Research On How Power And Status Interact To Affect Individuals' Prosocial Tendency

Power and status are commonly viewed as the main attributes of social stratification.Previous research on social stratification mainly focused on the effects of power or status separately on individuals' social behavior,neglecting the effect of their interaction.Based on the related research findings on power and status,this study attempted to examine the interaction effect of power and status on prosocial tendency and possible underlying mechanisms.Four studies were included in this reseasch.Study 1 was a field study that investigated the interactive influence of power and status on prosocial tendency.It was found that high-status individuals showed high level of prosocial tendency.More than that,power and status influence individuals'prosocial tendency interactively,in that compared to individual with higher status,individuals with lower status tended to be less prosocial with increased power.In Study 2,individuals' prosocial tendency was measured in 10 resource allocation scenarios.Results showed that compared to high-power/high-status participants,low-power/high-status participants and low-power/low-status participants,high-power/low-status participants were more reluctant to allocate positive value resources to others but tended to allocate more negative value resources to others.Study 3 manipulated individuals' sense of power and sense of status perception in a mock-interview and investigated the interactive influence of power and status on pro-self social value orientation.Results indicated that high-power/low-status participants tended to show higher level pro-self social value orientation(SVO)compared to high-power/high-status participants,low-power/high-status participants and low-power/low-status participants.Study 4 was designed to examine whether status aspiration played a mediating role in the relationship between the interaction of power and status and prosocial tendency.Results indicated that there was a mediated moderation effect.Specifically,the effect of the interaction of power and status on prosocial tendency was partially mediated by status aspiration,such that individuals with lower status tended to be less prosocial with increased power because of decreased status aspiration.In summary,this research revealed that the interaction of power and status influenced individuals'prosocial tendency,in that low-status/high-power individuals showed lower level of prosocial tendency.More than that,status aspiration played the mediating role in the relationship between the interaction of power and status and prosocial tendency.Significance,limitations and future directions of the current study were also discussed.