
When Power Goes To Your Head, It May Shut Out Your Heart - Libertatea
http://www.npr.org/2013/08/10/210686255/a-sense-of-power-can-do-a-number-on-your-brain?ft=1&f=1007
======
coldtea
"""If you ask a psychologist, he or she may tell you that the powerful are
simply too busy. They don't have the time to fully attend to their less
powerful counterparts."""

No real psychologist will tell you that. Not even the worse case of status-quo
apologist psychologist.

~~~
X4
So, what would they say?

~~~
coldtea
They would explain it in terms of personality traits, past history,
sociopathic behavior, reward systems and tons of other insights etc.

There are lots of studies in power relations, and I've never seen the lack of
empathy exhibited by some powerful people explained away as "they are busy".

~~~
X4
That sir, is a generalization used to raise the importance of the article. I
skip that. What you say is a relative explanation of the causes, but not
showing evidence of a definitive neurological trigger, which they claim to
have discovered as responsible.

This is also one reason why many people I know, don't take psychology serious,
because it lacks on the neurological background and tries to explain things
that 'could, would, should' happen in cases like 'a,b or c' without giving a
definitive answer. This leaves the asking person in a uncertain and
unsatisfied state. definitely. There are other psychologists who explain
things logically and simple, that convinces much more people and gives them
more insight into the 'why's' rather than squishy explanations of the
'what's'.

~~~
coldtea
> _This is also one reason why many people I know, don 't take psychology
> serious, because it lacks on the neurological background and tries to
> explain things that 'could, would, should' happen in cases like 'a,b or c'
> without giving a definitive answer._

That's exactly the reason why I take it seriously. Because it considers many
factors, and the multiple facets and interactions between a person and other
persons and/or surroundings, and understands that human psychology does not
work like some antiquated naive reductionist machinery.

The "definitive answers" on this front ("it's gene X that makes you behave Y,
it's that substance in the brain that makes you violent", etc), are for people
who believe in silver bullets and one-size-fits-all answers. IMHO they reek of
pseudo-science, mixing cause and effect, correlation and causation and working
at the wrong level of abstraction.

------
btilly
This does not surprise. Research has repeatedly found that even momentary
success boosts testosterone, and we know the effects that has on behavior,
including a loss of empathy. And vice versa for failure dropping testosterone.

See [http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-
self/20090...](http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-
self/200905/the-testosterone-curse-part-2) for a basic overview of the effects
of testosterone.

This fits evolutionary "just so" stories very well. Males in pair bonding
species pursue a mix of alpha (impregnate lots of females) and beta (trade
child care for access to one female) strategies. A successful male should
become more willing to go for alpha behaviors. A successful alpha strategy
requires not minding the real negative consequences of your behavior on
others. Conversely beta strategies are going to fail hard if you're not deeply
aware of the feelings of those around you.

Which is precisely what testosterone does.

------
Libertatea
There are a few studies on the same subject. Most notably by Paul Piff

Here is the peer-reviewed paper: "Higher social class predicts increased
unethical behavior":
[http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1118373109](http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1118373109)

New York Magazine did a feature story about the study:
[http://nymag.com/news/features/money-
brain-2012-7/](http://nymag.com/news/features/money-brain-2012-7/)

A PBS piece on the study: [http://youtu.be/IuqGrz-
Y_Lc](http://youtu.be/IuqGrz-Y_Lc)

And the documentary: "Park Avenue: money, power and the American dream - Why
Poverty?" [http://youtu.be/6niWzomA_So](http://youtu.be/6niWzomA_So) \- also
exams the psychology behind power.

~~~
gwern
More than a few; I cite a number of others at
[http://lesswrong.com/lw/dtg/notes_on_the_psychology_of_power...](http://lesswrong.com/lw/dtg/notes_on_the_psychology_of_power/)

------
chunky1994
I suspect that the evolutionary mechanism behind this is that the members of
the species (or tribe etc.) who are powerful (leaders?) must have some sense
of ruthlessness in order to enable their whole group to survive; and empathy
is directly counteractive to ruthlessness.

~~~
negamax
Or it could be the way for nature to lead a group to a disaster, a fight with
another group. So that better group survives.

~~~
dllthomas
That ascribes a lot of agency to nature, and I think will lead you to flawed
conclusions.

~~~
negamax
I am not drawing any conclusion. Just proposing a counter point. Nature has no
plans for humanity ofcourse.

~~~
dllthomas
Presumably you draw some conclusions ever; I'm just saying you shouldn't use
reasoning like above in getting there when you do.

------
mojuba
It could be that our brain takes every chance to reduce its energy
consumption. You could save on empathy/theory of mind big time, it seems.

------
AznHisoka
I think having some sense of power important to the well-being of humans?
Feeling powerless can lead one to feelings of despair and helplessness. Of
course feeling superior over others and pointing them down is not healthy
either. But feeling like you have some control over one's live is essential.

~~~
northwest
> I think having some sense of power important to the well-being of humans?

Of course it is. That's not the question, I guess.

The question is: How much difference regarding power (generally expressed in
money/wealth) is healthy to society?

------
JackFr
Can we please stop with "emerging neuroscience" crap.
[http://www.amazon.com/Brainwashed-Seductive-Appeal-
Mindless-...](http://www.amazon.com/Brainwashed-Seductive-Appeal-Mindless-
Neuroscience/dp/0465018777/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_y)

~~~
wtvanhest
I think you got downvoted because your comment didn't add value, but I suspect
there is something behind it, so I'd be interested in learning more without
reading that entire book.

