(ORDO NEWS) — Researchers at the University of Antwerp in Belgium have studied how having power over people affects how a person views violations of equality.
It turns out that in people with power, the work of the prefrontal cortex of the brain changes. The brain, as it were, “pushes” the leader to receive benefits.
Power makes a person more self-confident and reserved. But besides the pros, there are serious cons.
Many studies in the field of neuroscience and psychology have shown that the possession of power over others can have a profound effect on a person.
Often the leader’s way of thinking, behavior and perception of himself, other people and social relations changes.
Some results show that having power can make a person more self-confident, more determined in difficult situations, and emotionally reserved.
While some studies have shown the potentially positive impact of power on a leader, others have highlighted possible risks.
In particular, some studies have shown that it is more difficult for a person holding a high position to accept the point of view of others.
Researchers from the University of Antwerp in Belgium have focused on how power influences the violation of equality.
The scientists write the scientists: “Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we have shown that an individual’s preference for gain (getting more than others) or disadvantage (getting less) depends on the presence of social power.”
The scientists’ conclusion is quite predictable: leaders really don’t like being deprived, and calmly accept gifts, even at the expense of others.
Unexpectedly, it turned out that the brain of the leader, as it were, “pushes” a person to receive benefits,
The brain of a leader definitely feels the benefit
The study involved 40 adult volunteers. Each of them was assigned either the role of a leader or the role of an ordinary member of the team. All participants were asked to complete a task inside an fMRI scanner.
fMRI scanners are non-invasive technologies that display brain activity in real time. In their experiments, the researchers asked participants to complete a task that required them to evaluate 36 monetary distributions that differed in degree of inequality.
The scientists write: “Our data show that leadership increases the aversion of disadvantageous inequality for the individual, and vice versa – reduces the aversion of beneficial inequality. As the profit grows, so does the temptation to have more than others.”
The researchers found that when assessing the unequal distribution of money that benefited the leader, his brain reduced activity in the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. But this decline was not observed when leaders assessed inequality scenarios that did not benefit them.
The left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex are areas of the brain that are associated with executive control functions, including planning, inhibition, and working memory.
In their article, the researchers hypothesize that the observed decrease in the activity of these regions reduces the leader’s self-control under those scenarios that bring him significant benefits.
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