Abstract
Past research suggests that the implicit power motive (i.e., an unconsciously held motivational disposition to derive pleasure from having impact on others) predicts a preference to interact with individuals having submissive-looking faces. The present research extends this finding by testing whether the relation between the implicit power motive and approaching submissiveness depends on instrumentality. In two experiments, participants were assigned to a group that would ostensibly compete with another group. Within this intergroup context, they were asked to select persons as leaders or members for the in-group or the out-group. Potential leaders and members were displayed as submissive-looking or dominant-looking. Results showed that the implicit power motive predicted decisions favoring dominant-looking persons as in-group leaders, and submissive-looking persons as out-group leaders (Study 1) or in-group members (Study 2). These findings indicate that the tendency for people high in the implicit power motive to approach submissive-looking persons depends on the perceived instrumentality for gaining influence over others.
Highlights
In social groups, people are often faced with the decision to choose a team member, or a team leader
These results confirmed our prediction that implicit motives operate based on perceived instrumentality, several alternative explanations remain
It is possible that this predictive relationship occurred because people relatively high in n Power are more prone to ascribe the concept of dominance to themselves, and are more likely to choose a dominant-looking person to be included in their own group
Summary
People are often faced with the decision to choose a team member, or a team leader. Members of an executive board may select a new board member, and citizens of democratic countries may elect a new president. Research suggests that such decisions may be shaped by group members’ motivational dispositions (Fodor 2010; Winter 2010). People high in n Power prefer job candidates who are low on assertiveness (Fodor et al 2006). When people high in n Power are group leaders, they are perceived as strong leaders (Winter 2010) who act dominantly and assertively (Fodor and Riordan 1995). Leaders high in n Power tend to suppress the flow of information among group members
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