~~~
quantumpotato_
Book Description:

"What can’t neuroscience tell us about ourselves? Since fMRI—functional
magnetic resonance imaging—was introduced in the early 1990s, brain scans have
been used to help politicians understand and manipulate voters, determine
guilt in court cases, and make sense of everything from musical aptitude to
romantic love. But although brain scans and other neurotechnologies have
provided groundbreaking insights into the workings of the human brain, the
increasingly fashionable idea that they are the most important means of
answering the enduring mysteries of psychology is misguided—and potentially
dangerous.

In Brainwashed, psychiatrist and AEI scholar Sally Satel and psychologist
Scott O. Lilienfeld reveal how many of the real-world applications of human
neuroscience gloss over its limitations and intricacies, at times
obscuring—rather than clarifying—the myriad factors that shape our behavior
and identities. Brain scans, Satel and Lilienfeld show, are useful but often
ambiguous representations of a highly complex system. Each region of the brain
participates in a host of experiences and interacts with other regions, so
seeing one area light up on an fMRI in response to a stimulus doesn’t
automatically indicate a particular sensation or capture the higher cognitive
functions that come from those interactions. The narrow focus on the brain’s
physical processes also assumes that our subjective experiences can be
explained away by biology alone. As Satel and Lilienfeld explain, this
“neurocentric” view of the mind risks undermining our most deeply held ideas
about selfhood, free will, and personal responsibility, putting us at risk of
making harmful mistakes, whether in the courtroom, interrogation room, or
addiction treatment clinic.

A provocative account of our obsession with neuroscience, Brainwashed
brilliantly illuminates what contemporary neuroscience and brain imaging can
and cannot tell us about ourselves, providing a much-needed reminder about the
many factors that make us who we are."

------
loceng
"When Power Goes To Your Head, It May Shut Out Your Heart "

This is also called not being grounded - though it doesn't necessarily mean
you don't use logic to dictate your behaviour, though heart is an easier guide
at times.

------
northwest
> "What we're finding is power diminishes all varieties of empathy"

Another reason to stop the decline of the middle class and to begin to reverse
this trend.

~~~
Roboprog
OTOH - when we reach the end game, only 1% will be apathetic, and the other
99% of serfs will be highly empathetic.

Oh, I forgot: The Singularity is going to make all of us fine upstanding
members of "The Culture" or some such thing :-)

------
X4
Thank you! That was a very useful source for my studies.

------
PavlovsCat
Leashes diminish those at either end of them..

 _there 's an emerging field of research that suggests powerful people who
begin to forget their subordinates can be coached back toward their former
kindness_

I know one way that ought to work, and has the added benefit of being just:
stripping them of their power (over others). If there is another way, I'm
curious.

~~~
alexjeffrey
that may not always be practical though - how would you go about stripping the
power of the employer over the employee? without an employer's power to say,
decide whether an employee gets fired or a raise, the relationship would no
longer be there.

~~~
PavlovsCat
Humanity threatening its own survival like it currently does is not practical
either. Even going back into the ocean like the dolphins is more practical
than _that_.

And more importantly, I think there is a difference between justified
authority and power. Not that I'm automatically accepting employer and
employee relationships as desirable, just like with "citizen vs. politician",
but for example it's perfectly okay that parents can yank their kids at the
arm when those are about to run into traffic, and otherwise curtail their
autonomy, as long as it's justified. That's not power, that's authority, and
even authority needs to be constantly re-evaluated and justified.

If you're on an expedition and the most experienced person leads it, one would
expect that when they get sick, they would pass that job on without any fuss
at all, since it's about the well-being of the expedition, not about their
personal power, right? Notice how in many cases instead we have people
asserting ownership, certainly when it comes to employers, and even in
politics. When was the last time you strolled into a place and up to the
manager/president, proved you're smarter in all ways, and successfully
convinced them they should give you their job and work under you? Thought so
:P

~~~
loceng
One way I feel we can give people more power, on the individual level and even
out the playing field in employer-employee relationships, is to have the
government taking care of all basic living needs - where you don't actually
need to work in order to survive. For a business to succeed then, they would
have to be kind and people would want to have to work for them out of other
options - of which I could see that leading to many more co-operatives and the
like.

~~~
dnautics
isn't the problem here that the people who run the government are _in power_
and as the OP suggests, that makes them incredibly unlikely to be
_compassionate_? At a fundamental level, then, the government seems like a bad
candidate to be the agency responsible for "taking care of all basic needs".

~~~
loceng
Also to add, when you only take care of a few of a person's overall needs then
the synergy that can take place on the holistic level gets lost - and so the
amplification effect and benefits on all of society are lost. You can't go
half-ass when it comes to this - people will of course argue what that means
and fully encompasses, though there will have to be a methodical, logical,
pragmatic, etc. way to determine it - and so far for me business has allowed
me to learn the tools and terminology - basically I look for the leading
metrics for a healthy society, healthy people, and allow that to guide me; You
have to have a definition for what health and wellness are, and what it means
too, of course.

------
zzzeek
and that's why gun ownership is bad for society.

~~~
adammil
I think you meant murder is bad for society, because gun ownership never
killed anyone.

~~~
coldtea
No, it only (along with a society of trigger happy idiots and borderline
sociopaths doing the owning) vastly increased the chances murder will happen.

~~~
adammil
It sounds like you are calling us gun owners trigger happy idiots and
borderline sociopaths.

~~~
coldtea
Indeed I am.

~~~
adammil
There's no rational reason for you to say that about a person you don't know.
That's ignorant and textbook prejudice.

