The relationship between personality, power, and behavior has been explored extensively in social psychology. The main question in these studies is whether personality traits influence behavior and power. In their comparative review of studies on the ability of personality traits to predict important life outcomes, Roberts, Kuncel, Shiner, Caspi & Goldberg (2015), explored the predictive validity of personality traits to three important life outcomes. The outcomes of interest in the review were divorce, mortality and occupational attainment. Traditionally, the role of personality traits in predicting life outcomes has been questioned due to the acknowledged small effects of personality (Mayer, 2014). The researchers focused on evidence from longitudinal studies and those that controlled for background factors. Since important life outcomes cannot be measured at a single point in life, focusing only on longitudinal studies enhanced the validity of the findings. Controlling for background factor also enhances the validity of the findings because additional factors can influence important life outcomes. The findings from the review showed that the effects of personality on life outcomes were indistinguishable from those of cognitive ability and socioeconomic outcomes.
In a study to explore the role of power and control in the male antisocial personality, Nauth (1995) used interviews and cognitive analysis to identify particular irrational processes and beliefs that trigger the behavioral patterns associated with antisocial personality. According to the researchers, the antisocial personality behaves aggressively without obvious emotional distress, anger, or provocation. The research study was based on the hypothesis that the male antisocial personality is compelled by the belief that he can and must obtain the power to control others. When other people conform to the intimidation and aggressive tactics of the antisocial personality, the beliefs take root. The finding of the study showed that confronting the irrational beliefs and processes that underlie the antisocial personality is effective in managing the male antisocial behaviors. The use of interviews suits the research study because the research subjects can reveal their beliefs and thoughts about the antisocial personality. The use of cognitive analysis is appropriate to the study because it is a framework that model complex sociotechnical systems such as the antisocial personality.
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The question of whether the rich are more unethical than the poor has been explored extensively in social psychology. In their research study, Dubois & Rucker (2015) introduced the conceptual distinction between unethical behavior and selfishness to uncover when and why the rich and poor behave unethically. Based on the conceptual distinction, the researchers uncovered that the impacts of the social class of ethical conduct are invariant and the impacts of social class are watered-down by whether the behavior benefits the individual or others. The research findings replicated past research findings showing the positive relationship between social class and unethical behavior. However, the study by Dubois and Rucker (2015) revealed that the relationship was observed when the behavior is beneficial. Evidence of unethical behavior included income but not the level of education, the position of power, and manipulations of power. The use of the agentic-communal model of power to synthesize the findings suited the study because recent studies on power propose that power may influence individuals’ propensities to engage in unethical behavior.
The use of the internet to conduct research studies in social psychology presents both opportunities and challenges. One benefit of internet-based research is cost-effectiveness. This allows researchers to widen the scope and scale of their research studies (Fielding, Lee, & Blank, 2017). Another benefit is the ability to observe distinctive and rare phenomena unique to the internet. However, internet-based research is associated with disadvantages such as the inability to protect human subjects and issues such as data quality. It is difficult to protect the subject’s privacy and confidentiality on the internet.
References
Dubois, D., Rucker, d., & Galinsky, A. (2015). Social class, power, and selfishness: when and why upper and lower class individuals behave unethically. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . Advance Online Publication.
Fielding, N., Lee, R. M., & Blank, G. (2017). The SAGE handbook of online research methods . London: SAGE Publications Ltd.
Mayer, J. D. (2014). Personal intelligence: The power of personality and how it shapes our lives . New York: Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Nauth, L. (1995). Power and control in the male anti-social personality. Journal of Rational- Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 3 (4).
Roberts, Kuncel, Shiner, Caspi & Goldberg (2015).the power of personality: the comparative validity of personality traits, socioeconomic status, and cognitive ability for predicting important life outcomes. Perspect Psychology Sci ; 2(4).
