:: Volume 6, Issue 4 (Military Caring Sciences 2019) ::
MCS 2019, 6(4): 305-313 Back to browse issues page
The Effect of Power and the Moderating Role of Aggression on Empathic Behavior in Military Sample
Mohammad Mohsen Khoddami * 1, Jahandari Peyman2
1- MSc in Psychology of Counseling, Research Institute for Military Medicine, Aja University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
2- MSc in General Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract:   (2361 Views)

Introduction: Power and empathic behavior of perspective-taking in recent researches in the field of psychology, especially social and military psychology, has taken on a different meaning to the extent that these two can improve interpersonal military relationships. In most studies, the role of empathy in military relations is very important in reducing stress and aggression.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of power on empathic behavior, the role of moderating aggression and the relationship between empathy and aggression in a military sample.

Materials and Method: This study was carried out in two stages. Initially, 48 soldiers completed the questionnaire of dispositional empathy by Davis and Dewerks' and the questionnaire of interpersonal aggression by bass and Perry. In the second stage, these soldiers were randomly assigned to three groups: high power, low power, and neutral power. In the first stage, the correlation method was used and in the second stage of the experiment, logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the effect of power on empathic behavior of perspective-taking and control variables of dispositional empathy, interpersonal aggression, and demographic variables. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS version 18.

Results: The findings of the first stage of this study indicated a significant association between dispositional empathy and interpersonal aggression (P= 0.44 and α <0.05); in the second stage the effect of power on empathic behavior of perspective-taking (P=0.033 and α <0.05) And the moderating role in relation between power and empathic behavior of perspective-taking were also significant (P= 0.018 and α<0.05).

Discussion and Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the probability that individuals with higher scores of anger show empathy behaviors (English E in reverse direction) are 45.58 times higher than those who have lower scores in the subscales of anger. The low power person behaves in an empathic way 0.066 times more likely than those with high power.


 
Keywords: Dispositional Empathy, Empathic Behavior of Perspective-taking, Interpersonal Aggression, Power Priming.
Full-Text [PDF 537 kb]   (765 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2019/07/21 | Accepted: 2019/09/15 | Published: 2020/03/9
References
1. Laurence JH. Military Leadership and the Complexity of Combat and Culture. Military Psychology. 2011;23(5):489-501. [DOI]
2. Anderson C, John OP, Keltner D. The personal sense of power. J Pers. 2012;80(2):313-44. [DOI] [PubMed]
3. Keltner D. The power paradox: How we gain and lose influence: Penguin; 2016.
4. Fiske ST, Berdahl J. Social power. Social psychology: Handbook of basic principles. 2007;2:678-92.
5. Galinsky AD, Magee JC, Inesi ME, Gruenfeld DH. Power and perspectives not taken. Psychol Sci. 2006;17(12):1068-74. [DOI] [PubMed]
6. Molden DC. Understanding Priming Effects in Social Psychology: What is “Social Priming” and How does it Occur? Social Cognition. 2014;32(Supplement):1-11. [DOI]
7. Guinote A. How Power Affects People: Activating, Wanting, and Goal Seeking. Annu Rev Psychol. 2017;68:353-81. [DOI] [PubMed]
8. Van Kleef GA, Oveis C, van der Lowe I, LuoKogan A, Goetz J, Keltner D. Power, distress, and compassion: turning a blind eye to the suffering of others. Psychol Sci. 2008;19(12):1315-22. [DOI] [PubMed]
9. Karremans JC, Smith PK. Having the power to forgive: when the experience of power increases interpersonal forgiveness. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2010;36(8):1010-23. [DOI] [PubMed]
10. Galinsky AD, Ku G, Wang CS. Perspective-Taking and Self-Other Overlap: Fostering Social Bonds and Facilitating Social Coordination. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations. 2005;8(2):109-24. DOI: 10.1177/1368430205051060 [DOI]
11. Van Kleef GA, De Dreu CKW, Pietroni D, Manstead ASR. Power and emotion in negotiation: power moderates the interpersonal effects of anger and happiness on concession making. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2006;36(4):557-81. [DOI]
12. Buss AH, Perry M. The aggression questionnaire. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1992;63(3):452-9. [DOI] [PubMed]
13. Davis MH. A multidimensional approach to individual differences in empathy. 1980.
14. Rucker DD, Hu M, Galinsky AD. The Experience versus the Expectations of Power: A Recipe for Altering the Effects of Power on Behavior. Journal of Consumer Research. 2014;41(2):381-96. [DOI]
15. Van Kleef GA, Oveis C, Homan AC, van der Löwe I, Keltner D. Power Gets You High. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2015;6(4):472-80. [DOI]
16. Van Kleef GA. The interpersonal dynamics of emotion: Cambridge University Press; 2016.
17. Lammers J, Dubois D, Rucker DD, Galinsky AD. Ease of Retrieval Moderates the Effects of Power: Implications for the Replicability of Power Recall Effects. Social Cognition. 2017;35(1):1-17. [DOI]
18. Galinsky AD, Gruenfeld DH, Magee JC. From power to action. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2003;85(3):453-66. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.85.3.453 [PubMed]
19. Hass RG. Perspective taking and self-awareness: Drawing an E on your forehead. J Personality and Social Psychology. 1984;46(4):788-98. [DOI]
20. Organization WH. Skills for health: skills-based health education including life skills: an important component of a child-friendly/health-promoting school. 2003.
21. Roopa C, Joseph C. A preliminary study on empathy and personality in military medical officers. Indian J Aerospace Medicine. 2007;51(2):28-39.
22. Corey G. Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy: Nelson Education; 2015.

XML   Persian Abstract   Print

Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Volume 6, Issue 4 (Military Caring Sciences 2019) Back to browse issues page