Power and overconfident decision-making

Fast, Nathanael J.; Sivanathan, Niro; Mayer, Nicole D.; Galinsky, Adam D.

doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2011.11.009

Cited by 276 publications

(223 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Smith & Trope (2006) argued that power increases social distance, triggering abstract thinking, which allows individuals to focus on primary information and extract the gist from information (see below). Others have theorized the existence of intermediate mechanisms, suggesting that power elevates self-esteem (De Cremer & Van Dijk 2005, Hofstede et al 2002, Wang 2015, Wojciszke & Struzynska-Kujalowicz 2007 and confidence in one's judgments (Briñol et al 2007, Fast et al 2012, Tost et al 2012). These factors act as proximal mechanisms that are consistent with most conceptual perspectives on social power and contribute to the increased decisiveness and agency of people in positions of authority.…”

Section: Theories Of Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It boosts confidence or conviction about their abilities and opinions, as well as other self-enhancing beliefs, which are middle-level mechanisms that facilitate prompt decision making and exercise of influence. Both field and experimental studies have found increased confidence among the powerful (Briñol et al 2007, Fast et al 2012. Power holders take less advice from others (See et al 2011, Tost et al 2012) and conform less to others' opinions .…”

Section: Power and Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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How Power Affects People: Activating, Wanting, and Goal Seeking

Guinote

2017

Annu. Rev. Psychol.

278

274

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Sociocognitive research has demonstrated that power affects how people feel, think, and act. In this article, I review literature from social psychology, neuroscience, management, and animal research and propose an integrated framework of power as an intensifier of goal-related approach motivation. A growing literature shows that power energizes thought, speech, and action and orients individuals toward salient goals linked to power roles, predispositions, tasks, and opportunities. Power magnifies self-expression linked to active parts of the self (the active self ), enhancing confidence, self-regulation, and prioritization of efforts toward advancing focal goals. The effects of power on cognitive processes, goal preferences, performance, and corruption are discussed, and its potentially detrimental effects on social attention, perspective taking, and objectification of subordinates are examined. Several inconsistencies in the literature are explained by viewing power holders as more flexible and dynamic than is usually assumed.

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Section: Theories Of Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Power and Cognitionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Power Affects People: Activating, Wanting, and Goal Seeking

Guinote

2017

Annu. Rev. Psychol.

278

274

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…They are prone to action, and act without the same considerations others might give to constraints, norms, or limits to their behavior (Anderson & Berdahl, 2002;Galinsky et al, 2003;Keltner et al, 2003). Power enhances one's sense of confidence and competence (Fast, Sivanathan, Mayer, & Galinsky, 2012;Tost, Gino, & Larrick, 2012), which in turn lowers one's hesitation to follow impulses toward action. The powerful tend to simplify decisions, and are less likely to weigh the pros and cons.…”

Section: Power Action and Constructive Confrontationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Witnessing wrongdoing: The effects of observer power on incivility intervention in the workplace

Hershcovis

Neville

Reich

et al. 2017

Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes

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“…An isolated action introduces a bias on the interpretation of information (Choudhury and Sampler, 1997;Graefe et al, 2010), while an organizational process generates a collective knowledge. If the professional has a position of power, this bias can make him overconfident, which obviously reduces his interpretation criteria and accuracy in foresight and decision-making (Fast et al, 2012). Figure 2 shows the main effects of the IOC, based on the literature.…”

Section: Environmental Scanningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual environmental scanning as a barrier to collective processes in organizations

Borges

Janissek-Muniz

2018

REGE

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand how illusion of control (IOC) can affect the implementation of formal processes of environmental scanning in organizations. Design/methodology/approach Based on the proposed research question, an exploratory study was chosen, which could collaborate with future studies. There were conducted three semi-structured interviews with CEOs working in medium/large technology companies. Findings Behavioral traits were identified—such as overconfidence and underestimation of risks—which are directly related to the IOC’s theory. The belief that there is no added value to the company in adopting organizational strategic processes—such as environmental scanning—answers the research question and contributes to the development of new studies. Research limitations/implications This study has as limitation the fact that it proposed the interviews to an inexpressive number of respondents, exclusively with the intention to explore better the relation between the IOC and the formal processes of environmental scanning. Practical implications This research advances the understanding of the difficulty in adopting formal environmental scanning practices in organizations. It can also help understand the motivations of executives for adopting (or not adopting) such practices. Finally, it is possible to know and understand the individual approach to environmental scanning, as well as its limitations. Originality/value This research discusses the themes of IOC and environmental scanning, demonstrating how cognitive factors can affect strategic decision making in an organization. Although the IOC is well-developed in the field of psychology, it can be very helpful in understanding business management and executive behavior.

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Power and overconfident decision-making

Cited by 276 publications

References 44 publications

How Power Affects People: Activating, Wanting, and Goal Seeking

How Power Affects People: Activating, Wanting, and Goal Seeking

Witnessing wrongdoing: The effects of observer power on incivility intervention in the workplace

Individual environmental scanning as a barrier to collective processes in organizations

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