Power Doesn't Corrupt, Study Suggests

Power Doesn't Corrupt, Study Suggests

www.livescience.com

Strike one against the idea that "Washington insiders" are corrupted by power and can no longer think independently.

Rather, new research based on experiments with college students who were primed to feel powerful suggests that, at least in some cases, power tends to shield people from outside opinions, leaving them to rely more on their own insights.

(visit the link for the full news article)

What a total joke.

"This study, sponsored and brought to you by TPTB..."

When the entire governmental body IS corrupt, these folks "studies" are an absolute laughing stock, and reeks of propaganda, preying on gullible sheeples naivity.

But seriously, with all that has been going on in the past several years, the populace for the most part KNOWS how laughable this is...

www.livescience.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Not to mention that the idea flies in the face of most of recorded human history... where time and again, we have examples of people succumbing to the trappings of power. I'll believe this when the local pigs begin to take flight. Or someone brings cheese back from the moon.

It is also highly likely that those who seek power, in the guise of government service, do so to simply enrich themselves and increase their already corrupt minds and attitudes, using the umbrella and privilege of government to shield them.
After all, you don't have to look very far to see this proven. Just a cursory glance at GWB's life history shows he was already corrupt before he became president, but more so once in office.

This is why I hate the idea of "career" politicians so much. It attracts the very people that should never have power over others.

DimensionalDetective
Man you always provide good articles, where do you find this stuff?
This is hilarious though. I guess our long history of observation of the human tendency to be corrupted by power was wrong all along. (or not)

What an arrogant statement to make.
What do they provide as proof of this?

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


I remember when I took Psychology courses in college, one of the lessons we were taught about people/behavior is that no matter what, Environment will be a BIG influence on your behavior.
That being said, this article's idea that Obama won't be influenced by being in washington is laughable.

whoever says power doesnt corrupt never heard of the Stanford prison experiment

random people taken off streets were divided into 2 groups

guards and prisoners

within a few days the guards were abusing the prisoners and using all the power they had to harm them

www.prisonexp.org...

I would say that power doesn't necesarily corrupt, but that the already-corrput naturally lust after it as a means to an end.

this is laughable! WHat's the goal for promotions? Or how about the will to want more for your family?

Originally posted by DimensionalDetective

But seriously, with all that has been going on in the past several years, the populace for the most part KNOWS how laughable this is...

www.livescience.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Maybe it's not for our generation. I believe that if you get em young enough and drill it in to their heads long enough, they will believe whatever you want them to.
I feel fortunate that my parents taught me to always question why, and never be so sure of your own belief as to exclude all others.
I teach my son the same philosophy.

Britguy and asmeone2 , I think you two are dead-center right.

Maybe power does not corrupt, but the people who are not corrupt will rarely, if ever, lust after a position of power to begin with.

Except true idealists, but they tend to have short lifespans once they reach the highest levels of power.

The article may have a point as well, that the people in power tend to value only the opinions of his entourage, the voice of the people being rather uncomfortable to those who would want to shape perception.

All in all, I feel one person should never have such powers as now entailed by offices like POTUS and the Russian Presidency.
When you put the cats near the milk..

Great post DD!

Doing a little research about the author Adam Galinsky of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University in Illinois.

He seems to be a career academician who aside from publications and research is a professional 'expert' witness regarding "The durability of defamation, the stickiness of slander, and the lingering of libel."

In other words, he protects power from accountability. How much you wanna bet the guy cites his own research as an authoritative source next time he testifies?

You gotta love it!

Academia, is an embedded part of the corruption of ethics? Who knew? [/sarcasm]

[edit on 6-12-2008 by Maxmars]

Really? well i think, seeing as how history has tught us that anyone in any form of power in any society, even ones that work in theory, ultimately change destroy and CORRUPT those societies.

This is just the governments way of not wanting people to think that they have screwed stuff up through rampant rruption.

Then again, the government doesn't want you to think period.

I do like how they think that simply saying it makes it true, despite the whole of human history going against them.

Hmmm..I read the article and had this thought.

In the article they expound on the idea of...

.... power tends to shield people from outside opinions, leaving them to rely more on their own insights.

Lets explore that notion a bit.

