Power and loss aversion

Four experiments tested the prediction that power reduces loss aversion by increasing the anticipated value of gains and shrinking the negative anticipated value of losses. Experiment 1 provided initial support for the prediction that those in power are less loss averse by replicating a classic paradigm of loss aversion in riskless choice and demonstrating moderation by power. Experiments 2 and 3 expanded on this finding by breaking apart the components of loss aversion to determine how power may reduce it: via gains, losses, or both. Across two scenarios and two different measures of anticipated value, power reduced the anticipated threat associated with a loss. However, the prediction that power increases the anticipated value of gains was not supported. Finally, Experiment 4 replicated the results of Experiments 2 and 3 in the context of a choice with real consequences for the participants. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) in Transitional Post-War Croatia: Psychometric and Cultural Considerations

The Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) is a recently developed measure for assessing grandiose and vulnerable themes of narcissistic pathology. The aim of this study was to validate the PNI in the transitional post-war Croatian society by examining its psychometric properties and factor structure in a sample of Croatian university students (N?=?651). The participants filled out several self-report measures of narcissism, as well as measures of trait emotional stability and negative emotional states. Findings of this study supported the existence of seven first-order and two second-order factors of the PNI, invariant across genders. Additionally, all the subscales had good reliability coefficients, while the associations with other measures supported the concurrent validity of the instrument. These findings support the use of the PNI in a transitional post-war society and emphasize certain aspects of cross-cultural stability of pathological narcissism, although some cross-cultural variants should be considered when applying this measure in different cultural settings.     

Development and Validation of an Explicit Aggressive Beliefs and Attitudes Scale

This work outlines the development and validation of a new self-report measure that assesses explicit aggressive beliefs and attitudes within the normal adult population (using 7 samples, total N = 3,533). These explicit aggressive beliefs and attitudes are expected to reflect aggressive biases including hostile attribution, potency, retribution, victimization by powerful others, derogation of target, and social discounting. The resulting scale is reliable with a hierarchical 6-factor structure, and displays convergent and discriminant validity. Criterion-related validity studies indicate incremental effects over socially desirable response bias, related implicit and explicit aggression measures, and is predictive of self-reported and other-reported aggression-related behaviors.     

Power and choice: their dynamic interplay in quenching the thirst for personal control

Power and choice represent two fundamental forces that govern human behavior. Scholars have largely treated power as an interpersonal construct involving control over other individuals, whereas choice has largely been treated as an intrapersonal construct that concerns the ability to select a preferred course of action. Although these constructs have historically been studied separately, we propose that they share a common foundation--that both are rooted in an individual's sense of personal control. Because of this common underlying basis, we hypothesized that power and choice are substitutable; that is, we predicted that the absence of one would increase the desire for the other, which, when acquired, would serve to satisfy the broader need for control. We also predicted that choice and power would exhibit a threshold effect, such that once one source of control had been provided (e.g., power), the addition of the other (e.g., choice) would yield diminishing returns. Six experiments provide evidence supporting these predictions.