It Isn't Just a Myth, Power Turns People Into Assholes

We have been talking a lot about leadership in my Stanford class on Organizational Behavior: An Evidence-based Approach.  Last week, we had a pretty detailed discussion about how and why putting people into powerful positions seems to turn them into selfish jerks.  I was also thinking about power earlier today when a German  journalist from Chrimson interviewed me about Der Arschloch-Faktor.  I was initially amazed that I was being interviewed by a religious organization -- but the journalist who interviewed my argued that the no asshole rule was, indeed, quite consistent with the golden rule.  He wrote me that "We are financed by the The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), and therefore very interested in topics that deal with how human-beings interact, since that is what religion is all about."

I will likely blog about religion and the no asshole rule more in a few weeks. But today I am going to focus on the question that reporter asked, "Are assholes born or made?"   

I am sure that there are some people who are genetically pre-disposed to be nasty and there are some people who -- perhaps as a result of emotional and/or physical abuse during childhood -- turn into assholes. But there is also strong evidence that, no matter what our "personality"  is, we all can turn into assholes under the wrong conditions.

Asshole poisoning as a disease that you catch from others, and I talk a lot about that in the book. It is also something that happens -- with shocking speed and intensity -- when people are put in powerful positions. My colleague at the Stanford Business School Deborah Gurenfeld and her colleagues have been studying the effects of power on human beings for over years, and the findings are clear: power turns people into selfish and insensitive jerks, who act as if the the rules that the rest of us have to follow don't apply to them.

Perhaps the  best quick summary of this research is an article San Francisco Chronicle last Fall called on power and its evil effects, The article summarizes this large body of research -- now hundreds of studies -- as follows:

Research documents the following characteristics of people with power: They tend to be more oblivious to what others think, more likely to pursue the satisfaction of their own appetites, poorer judges of other people's reactions, more likely to hold stereotypes, overly optimistic and more likely to take risks.

It quotes one of Gruenfeld's main conclusions:

Disinhibition is the very root of power," said Stanford Professor Deborah Gruenfeld, a social psychologist who focuses on the study of power. "For most people, what we think of as 'power plays' aren't calculated and Machiavellian --  they happen at the subconscious level. Many of those internal regulators that hold most of us back from bold or bad behavior diminish or disappear. When people feel powerful, they stop trying to 'control themselves.'

To illustrate how rapidly such dis inhibition can happen, it describes the lovely little "cookie study" done by Gruenfeld and her colleagues:

One of the simplest and yet most fascinating experiments to test the thesis is the "cookie crumbles" experiment. Researchers placed college students in groups of three and gave them an artificial assignment  --  collaboration on a short policy paper about a social issue. They then randomly assigned one of the students to evaluate the other two for points that would affect their ability to win a cash bonus. Having set up this artificial power hierarchy, researchers then casually brought to working trios plates containing five cookies.

They found that not only did the disinhibited "powerful" students eat more than their share of the cookies, they were more likely to chew with their mouths open and to scatter crumbs over the table.

The story also includes the personal experience that Gruenfeld often uses to start her talks on the effects of power:

Gruenfeld offers a similar example from her career in journalism when she occasionally met with Rolling Stone publisher Jann Wenner. She recalls that he routinely would swig vodka from a bottle and eat raw onions  --  without ever offering to share  --  "and it never even occurred to the rest of us, because it was understood that he had the power and we did not."

The cookie study and the Rolling Stone story are just bits of evidence -- this pattern is supported by hundreds of studies.  The upshot off all this research is that power turns people into insensitive and selfish jerks, so any of us who are put in position of power are at risk of asshole poisoning.

There is also an interesting twist, however, that -- if you look at Jim Collins findings about Level 5 leaders in Good to Great as well as less well-known, but more rigorous academic research --  leaders who who are able to avoid the poison, and instead  focus on the needs of the people around them, are apparently more likely to lead more effective organizations.

So there are good reasons to find ways to resist such poison. Some of the best ways are to reduce status differences between people at different levels and to have as few hierarchical levels as possible.  Another way is to learn how to listen more and talk less.

P.S. The main academic article where that summarizes this research is "Power, Approach and Inhibition" and was published in the Psychological Review.  Also check out this study just summarized by U.S. News and World Report on how power makes it harder for people to see the world from the perspective of underlings.

Comments

[Linda]

This website is my stress reducer after dealing with my boss (who rates 17 out of 20 on the BRASS test) and also, dealing with the new responsibilities that I have as a new manager.

I think that when ever I am angry with the last "test", snide remark about my abilities, or just plain stupid decision that he has made that I have to deal with, I will instead focus on how I am letting his behavior effect my treatment of those that report to me.

As mentioned several times on this site, it is easy to become insensitive as a boss and not realize it, even when you are not an asshole. This is a danger even when working for a good boss. It is even more important to focus on avoiding this insensitivity when your are constantly dealing with an asshole.

[Petra Taseva]

"Are assholes born or made?"
I think everybody has a potential of being an asshole. But, having a different level of awareness,conscience,culture, moral value, makes people being assholes or being nice.

Either way, interesting topic.

[Jon Abbas]

This book is also available in Russian language.

[Ron Gentile]

Great topic. I've seen this in action too many times to count. I can also imagine that such a dynamic plays out in romantic relationships when one person has the power for some reason, e.g. he/she is the primary or sole breadwinner.

[Murthy]

Hi Professor Sutton, a fantastic topic indeed. I think its very important to separate the power hungry phenomenon from the asshole phenomenon. The latter is something that can be observed even amongst those without power - it has more to do with values, perspective, etc. The former is entirely an acquired effect.

