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Power Doesn't Corrupt, Study Suggests

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posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 02:45 PM
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reply to post by sweatmonicaIdo
 


I think most of the people are laughing at the fact of producing the report themselves.

Its like here in the U.K ... When the Police need to be internally investigated for wrong doings .... u know who gets that job? the Police.. Hypocrisy?


I cannot lend credence to any of this study because

1. Well see above
2. you cannot nit pick through bits you think are ok, or somehow helpfull when the whole ideal comes from a corrupt position.
3. i also think it has little credence because I believe that power corrupts Very slowly and intensely, also power is always accompanied by other high flying pursuits , sex, drugs, rock and roll etc ..

this pitiful little experiment on young students has no real worth in my opinion when trying to study this TYPE of effect.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 03:13 PM
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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.


That sounds a lot like a simple rewording of the same idea. Instead of "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 isolate people due to their percieved superiority and leads to further disdain and disrespect of others' opinions," they say that.

It's the same thing with sugar on top.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 03:22 PM
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reply to post by Frogs
 


That begs the question: Why are some corrupted and others not?

One thing about these "corruption" cases that I have noticed is that there was nothing particularly unique about their circumstances. These people all worked in a heavily bureaucratic system that allowed or permitted such abuses to take place.

So what we have is an authority structure whose principles do not cohere with the actual dynamics in play. Principally, we say corruption and abuse of power is wrong. However, the system through its nooks and crannies, its ambiguities and specifities, permits abuses and corruption to take place.

So its never the power itself. Its the overarching structure that the power exists within.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 03:22 PM
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To some extent I agree Power doesn't corrupt, then I add

It doesn't corrupt all
It will corrupt some

Not everybody can be corrupted by power but i'd say for 96% it will corrupt them; even with power some will stay the same. Just like if a person one the lottery some will go on a shopping spree and others will live like they normally did before the money continue working, continuing shopping at target, walmart,kmart,sears etc.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 03:42 PM
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Oh power does corrupt and I know this from experience. Last time I had total power over others, I developed a 'mwahahaha' laugh and had a habit of dry wiping my hand together when scheming.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 03:43 PM
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reply to post by sweatmonicaIdo
 


Oh , I get it .So if you get the chance to reduce people to being your bitch it will depend on how good they look in a dress ? You 'ultra patriots' make me laugh with your 'reasoned responses' .

Power corrupts . If you cant see that in your political system now ,you never will . This study is a half assed attempt to cover the butts of every ass kissing insider who raped the public purse so they could climb the social ladder. Ivy league whitewash for those who fear loss of tenure .



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 03:54 PM
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I agree with others that while not everyone may be corrupted by power, everyone is certainly corruptable, and that becomming corrupt as a result of power has less to do with not being influenced by others than it does with being influenced by power itself. With power not only comes responsibility, but, well... power. You are enabled and empowered to do things you couldn't before. This creates the potential for enormous temptation, and in the event that the temptation is satisfied, abuse. Being shielded from outside influences does not equate to not being corrupted by power, simply because 1) no one is ever truly isolated and can thus still be manipulated by outside forces, and 2) being unable to hear dissenting voices enables one to be totally without accountability while in a position of enormous power and influence.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 03:57 PM
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"power tends to shield people from outside opinions"

I havn't read the article, just what was posted in the qoute, but wouldn't that be the corruption? These people are employed by the people for the people. Their job is to listen to the opinions of the people and represent their desires.

If people in power shield themselves from outside opinions then what hope is there to employ a leader who does what the people want?

Perhaps I'll read the study later, but my guess would be there was a serious flaw in interpreting the results of the study.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 04:52 PM
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power doesn't corrupt the corrupt take power

O()0_0()o



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 06:06 PM
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You really should learn to read and comprehend.

This study does NOT show what you claim it does. In fact, it shows the exact opposite.

Those students tended to exclude virtually ALL outside influences, relying only on their own whims. Just like so many power mad people in government do.

It is also a very small study, and a poorly designed one at that. Just because it comes from a University does not make it valid.

You should probably take a course in "Research Design and Methodology", to learn just how such studies are actually done, and what they really mean.

In fact, the vast majority of University studies are done by students, on populations of other students, and the professors take credit for their students work. Remember, in that world it is "Publish or Perish", If you don't opublish enough studies, you do not stay on the faculty.

Those kinds of studies have very little, if any, application outside of the academic setting.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 06:41 PM
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reply to post by DimensionalDetective
 


The study clearly concludes that power does corrupt.

They put people in positions of power and found that those people had reduced regard for the thoughts of others. Selfishness is the whole essence of corruption by power.

All they did was choose a definition of the word corrupts that would seem to back up their desired result.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 06:42 PM
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Originally posted by OldMedic
You really should learn to read and comprehend.

This study does NOT show what you claim it does. In fact, it shows the exact opposite.

Those students tended to exclude virtually ALL outside influences, relying only on their own whims. Just like so many power mad people in government do.


So the the study shows that power corrupts? But doesn't the report say that power might not corrupt like we thought it did?



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 08:25 PM
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IMHO it might actually be true that power itself doesn't corrupt.

Its just that the corrupt tend to seek power while good people don't.

Chicken and the egg argument this might be, but its obvious that people in power are corrupt and either its the lying cheating caniving vermin that seeks to get into those positions in any way possible, or people that get into those positions go bad in a hurry.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 08:37 PM
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reply to post by DimensionalDetective
 


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


More like "These results sponsored and...."

