emotions than those without much power. That was the conclusion of a study conducted by psychologist Gerben van Kleef (University of Amsterdam) together with a number of colleagues at the University of California in Berkeley.It had already been established that powerful people pay less attention to the people around them and that they can more readily switch off their emotions when negotiating. However, the notion that they likewise respond differently emotionally to other people's emotions is new.
Van Kleef and his colleagues studied both the degree of emotional reciprocation (the extent to which a person feels sad listening to someone who is sad) and the emotional complimentarity (the extent to which a person demonstrates sympathy). Powerful people score significantly lower in both areas compared to people without power, according to the study.
Sense of power
A total of 118 subjects were studied; each took a turn as listener and speaker. The degree of power was not created artificially; instead, it was established using a questionnaire. Developed in Berkeley, the questions are designed to ask people about their sense of power. The answers correspond to the respondent's actual social and socio-economic status. Therefore the questionnaire is a reliable tool for measuring a person's power level.Lower pulse
A striking result of the study is the respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) measured. RSA is an index of heart regulation through the vagus nerve, a cranial nerve that is also referred to as the ‘wandering nerve'. The higher the RSA, the lower the pulse and the calmer a person becomes. Powerful test subjects demonstrated a higher level of RSA activity when listening to a sad story, and as a result their emotional response to their conversational partner declined significantly.Unwilling or unable?
Are powerful people unwilling to demonstrate compassion, or are they simply unable to do so? Van Kleef: ‘It is hard to say. On the one hand, their higher RSA indicates an autonomous regulation of the pulse taking place that actually makes them less able to sympathise. On the other hand, powerful people indicate that they lack the motivation to try to relate to others. They do not have time for "irrelevant" stimuli such as other people's emotions, and therefore shut them out.'Commiseration not always appropriate
According to Van Kleef, this can work to both their advantage and disadvantage. People who are in charge of running a business or a department cannot always commiserate with their employees; after all, a manager is responsible for running the company as a whole and overseeing the organisation. But at the same time you are not going to be very popular as a boss if you ignore relevant emotions of your staff. By not listening you run the risk of your employees losing motivation.' Therefore, Van Kleef's advice to managers is: ‘Recognise the importance of actively empathising with your employees. When the motivation to listen exists, doing so effectively breaks down the barrier and enables you to be open.' As for the people lacking power, Van Kleef points out that they would be wise to realise that by no means will their complaints and emotions always register with their boss.Van Kleef, G. A., Oveis, C., Van der Löwe, I., LuoKogan, A., Goetz, J., & Keltner, D. (2008). Power, distress, and compassion: Turning a blind eye to the suffering of others. Psychological Science, 19, 1315-1322