My hypothesis is that the effect occurs when the position of power is established through some kind of "rite of passage" - for example, working crazy hours, perhaps paying large amounts of tuition and life balance in grad school, etc. Indeed, the times when I in my own life inadvertently felt "superior" to others, whether I deserved to or not, were times when I really really worked hard for something and felt like I had earned a position of accomplishment or power in a way that those who didn't/couldn't have earned. It isn't just the exclusivity of power, it is the dynamic of having made a very large personal investment and then feeling some sort of entitlement to a return on that investment.

I actually believe that power by itself is a very healthy concept. For example, I think its very important that the President of the United States is pampered, even in a bad economy - because he makes decisions that affect a lot of people and his job is not always fun. Unless we made it fun, no one would want the job. And for all the ills we say of the perks that businesspeople, lawyers, doctors enjoy, I'm sorta glad those perks exist, because these are all professions that take a lot of very specific non-commoditized skill and there should be incentives for people to go through the rigorous training.

The dysfunction occurs when those in power do not have the values and perspective to exercise it correctly - i.e they are assholes as people. So ultimately, I still believe it is not power that corrupts all, but that there are those who are simply more corruptible. What makes them corruptible, I think, is a different area of study.

[Bob Sutton]

RAE,

Thanks for your extremely thoughtful and detailed comments,and I want to second the emotion on Snakes in Suits, it is a very well-crafted and useful book.

Bob

[RAE]

This is a fascinating topic and unfortunate reality. Based on several employment experiences reporting to dysfunction organizational leaders (thus dysfunctional companies), I began researching leadership to try to understand the pattern and bizarre experiences. The question I have been seeking to answer is whether people with certain traits are more likely to become leaders or if the leadership position causes one to become ill. When I say ill, I do mean it. The leaders that I have encountered fit the diagnostic descriptions of DMS IV psychiatric disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder, sociopathic and psychopathic personalities.

Your power perception makes a great deal of sense but I think it is much more complicated than that. These people are dangerous to others, not physically, but psychologically and legally. In extreme forms, they know no bounds. The leaders I have encountered have been very intelligent, held positions of high power, or were protected by those in high places. The prevalence of these troubled people abusing their power in the workplace is absolutely astounding to me. I also have begun to realize that the depth of the problem is only seen by some people. Most people see and experience these leaders' behavior but only recognize the symptoms and don't fully grasp the horror and gravity of their true problems. That is probably a good thing as that is how they remain employed. Readers interested in a recommended book on this topic can check out "SNAKES IN SUITS, When Psychopaths go to work", by Paul Babiak, Ph.D. & Robert D. Hare, Ph.D.

[Tonny]

Please blog about religion and assholes. I have a mean spirited, but mealy mouthed, female boss who is one of the most evil, bullying bosses I have ever worked for, but she sports a Bible quote on her wall and a sign that says "Mean People Need Not Apply."

She has destroyed careers when it suits her, she badmouths her enemies, who tend to be various people who work under her, she divides the staff into her pals and her targets and rewards her pals when they align with her in defaming the targets.

Did I mention that she is a control freak?

I think she's going to hell.

[Anobi]

It isn't just having power that can turn people into assholes - wanting power in daily relations can, too. "The Exception" by Christian Jungersen describes this brilliantly - how people supposedly acting to do good can be horribly mean to eachother. I cannot recommend it enough for this description - even though the book later on turns into a action novel.

[dblwyo]

Well as Stilgar points out the original meaning of the Fremen 'naib' is 'servant of the people'. :). We've known for a long-time what an L5 leader should do - otherwise why would Harun al-Rashid be famous for walking the streets of Baghdad ? But how to train leaders and inculcate that wisdom more frequently is an interesting problem.

If anyone's interested one of the best examples of a Level 6 leader who pursued great goals but enlisted the active support of extremely strong and wilful subordinates is in 'Team of Rivals'.

Closer to home the military seems to do a better job these days by creating great leaders at all levels by emphasing the responsibilities and trusts required for coherence in stressful situations. Perhaps some lessona and techniques that could be adopted in the private sector ?

Thanks for the pointers.

[Bob Sutton]

Maureen,

I think you have nailed it. We are capable of being demeaning and of being inconsiderate pigs. Being occasional or temporary assholes, the questions are:

1. Are we in a place where people feel safe -- even obligated -- to stop us.

2. Are we the kind of person who others feel safe to send the message to?

3. Are we the kind of person who can hear and learn from the message?

[Wally Bock]

There are three factors that make it hard to stay realistic, let alone humble, as you climb the ladder of success.

The Reality Distortion Field effect. The higher you go, the more people tell you want you want to hear instead of what you need to hear. Result: You only hear "news" that agrees with you.

The Ass-Kiss Factor. People will jump to do things to please you. "The wish of the commander has the effect of an order." Result: you smallest wishes are instantly gratified.

The Competitive Advantage. Most folks who climb high on the corporate ladder are competitive by nature. Often they're too competitive and need to win all the time, even when discussing things with subordinates. Result: people don't push hard, because you have power over them and you get the idea that you're always right.

[Maureen Rogers]

And, of course, a side effect of "asshole poisoning" is that the behavior of those vicitimized by it is also poisoned. Consider how us underlings respond to the overly optimistic, risk-taking, vodka-swilling, onion eating, etc asshole boss.We let him/her rant and rage, inwardly rolling our eyes, but we are not as likely to put our ideas, suggestions, warnings forth as strongly as we would if we were working for a non-asshole. Afterwards, we mutter, moan, or laugh about bad behavior, ignore or execute stupid orders, etc. But decisions and results are unlikely to be as effective as they would be if the head person were not an asshole.

(on the other hand, as you have often observed, even a non-asshole is capable of an occasional lapse - like cookie hogging and chewing with your mouth open - but with one of these occasional assholes, you can call them on their behavior, and the atmosphere is not poisoned.)