This kinda idea seems to contrast primal human nature, I find this as dubious as you do.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 08:37 PM
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To me, the issue is regarding how corruption is defined. Corruption carries the connotation that of deliberate orchestration, a conspiratorial line of thought. However, corruption can be something as simple as pulling a fast one in order to escape the consequences or a loss. Normal, everyday, "good" people are capable of the latter, but corruption is still corruption.

If we accept the altter definition, then yes, power does indeed corrupt. However, corruption is not defined in the American vernacular as so. it is isntead defined in squarely conspiratorial terms, that a person becomes addicted to his/her power and decides to deliberately use it in order to advance their own agendas. Any organizational analysis shows this to be the unlikeliest of cases, and even quite impossible.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 09:37 PM
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reply to post by sweatmonicaIdo
 


Well just off-hand I think the best definition of corruption is when people, whose responsibility is to serve others, start serving themselves first and foremost.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 09:44 PM
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The idea that power corrupts is a statment, that it deals in absolutes. I personally absolutely do not beleive in absolutes, in the acceptance of such statments it brings the power for people to do such things with not much more than a lousy excuse that has been prepetuated through fear and ignorance based on personal inadequacies in and from people. This is my view and if my view alone, so be it, I stay my hand. I respectfully withdraw any temperance of opposition by my hand, as per my hand, as is my hand, wise.

If I sound like a broken record, please move on, as this is not intended for you, unless you think.

Think of how those who have allowed power to corrupt based on false beleives, I do not see them as being anything but in opossition with basless guilt, please forgive me, but I see what I see and I pass it for those who wish to see. This message is not for all, but only for some.
Again, nothing is absolute, except for the fact that nothing is absolute, including this message. This is but a peice of the true puzzle and is not for everyone. Thank you for your time. Take with you what you like or that which you seek. God Bless.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 09:52 PM
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For every study like the one you posted, you can find 10 that say just the opposite. Here is one, which reaches the exact opposite conclusion"

www.usnews.com...



Power Corrupts? Absolutely.
From the Briefcase: Research produced by America's Best Business Schools
Posted 1/29/07

Study: "Power and Perspectives Not Taken"

Authors: Adam Galinsky (Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University), Joe Magee (Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University), M. Ena Inesi and Deborah H. Gruenfeld (Stanford Graduate School of Business)

Status: Published, Psychological Science (December 2006)

Summary: A new study finds that the more power leaders have, the harder it is for them to grasp just what the world looks like to the people under them.

Walking a mile in another person's shoes may be the best way to understand the emotions, perceptions, and motivations of an individual; however, in a recent study that appeared in the December 2006 issue of Psychological Science, it is reported that those in power are often unable to take such a journey.
In the article, "Power and Perspectives Not Taken," Adam Galinsky of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Joe Magee of the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, and Stanford University's M. Ena Inesi and Deborah H. Gruenfeld found that possessing power itself serves as an impediment to understanding the perspectives of others. Through four experiments and a correlational study, the researchers assessed the effect of power on "perspective taking," adjusting to another's perspective, and interpreting the emotions of others.

To study the link between power and perspective-taking, Galinsky and colleagues used a unique method in which the participants were told to draw the letter E on their forehead. If the subject wrote the E in a self-oriented direction, backward to others, this indicated a lack of perspective-taking. On the other hand, when the E was written legible to others, this indicated that the person had thought about how others might perceive the letter. The results showed that those who had previously been randomly assigned to a high power group were almost three times more likely to draw a self-oriented E than those who were assigned to the low power condition.

Galinsky and colleagues also found that power leads individuals to anchor too heavily on their own vantage point, thus leaving them unable to adjust to another person's perspective and decreasing their ability to correctly interpret the emotions of others.

Galinsky says that this research has "wide-ranging implications, from business to politics." For example, "presidents who preside over a divided government (and thus have reduced power) might be psychologically predisposed to consider alternative viewpoints more readily than those that preside over unified governments."

Galinsky also adds that a key is to somehow make perspective-taking part and parcel of power: "The springboard of power combined with perspective-taking may be a particularly constructive force."



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 10:27 PM
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give me a break.
vast majority of those in power are corrupt.
there are rare exceptions - spiritually driven leaders.
don't look around - you'll find none... not the time.



posted on Dec, 6 2008 @ 10:41 PM
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Originally posted by Resinveins
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.


You are quite correct. Furthermore one needs to go no further than the local fast food restaurant to see this play out in real time. Try to pick a time when it's busy as this is more pronounced at that point. I have heard fast food managers threatening their employees with their "perceived" power more than I care to remember, and in my opinion, this is done to try to make themselves look important while placing their failure upon someone else's shoulders. The manager is the one responsible for the smooth operation of the store, and when it gets out of control because they were not "managing" the store, they will typically get upset with their employees and threaten them to be fired or what not, when in fact if they were supervising the operation of the store as they should be, it would have never gotten out of hand to begin with. Typically when I see this, the manager comes out of the office or back of the store and then realizes it is out of control, the next response seems to be to blame the employees and threaten their jobs with their perceived power. I have on more than one occasion told a restaurant manager, that if they were doing their jobs, they would have no need to threaten their employees and try to impose their authority upon them. This is usually met with some sort of lie or excuse like "I had to rearrange the back room." I then respond with "Did they hire you or train you to organize the back room during peak periods, or did they hire you to ensure the store is profitable by keeping your customers happy with adequate service?" This usually upsets them and they will either swear at me or give one of those "sighs" like I just don't understand how a business works. I am not saying all restaurant managers are like this, as I have met some very good ones; however, it is the case very often.

Another thing I do not understand about power is it seems that the more one has the less he believes he is responsible for it's misuse (just take a look at our president). I do not remember who made the quote: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." but it does seem to be one of the more concrete quotes I have ever heard.




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