The Atlantic, July 2013
ARTICLE:
Joe Magee, a power researcher at the University of New York observed that "Power let's the true self emerge," a quote that is more practical and scientific than just a wise parable. A recent research study explored how thinking and behavior changes when people are given (or feel they have been given) power. A new sense of having options, choices, emerges. In one study, those given power were more likely to get up and turn off an annoying fan. A sense of entitlement is not far behind that feeling of endless choices, either. And even their perspective of others follow suit—those given power were more likely to see others around them as shorter than they actually are. When asked to trace the letter "e" on their forehead for the person across from them, they tend to draw the letter facing themselves, making the other person bend to see things their way. And, perhaps something we've observed anecdotally, there's a greater propensity towards hypocrisy and often, infidelity.
