Cheating at the Top: Trait Dominance Explains Dishonesty More Consistently Than Social Power. (December 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kim, Kyoo-Hwa; Guinote, Ana
• Is Part Of: Personality & social psychology bulletin. Volume 48:Number 12(2022)
• Page Start: 1651
• Page End: 1666
• Publication Date: 2022-12
• Subjects: dominance -- social power -- dishonesty -- power motivation -- Covid-19; Personality -- Periodicals; Social psychology -- Periodicals; 302
• DOI: 10.1177/01461672211051481
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0146-1672

Abstract

Power has long been associated with dishonesty. Here, we examined the contributions of personal and structural factors associated with power. Across five studies ( N = 1, 366), we tested the hypothesis that being dominant, more than having power and felt prestige, predicts dishonesty in incentivized tasks, moral disengagement, and breaking of Covid-19 containment rules. Dominance and dishonesty were positively associated (Study 1). Furthermore, dominance contributed to the positive relationship between occupational power and dishonesty in natural settings (Studies 2 and 5). Different types of power had inconsistent effects on dishonesty (Studies 3 and 4). Prestige was unrelated to dishonesty. Dominant individuals were overrepresented at the top, suggesting that the association between power and dishonesty may derive from self-selection processes, rather than power itself.