This is what power does to your brain and body

[hinterland]

From Science Alert: This is what power does to your brain and body.

This Is What Power Does to Your Brain And Your Body
This is crazy.


HILARY BRUECK, BUSINESS INSIDER
16 DEC 2017
From the bully on the playground to the big-wig in the corner office, power dynamics are everywhere in our lives.

A flood of allegations that powerful men in media, politics, and tech have been abusing their positions of power and preying on those below them have surfaced in recent months.

 

[Andy]

Hi @hinterland , for copyright reasons, please could you edit the quoted part of your post down to, say, the first two paragraphs. Thanks in advance.

 

[Barry]

Having skim-read the article (via the link), I'm sure much of this applies to the power-mongers manipulating the ME/CFS narrative.

 

[Trish]

I read the first couple of paragraphs and gave up. It seems to me to have the argument backwards. They say it's being in power that makes people become less empathetic, more likely to be bullies etc. But I would argue that it is those very characteristics - lack of empathy, being bullies etc. that helped those people get into power in the first place. Which is cause, and which is effect?

And there are lots of counterexamples of people who gained power but did not misuse it - Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, etc etc.

 

[hinterland]

I read the first couple of paragraphs and gave up. It seems to me to have the argument backwards. They say it's being in power that makes people become less empathetic, more likely to be bullies etc. But I would argue that it is those very characteristics - lack of empathy, being bullies etc. that helped those people get into power in the first place. Which is cause, and which is effect?

And there are lots of counterexamples of people who gained power but did not misuse it - Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, etc etc.

There were many similar comments on facebook. But I think this research still has something to tell us - it isn’t about excusing the actions of powerful men, but demonstrating the corrupting influence of power. I think it probably works both ways, amoral people might be attracted to power in the first place and then made worse by it.

However, not all people will be corrupted. From the article:

Not all studies about power are bad news. Research has shown that people who focus on the needs of others and work to improve social welfare are better at understanding peoples' needs and desires, and improve their ability to manage and cooperate with colleagues.

When people feel a heightened sense of social responsibility in connection with their position of power, they're more in tune with the needs and views of others.

 

[hinterland]

Having skim-read the article (via the link), I'm sure much of this applies to the power-mongers manipulating the ME/CFS narrative.

I agree.

 

[Barry]

I read the first couple of paragraphs and gave up. It seems to me to have the argument backwards. They say it's being in power that makes people become less empathetic, more likely to be bullies etc. But I would argue that it is those very characteristics - lack of empathy, being bullies etc. that helped those people get into power in the first place. Which is cause, and which is effect?

And there are lots of counterexamples of people who gained power but did not misuse it - Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama, etc etc.

There might even be a flip-flop characteristic involved, like balancing on a fence. If someone acquires power with insufficient maturity, then that power might take them one way or the other, and once tipped, reinforce that position they adopt.