Read Online Friend and Foe: When to Cooperate, When to Compete, and How to Succeed at Both by Adam Galinsky, Maurice Schweitzer - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Adam Galinsky, Maurice Schweitzer
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finger of your dominant hand and draw a capital “E” on your forehead. Do this as quickly as possible, without stopping to think.
What does your E look like? Does it look like a normal E, or is it backward? It turns out that to draw an E on your forehead correctly requires that you think about what the E looks like from the
vantage point of others
(see left photo). In contrast, a self-focused E looks like an E from
your
vantage point, but is backward for others (see right photo).
Here is why you should care about the direction of your E. Power, as it turns out, dramatically increases the tendency for people to draw the E backward, from a selfish perspective. In a study we conducted with Joe Magee of New York University, almost three times as many people drew the backward E when they had been primed with power compared to those primed with low power. (We even replicated these findings in our first meeting with our publisher, when we asked everyone in the room to draw an E on their forehead. Just as in our experiment, the senior editors drew backward E’s. The junior editors drew them correctly.) Again and again, we see that power makes people more focused on their own unique vantage point and oblivious to the perspectives of others.
So why do the powerful seem to forget that other people are in the room, like the man who redirected the annoying fan into Deb’s face? Our neuroscience research offers clues; in a project led by Keely Muscatell of UCLA, we found that individuals who feel a sense of power are less likely to activate the prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortex, which represent the neural circuitry that pays attention to others. Other research shows that the powerful display less neurological mirroring of other people, and thus less awareness of others around them.
Interestingly, even in nature, the more powerful species have a narrower field of vision. The distinction between predator and prey offers an illuminating example of this. The key feature that distinguishes predator species from prey species isn’t the presence of fangs or claws or any other feature related to biological weaponry. The key feature is
the position of their eyes
. Predators evolved with eyes facing forward—which allows for binocular vision that offers exquisite depth perception when pursuing prey. Prey, on the other hand, often have eyes facing outward, maximizing peripheral vision, which allows the hunted to detect danger that may be approaching from any angle. Consistent with our place at the top of the food chain, humans have eyes that face forward. We have the ability to gauge depth and pursue our goals, but we can also miss important action on our periphery.
This focus on the self also explains why stinginess has been linked to power. Consider two famous Christmas tales. In Charles Dickens’s
A Christmas Carol
, the character Scrooge is introduced as a man of extraordinary wealth who hoards his money for himself and scoffs at the thought of spending it on others. In stark contrast, O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” tells the tale of an impoverished couple, Jim and Della, in which Jim sells his prized pocket watch to purchase combs for Della’s beautiful hair only to learn that she has cut and sold her hair to buy a gold chain for his watch. The characters of these stories vary on two dimensions. The first is their willingness to spend on themselves versus others. Scrooge hoards his money only for himself, whereas Jim and Della sacrifice their own prized possessions to buy gifts for each other. Second, they differ in terms of their power and wealth. Scrooge is a man of unlimited means whereas O. Henry’s characters have very little.
In research we conducted with Derek Rucker of Northwestern University, we found that these stories echo a scientific truth. In one study, we manipulated power by having people take on the role of a Boss or an Employee. Afterward, all participants were given an opportunity to buy
What does your E look like? Does it look like a normal E, or is it backward? It turns out that to draw an E on your forehead correctly requires that you think about what the E looks like from the
vantage point of others
(see left photo). In contrast, a self-focused E looks like an E from
your
vantage point, but is backward for others (see right photo).
Here is why you should care about the direction of your E. Power, as it turns out, dramatically increases the tendency for people to draw the E backward, from a selfish perspective. In a study we conducted with Joe Magee of New York University, almost three times as many people drew the backward E when they had been primed with power compared to those primed with low power. (We even replicated these findings in our first meeting with our publisher, when we asked everyone in the room to draw an E on their forehead. Just as in our experiment, the senior editors drew backward E’s. The junior editors drew them correctly.) Again and again, we see that power makes people more focused on their own unique vantage point and oblivious to the perspectives of others.
So why do the powerful seem to forget that other people are in the room, like the man who redirected the annoying fan into Deb’s face? Our neuroscience research offers clues; in a project led by Keely Muscatell of UCLA, we found that individuals who feel a sense of power are less likely to activate the prefrontal cortex and cingulate cortex, which represent the neural circuitry that pays attention to others. Other research shows that the powerful display less neurological mirroring of other people, and thus less awareness of others around them.
Interestingly, even in nature, the more powerful species have a narrower field of vision. The distinction between predator and prey offers an illuminating example of this. The key feature that distinguishes predator species from prey species isn’t the presence of fangs or claws or any other feature related to biological weaponry. The key feature is
the position of their eyes
. Predators evolved with eyes facing forward—which allows for binocular vision that offers exquisite depth perception when pursuing prey. Prey, on the other hand, often have eyes facing outward, maximizing peripheral vision, which allows the hunted to detect danger that may be approaching from any angle. Consistent with our place at the top of the food chain, humans have eyes that face forward. We have the ability to gauge depth and pursue our goals, but we can also miss important action on our periphery.
This focus on the self also explains why stinginess has been linked to power. Consider two famous Christmas tales. In Charles Dickens’s
A Christmas Carol
, the character Scrooge is introduced as a man of extraordinary wealth who hoards his money for himself and scoffs at the thought of spending it on others. In stark contrast, O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” tells the tale of an impoverished couple, Jim and Della, in which Jim sells his prized pocket watch to purchase combs for Della’s beautiful hair only to learn that she has cut and sold her hair to buy a gold chain for his watch. The characters of these stories vary on two dimensions. The first is their willingness to spend on themselves versus others. Scrooge hoards his money only for himself, whereas Jim and Della sacrifice their own prized possessions to buy gifts for each other. Second, they differ in terms of their power and wealth. Scrooge is a man of unlimited means whereas O. Henry’s characters have very little.
In research we conducted with Derek Rucker of Northwestern University, we found that these stories echo a scientific truth. In one study, we manipulated power by having people take on the role of a Boss or an Employee. Afterward, all participants were given an opportunity to buy
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