Taming the lion: How perceived worth buffers the detrimental influence of power on aggression and conflict

Contrary to conventional wisdom, there is little empirical evidence that elevated power, by default, fuels conflict and aggression. Instead, previous studies have shown that extraneous factors that decrease powerholders’ perceived worth, making powerholders feel inferior or disrespected, seem to be necessary to ‘unleash’ power’s dark side and trigger aggression and conflict. However, this past work has largely neglected that power boosts individuals’ perceptions of worth, and as such these variables are not independent. The present research sought to address this oversight, thereby providing a more nuanced account of how perceived worth stifles aggression and conflict tendencies in powerholders. Focusing on self-esteem (Study 1) and status (Study 2) as two interrelated facets of perceived worth, we report primary and secondary data indicating that perceived worth acts as buffer and counters aggression as well as more general conflict tendencies in powerholders. By providing evidence for a suppression effect, the present findings go beyond the moderations identified in prior work and demonstrate that perceptions of worth are critical to understanding the link between power on the one hand, and aggression and conflict on the other. We conclude by discussing the social regulatory function of perceived worth in hierarchical relations

Social class and wellbeing among staff and students in higher education settings: Mapping the problem and exploring underlying mechanisms

Within Higher Education (HE), staff and students from lower social class backgrounds often experience poorer wellbeing than their higher social class counterparts. Previous research conducted outside educational contexts has linked social class differences in wellbeing with differences in the extent to which low and high social class individuals feel respected (i.e., status), in control (i.e., autonomy), and connected with others (i.e., inclusion). However, to our knowledge, there has been no research that has investigated those psychosocial needs within HE settings. Furthermore, inclusion, status and autonomy are correlated, yet little is known about how these psychosocial needs contribute to wellbeing simultaneously, and independently, of one another. To fill these gaps, we report the results of two studies; firstly with HE students (Study 1; N = 305), and secondly with HE staff (Study 2; N = 261). Consistently across studies, reports of poor wellbeing were relatively common and more than twice as prevalent amongst lower social class staff and students compared to higher social class staff and students. Inclusion, status and autonomy each made a unique contribution and accounted for the relationship between social class and wellbeing (fully amongst students, and partially amongst staff members). These relationships held across various operationalisations of social class and when examining a range of facets of wellbeing. Social class along with inclusion, status and autonomy explained a substantial 40% of the variance in wellbeing. The present research contributes to the literature exploring how social class intersects with psychosocial needs to impact the wellbeing of staff and students within HE

Do alcohol product labels stating lower strength verbal description, percentage alcohol‐by‐volume, or their combination affect wine consumption? A bar laboratory adaptive randomised controlled trial

A previous research study concluded that wine and beer labelled as lower in strength increase consumption compared with the same drinks labelled as regular strength. The label included both a verbal and numerical descriptor of strength. The present study aimed to estimate the effect of each of these label components. Adaptive, parallel group randomised controlled trial, comprising an internal pilot sample (N = 90) and a confirmatory sample (N = 57). University bar laboratory in London UK. One-hundred and forty-seven weekly wine drinkers were sampled from a nationally representative English panel. Participants were randomised to one of three groups to taste test wine in a bar-laboratory, varying only in the label displayed: (i) verbal descriptor only (Super Low); (ii) numerical descriptor only (4%ABV); and (iii) verbal descriptor and numerical descriptor combined (Super Low 4%ABV) [each group n = 49]. The primary outcome was total volume (ml) of wine consumed. Participants randomised to the numerical descriptor label group (4%ABV: M = 155.12ml, B = 20.30, 95% CI = 3.92, 36.69, p-value = 0.016) and combined verbal and numerical descriptor label group (Super Low 4%ABV: M = 154.59ml, B = 20.68, 95%CI = 4.32, 37.04, p-value = 0.014) drank significantly greater amounts than those randomised to the verbal descriptor label group (Super Low: M = 125.65ml). This bar laboratory study estimated that a greater quantity of 'lower' strength wine was consumed when the label included a numerical strength descriptor compared with a verbal only strength descriptor. [Abstract copyright: This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Power and Revenge

We took an individual differences approach to explain revenge tendencies in powerholders. Across four experimental studies, chronically powerless individuals sought more revenge than chronically powerful individuals following a high power episode (Studies 1 and 2), when striking a powerful pose (Study 3), and when making a powerful hand gesture (Study 4). This relationship vanished when participants were not exposed to incidental power. A meta-analysis revealed that, relative to a lack of power or a neutral context, exposure to incidental power increased vengeance amongst the chronically powerless and reduced vengeance amongst the chronically powerful. These findings add to previous research on relations between power and aggression, and underscore the role of individual differences as a determinant of powerholders' destructive responses

