Stanford Breakfast Briefings

The Psychology of Power

Anyone who has ever had a boss will appreciate the observation that powerful people can be kind of quirky. What causes these behaviors, and to what extent do they characterize the average person with power, as opposed to the vivid examples we encounter in the news?

Professor Gruenfeld will present the findings of seven years of research on this topic, which shows that the psychology of power effects most people in at least some situations and that we are all therefore capable of exhibiting both the positive and the negative consequences of power.