What I got out of it was that those in power may be more apt to listen to themselves rather than those around them. Like if I was in power I might say declaring every Friday national Frogs day is a wonderful idea. Even though my advisors might tell me it would be a bad idea.

Another example might be...hmmm.. Say a leader thought invading another country was a great idea and went ahead with it without seeking out all avenues of knowledge about the possible results.

What I get out of it is that power gives people a sense of, "I'm right and everyone else is wrong."



[edit on 6-12-2008 by Frogs]

ahh ty D.D

i will post an appropriate contribution to the thread AFTER i stop laughing at the study.

reply to post by DimensionalDetective



Somehow I'm not surprised, we all remember Bush saying he leads from his gut instinct (or something like that). This doesn't mean they won't lie to get elected and it explains why those in power these days seem to totally brush off public opinion and do what they want and follow the out-of-touch opinions they hold. Power is shielding them not only from nay-sayers but from the very people they're meant to represent and defend...

The study says power corrupts. Dear Gawd! Does no one have any critical thinking skills anymore? If you only listen to yourself - and never take in the advice of others (even those who are more experienced / knowledgeable) - this indicates you are corrupted by ego!

I would like to make this researcher take some critical thinking classes - or maybe even some history classes. I was boggled by the lack of critical thinking displayed by the difference in the results and the concocted conclusion.

Of course, I haven't read the actual study, or seen the actual datasets, but, if the report at livescience (which is normally pretty good) is correct, this researcher is a bit of an idiot.

reply to post by Frogs


You beat me to it.

Its sad that people in this thread couldn't approach this article with sensibility, and its just a reflection of the pathetic conspiratorial mindset too many people in this country hold. No wonder our problems enver get solved.

To build upon what Frogs said, I took a look at the article myself and found something rather profound:

While the study is not a knock-out blow to the long-held assumption that power corrupts, it does indicate the reality is more nuanced.

The study is therefore not declaring power to not be capable of corrupting someone. Rather, it is stating that the ability of power to corrupt is not as strong or as inevitable as we make it out to be or believe it to be. This is a very legitimate point to make. Just because someone has absolute power does not mean they become predisposed to corruption.

Also, understand that "corruption" used in this sense, is the conspiratorial view of corruption. However, corruption can be seen in things like the Iran-Contra affair. The Iran-Contra affair was clearly a misuse of authority, a product of the American power structure, but not because these were bad people. These people were influenced by a system that allowed such behavior to take place. The Live Science article argues that Obama will work in a circle that probably would not afford the same opportunities.

N.Tesla, you mentioned the Stanford prison experiment. As someone who studies sociology, I can tell that you misunderstood the results of the experiment. The experiment did not prove power corrupts. Rather, it proved that when a person is placed into a situation where certain things are allowed and where their roles and their place in that social realm is clearly defined, they will internalize those roles, which explains why the prison guards acted how they did. That was their role, the other guys were prisoners, and they were allowed to be prison guards to them. They fulfilled that role to the best of their ability. However, if serious constraints were placed on the conduct of the guards, then would it have yielded the same results? The "power corrupts" theory says yes, but the reality is a lot less simple.

We need a lot less emotion. We all seem to want to hang someone out to dry.

reply to post by sweatmonicaIdo


Good points sweatmonicaIdo.

Your post combined with the article made me think of something I read a little bit ago.

Narcissistic People Most Likey to Emerge As Leaders

In the study linked above they found....

Researchers found that people who score high in narcissism tend to take control of leaderless groups. Narcissism is a trait in which people are self-centered, exaggerate their talents and abilities, and lack empathy for others.

“Not only did narcissists rate themselves as leaders, which you would expect, but other group members also saw them as the people who really run the group,” said Amy Brunell, lead author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University at Newark.

Narcissists, by definition, are self-centered and overconfident in their own abilities.

This brought the following question to my mind regarding the study posted in the OP based upon the outline below.

We have:
1) Those in power may be more likely to listen to themselves than those around them.
2) Those with Narcissistic traits are likey to rise to power.
3) One of the traits of narcissists is that they tend to be overconfident in their own abilities and thus may not listen to (or care) what others think.

So, do leaders listen to "their own insights" as a result of the power they have or because of the narcissitic traits that allowed them to become powerful?

In other words - Is it the power that causes this or just their personality?