Dimensions of need for power: Personalized vs. socialized power in female and male managers

Sex differences in two dimensions of need for Power—Socialized Power (s Pwr) and Personalized Power (p Pwr)—were examined for a sample of 124 managerial women and men. Correlations with job satisfaction were analyzed as well as the ability of two versions of the thematic apperception test (TAT) to measure both s Pwr and p Pwr. Results show that female managers are higher than male managers in the “desirable” s Pwr need and the same in the “less desirable” p Pwr. Socialized Power correlates significantly with job satisfaction for the males, but not for the females. Personalized Power shows no significant correlation for either gender. Both versions of the TAT are interchangeable and scores are comparable for s Pwr and p Pwr.