The Role Of Evaluation In The Relationship Of Low Power And Behavioral Inhibition

Power is often defined as the relative ability of an individual or a group to influence others or control others‘ outcomes via possessing valuable resources or administrating rewards or punishments(see Wei & Yu,2009;Guinote,2017,for reviews).Approach and inhibition are two typical types of motivation and behavioral tendencies,which reflect how individuals respond to the environment(Gray & McNaughton,2000).From the theory of approach and inhibition of power(Keltner,Gruenfeld,& Anderson,2003),high power triggers behavioral approach system(BAS)and low power triggers behavioral inhibition system(BIS).Specifically,high power activates positive affect,automatic cognition,and approach-oriented behavior,and low power activates negative affect,controlled cognition,and avoidant behavior.Since the theory proposed,it has received support from a board array of research.Recently,however,research has found that the relationship between high power and behavioral approach is not stable,and is affected by individual and situational factors such as anxiety and power instability.Similarly,the relationship between low power and behavioral inhibition does not always exist.In daily life,powerless people are not always inhibition-oriented and avoidant,and they can be optimistic and approach-oriented.When does low power lead to inhibition,and when does it not lead to avoidance? These issues need to be explored.Regarding that powerless individuals are often subject to appraisals about their abilities and performance,the current research examined the role of evaluation in the link between low power and behavioral inhibition.This research included four parts.The first part of the research via two studies investigated the correlation between low power,evaluation,and behavioral inhibition.Study 1 using questionnaires examined the correlation between low power,being evaluated,behavioral inhibition.Affect was the indicator of behavioral tendencies.Study 2 via coding of descriptions of powerless events examined the correlation between low power,valence of evaluation(how positive or negative the evaluation is)and behavioral inhibition.Affect and behavior response were the indicators of behavioral tendencies.The second part of the research via two studies investigated the effects of positive and negative evaluation on the link between low power and avoidance of power holders.Study 3 was an online study,and examined the effects of positive and negative evaluation on the link between low power and avoidance tendency of power holders.Avoidance tendency was measured via self-report.Study 4 used eye-tracking methodology to examine the effects of positive and negative evaluation on the link between low power and avoidant behavior towards power holders.It measured avoidant eye contact with a target person(power holder vs.control).The third part of the research via two studies investigated the effects of positive and negative evaluation on the link between low power and a general tendency of inhibition.It measured several correlates of BAS/BIS activation: emotion,action initiation,the propensity to negotiate,and perception of risk.Specifically,Study 5 examined the effects of positive and negative evaluation on the links between low power,negative affect,and reduced tendency of action initiation and negotiation.Study 6 examined the effects of positive and negative evaluation on the link between low power and high levels of sensitivity to risk.Furthermore,the fourth part of the research via two studies simultaneously investigated the effects of evaluation on the link between low power and generalized inhibition tendency,as well as the effects of evaluation on the link between low power and avoidance of power holders.Study 7 measured frontal hemisphere asymmetry,typically associated with a general activation of BAS/BIS,and social distance towards a target person(power holder vs.control).Study 8 examined the joint effects of evaluation and low power on general inhibition and avoidance of power holders in natural power relations(managers and employees).Results of the research showed that,(1)low power,evaluation,behavioral inhibition are correlated with each other.Specifically,people are usually evaluated within the context of low power(Study 1).Valence of evaluation is correlated with behavioral tendency,indicating that the more negative evaluation powerless people receive,the more inhibition-oriented they are(Study 2).(2)Positive and negative evaluation impacts the link between low power and avoidance of power holders: When powerless participants were subject to negative evaluations,they self-reported more avoidant tendencies towards power holders(Study 3),and showed more avoidant eye contact with authority figures(Study 4).Whereas,powerless participants were not avoidant towards powerful people when they received positive evaluations.(3)Positive and negative evaluation also influences the link between low power and the general tendency of inhibition: Powerless participants had increased negative affect,decreased tendencies of action initiation and negotiation,and heightened perception of risk only when they were negatively evaluated.(4)What‘s more,when examining the avoidance of power holders and the general inhibition tendency together,we found that positive and negative evaluation not only modulated the effects of low power on social distance towards power holders,but also modulated the effects of low power on the activation of BIS.Moreover,the interactive effects of low power and evaluation on social distance towards power holders were mediated by the activation of BIS(Study 7).This mediated moderation effect also existed in natural power relations(managers and employees,Study 8).(5)Besides,in current research,the effects of positive and negative evaluation on behavioral tendency were context-specific.Evaluation affected powerless individuals‘ behavioral orientation,presumably because of its potential consequences(e.g.,exposure to rewards or punishments),whereas evaluation that was received outside power relations did not affect the participants in the power control groups,since the evaluation was inconsequential.Taken together,positive and negative evaluation plays a key role in the relationship between low power and behavioral inhibition.The present research contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of power.It contributes to the growing evidence suggesting that the impacts of power on approach/inhibition are context-specific.Moreover,the current research also has practical implication.It clarifies when low power elicits inhibition,and when low power does not lead to avoidance.Based on this,the research can thus provide some suggestions for how to alter or improve powerless people‘s inhibition tendencies under certain circumstances(e.g.,how to let employees to communicate with managers more effectively and efficiently).