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The influence of social power on weight perception.


Type

Article

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Authors

Lee, Eun Hee 

Abstract

Three studies explored whether social power affects the perception of physical properties of objects, testing the hypothesis that the powerless find objects to be heavier than the powerful do. Correlational findings from Study 1 revealed that people with a low personal sense of power perceived loaded boxes to be heavier than people with a high personal sense of power perceived them to be. In Study 2, experimentally manipulated power indicated that participants in the powerless condition judged the boxes to be heavier than did participants in the powerful condition. Study 3 further indicated that lacking power actively influences weight perception relative to a neutral control condition, whereas having power does not. Although much research on embodied perception has shown that various physiological and psychosocial resources influence visual perception of the physical environment, this is the first demonstration suggesting that power, a psychosocial construct that relates to the control of resources, changes the perception of physical properties of objects.

Description

Keywords

Adult, Cues, Female, Humans, Judgment, Male, Middle Aged, Power, Psychological, Weight Perception, Young Adult

Journal Title

J Exp Psychol Gen

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0096-3445
1939-2222

Volume Title

Publisher

American Psychological Association (APA)