Ana Guinote : “The Dark Side of Dominance: from Dishonesty to the Spread of Misinformation”

Lundi 11/03/2024 à 14h30 en salle 3035

Résumé :
Power has long been associated with corruption and dishonesty for self-serving purposes. However, the role of the person in power has been neglected. I will discuss research showing that trait dominance predicts moral disengagement, rule breaking behavior and dishonesty. In contrast, holding an actual power position was a poor predictor of such behaviors. A series of studies examining social media behavior will show that power motivated individuals were more active on social media and spread disproportionately more misinformation. This was the case for chronic power motives linked to dominance, power values and situational power motives (desire to be influential in social media). It occurred even though power motivated individuals were more aware of having spread misinformation in the past. Actual power did not trigger spread of misinformation. Dominant individuals were over-represented at the top of social hierarchies. Self-selection processes may contribute to the links between power and dark social behavior.