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Affirmation of the High‐Power Person and His Position: Ingratiation in Conflict
Author(s) -
Tjosvold Dean
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1978.tb00779.x
Subject(s) - psychology , social psychology , power (physics) , negotiation , position (finance) , law , political science , economics , physics , finance , quantum mechanics
Eighty college students were induced to be bargainers who had high power in that they controlled more valued resources than the other bargainer. The low‐power bargainer (a confederate) expressed different types of affirmations (positive evaluations) of the participants. The low‐power bargainer either strongly or mildly affirmed the personal effectiveness of the participants and either strongly or mildly affirmed their negotiating position. Participants whose personal effectiveness was strongly, compared to mildly, affirmed increased their self‐evaluation and were attracted to the low‐power person. They did not, however, agree to the low‐power person's demand. Participants whose position was strongly, as opposed to mildly, affirmed did not increase their self‐evaluation nor were they more positive toward the low‐power person. They did reject the low‐power person's demand. Results were interpreted as suggesting that strong affirmations of personal effectiveness and of position may be ineffective ingratiation strategies in conflict.