Walking blindfolded unveils unique contributions of behavioural approach and inhibition to lateral spatial bias

Healthy individuals display a tendency to allocate attention unequally across space, and this bias has implications for how individuals interact with their environments. However, the origins of this phenomenon remain relatively poorly understood. The present research examined the joint and independent contributions of two fundamental motivational systems – behavioural approach and inhibition systems (BAS and BIS) – to lateral spatial bias in a locomotion task. Participants completed self-report measures of trait BAS and BIS, then repeatedly traversed a room, blindfolded, aiming for a straight line. We obtained locomotion data from motion tracking to capture variations in the walking trajectories. Overall, walking trajectories deviated to the left, and this tendency was more pronounced with increasing BIS scores. Meanwhile, BAS was associated with relative rightward tendencies when BIS was low, but not when BIS was high. These results demonstrate for the first time an association between BIS and lateral spatial bias independently of variations in BAS. The findings also contribute to clarify the circumstances in which BAS is associated with a rightward bias. We discuss the implications of these findings for the neurobiological underpinnings of BIS and for the literature on spatial bias

Do alcohol product labels stating lower strength verbal description, percentage alcohol‐by‐volume, or their combination affect wine consumption? A bar laboratory adaptive randomised controlled trial

Background and Aims A previous research study concluded that wine and beer labelled as lower in strength increase consumption compared with the same drinks labelled as regular strength. The label included both a verbal and numerical descriptor of strength. The present study aimed to estimate the effect of each of these label components. Design Adaptive, parallel group randomised controlled trial, comprising an internal pilot sample (n1 = 90) and a confirmatory sample (n2 = 57). Setting University bar laboratory in London, United Kingdom (UK). Participants A total of 147 weekly wine drinkers were sampled from a nationally representative English panel. Intervention Participants were randomised to one of three groups to taste test wine in a bar‐laboratory, varying only in the label displayed: (i) verbal descriptor only (Super Low); (ii) numerical descriptor only (4% alcohol by volume (ABV)); and (iii) verbal descriptor and numerical descriptor combined (Super Low 4%ABV) (each group n = 49). Measurements The primary outcome was total volume (ml) of wine consumed. Findings Participants randomised to the numerical descriptor label group (4%ABV: M = 155.12 ml, B = 20.30; 95% CI = 3.92, 36.69; P value = 0.016) and combined verbal and numerical descriptor label group (Super Low 4%ABV: M = 154.59 ml, B = 20.68; 95% CI = 4.32, 37.04; P value = 0.014) drank significantly greater amounts than those randomised to the verbal descriptor label group (Super Low: M = 125.65 ml). Conclusions This bar laboratory study estimated that a greater quantity of ‘lower’ strength wine was consumed when the label included a numerical strength descriptor compared with a verbal only strength descriptor

Unique structural properties associated with mouse prion Δ105-125 protein

Murine prion protein deleted for residues 105-125 is intrinsically neurotoxic and mediates a TSE-like phenotype in transgenic mice. Equivalent and overlapping deletions were expressed in E.coli, purified and analyzed. Among mutants spanning the region 95-135, a construct lacking solely residues 105-125 had distinct properties when compared with the full-length prion protein 23-231 or other deletions. This distinction was also apparent followed expression in eukaryotic cells. Unlike the full-length protein, all deletion mutants failed to bind to synthetic membranes in vitro. These data suggest a novel structure for the 105-125 deleted variant that may relate to its biological propertie

Communicating evidence about the environment's role in obesity and support for government policies to tackle obesity: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Public support for many policies that tackle obesity by changing environments is low. This may reflect commonly held causal beliefs about obesity, namely that it is due to failures of self-control rather than environmental influences. Several studies have sought to increase public support by changing these and similar causal beliefs, with mixed results. The current review is the first systematic synthesis of these studies. Searches of PsycInfo, Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, and Open Grey yielded 20 eligible studies (N = 8977) from 11,776 abstracts. Eligible studies were controlled experiments with an intervention group that communicated information about the environment's role in obesity, and a measure of support for environment-based obesity policies. The protocol was prospectively registered on PROSPERO. Meta-analyses showed no evidence that communicating information about the environment's influence on obesity changed policy support or the belief that the environment influences obesity. A likely explanation for this null effect is the ineffectiveness of interventions that were designed to change the belief that the environment influences obesity. The possibility remains, however, that the association observed between beliefs about the causes of obesity and attitudes towards obesity policies is correlational and not causal