"Power robs the brain of empathy"

[applegrove]

Power robs the brain of empathy

by Kathleen Blanchard at Digital Journal

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/356229

"SNIP...............................


The researchers suspected being in a position of 'low-power' would increase resonance in the brain and 'high-power' would decrease it.

All of the study participants watched a video of someone squeezing a rubber ball while their brain resonance amplitude was measured.

The experiment turned out as expected. Ohbi said "when people were feeling powerful, the signal wasn't very high at all."

According to an NPR report of the study, Dacher Keltner, a social psychologist at University of California, Berkeley, not involved in the new study said "What we're finding is power diminishes all varieties of empathy."



.............................SNIP"

[Fumesucker]

1. Not to mention what the struggle to get and hold power do to empathy n/t

[pscot]

2. It's good to be the King

[Prophet 451]

3. That explains a great deal n/t

[applegrove]

4. Explains the Koch brothers.

[gopiscrap]

5. makes sense to me

[phantom power]

6. power corrupts

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. This does not surprise me

I wish it did.

[Turborama]

8. I've seen it change someone I'm close to from being a kind & sweet person into a total asshole

I suspect if there was an anecdotal study it would also prove this is the norm, rather than an exception.

Interesting piece, thanks for sharing.

[applegrove]

10. Sensitive, kind, sweet people get overwhelmed and become grouches. You gotta

have boundaries. In fact having the odd barb is much healthier than being a kind, sweet, doormat who gets used.

[FiveGoodMen]

9. Case in point

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014602189