Resource control and status as stimuli for arousing power motivation: An American-Chinese comparison

In this paper, we analyze power motivation from a cross-cultural perspective. Power motivation has been mainly studied within the Western culture. However, previous research suggests that some contours and nuances of power and power motivation may be culturally specific. In this article, we analyze cultural differences between American and Chinese students in how power motivation is aroused. Drawing from the cross-cultural literature, we propose that having decision-making control over resources increases levels of power motivation among Americans but not Chinese, whereas status-elevation increases power motivation among both Americans and Chinese. These hypotheses were tested experimentally with resource-control, status-elevation, and neutral conditions. The first hypothesis was fully supported, but the second one was only partially supported. Levels of power motivation in the neutral condition (i.e., dispositional power motives) were similar for American and Chinese participants, but power motivation arousal was greater for Americans than Chinese, in both power arousal conditions. These findings contribute to our understanding of the power motivation construct in a non-Western context.

[1]  Jutta Heckhausen,et al.  Motivation and action , 1991 .

[2]  When power does not corrupt: superior individuation processes among powerful perceivers. , 2001 .

[3]  D. Winter.  The power motive in women―and men , 1988 .

[4]  P. Niedenthal,et al.  Beliefs About Power and Its Relation to Emotional Experience: A Comparison of Japan, France, Germany, and the United States , 2005, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[5]  Jutta Heckhausen,et al.  Motivation and action (2nd ed.). , 2008 .

[6]  H. Eysenck.  Dimensions of Personality , 1947 .

[7]  Charles P. Smith.  Motivation and personality: Name Index , 1992 .

[8]  D. Mcclelland,et al.  Leadership motive pattern and long-term success in management. , 1982 .

[9]  Joe C Magee,et al.  From power to action. , 2003, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[10]  Steven J. Stanton,et al.  Effects of affiliation and power motivation arousal on salivary progesterone and testosterone , 2004, Hormones and Behavior.

[11]  Dorwin Cartwright,et al.  Studies in Social Power. , 1960 .

[12]  M. Pillutla,et al.  Power gained, power lost ☆ , 2008 .

[13]  Steven J. Stanton,et al.  The hormonal correlates of implicit power motivation. , 2009, Journal of research in personality.

[14]  Holger Busch,et al.  The Measurement of Implicit Motives in Three Cultures , 2005 .

[15]  Oliver C. Schultheiss,et al.  Assessing Implicit Motives in U.S. College Students: Effects of Picture Type and Position, Gender and Ethnicity, and Cross-Cultural Comparisons , 2005, Journal of personality assessment.

[16]  Lucian W. Pye,et al.  Asian Power and Politics: The Cultural Dimensions of Authority. , 1985 .

[17]  David C. McClelland,et al.  Power Is The Great Motivator , 2008 .

[18]  R. Dahl.  The concept of power , 2007 .

[19]  D. Mcclelland.  Power: The Inner Experience , 1975 .

[20]  D. Winter.  The power motive. , 1974 .

[21]  Susan T. Fiske,et al.  Control, Interdependence and Power: Understanding Social Cognition in Its Social Context , 1996 .

[22]  J. R. French,et al.  The bases of social power. , 1959 .

[23]  Cameron Anderson,et al.  The experience of power: examining the effects of power on approach and inhibition tendencies. , 2002, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[24]  Jan Hofer,et al.  Methodological Considerations of Applying a Tat-Type Picture-Story Test in Cross-Cultural Research , 2004 .

[25]  J. Bargh,et al.  Attitudes and Social Cognition Relationship Orientation as a Moderator of the Effects of Social Power , 2022 .

[26]  Shalom H. Schwartz,et al.  Cultural values in organisations: insights for Europe , 2007 .

[27]  Cameron Anderson,et al.  Power, Approach, and Inhibition , 2003 .

[28]  B. Raven,et al.  The Bases of Power: Origins and Recent Developments. A Presentation in Honor of John R. P. French on the Occasion of His Receiving the Kurt Lewin Award. , 1992 .

[29]  G. Hofstede.  Culture′s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations , 2001 .

[30]  D. Winter.  "Toward a science of personality psychology": David McClelland's development of empirically derived TAT measures. , 1998 .

[31]  B. Huberman,et al.  Status As a Valued Resource , 2001 .