How Abuse of Power Is Becoming the Norm

Power changes people—not only those who wield it, but also those who are at its mercy. In a laboratory experiment, behavioral economists from the University of Mannheim, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and Maastricht University have shown for the first time that even victims of abuse of power increasingly evaluate such behavior as socially acceptable over time. The study is published under the title “Normative Acceptance of Power Abuse” in the current issue of the journal Kyklos.

Numerous studies have shown that people with power tend to behave selfishly and break the rules. What has been hardly researched before: How do those who experience the abuse react? In a controlled experiment, the researchers created artificial small groups with a clear distribution of power. One person in each group was allowed to sanction the other group members, but did not have to abide by the rules themselves.

to the press release