The Power to Speak Out: The Effect of Legitimate and Illegitimate Power on Confrontations of Prejudice
Most people do not confront prejudice despite wanting to do so (e.g., Swim & Hyers, 1999). There can be benefits to confronting prejudice that targets may miss out on by being silent as well as negative consequences that could arise from such inaction. However, confrontation rates could be affected by situational factors. A hitherto unacknowledged element that could alter confrontation rates is power over the situation. Power can be thought of as having control over resources that impact others. Previous research (e.g., Galinsky, Gruenfeld, & Magee, 2003) suggests that power can affect one’s willingness to perform actions. In the following studies, I investigated how power and legitimacy of said power can influence one’s willingness to act in a specific way—confronting public expressions of group bias. Participants engaged in a decision-making task with a confederate who made sexist statements either online (Study 1) or in person (Study 2). Based on other research that has manipulated power and legitimacy (e.g., Lammers, Galinsky, Gordijin, & Otten, 2008), in Study 1, I hypothesized that participants would be especially likely to confront the perpetrator of sexism when the participant had legitimate power or illegitimate powerlessness in their group’s interaction. However, neither the power main effect nor the Power x Legitimacy interaction reached significance. On the other hand, there was a marginally significant main effect for legitimacy of power such that those who received their position due to illegitimate reasons confronted more than those who given legitimate reasons for their placement. I also tested to see whether perceived control or discrete emotions mediate legitimacy’s effect on confrontation rates. Analyses suggest that perceived control (but not discrete emotions) mediates this effect. In Study 2, I attempted to see if increasing participants’ perceptions of the legitimacy of power strengthened Study 1’s effect. I hypothesized that participants who are able to more easily perceive the legitimacy of the existing power dynamic (i.e., legitimacy awareness) would be more likely to display the pattern of results hypothesized for Study 1. Study 2 replicated the legitimacy of power main effect. However, increased legitimacy awareness did not have an impact on confrontation rates either by itself or in conjunction with legitimacy of power. The results from both studies suggest that legitimacy of power is a social variable that can increase confrontation rates. When individuals experience illegitimacy in their power placements (whether they are powerful or powerless), they feel less control over their environment. This lowered perceived control in turn motivates individuals to regain control. One possible way in which to do this is by taking control of a biased situation by confronting a perpetrator of prejudice.
Psychology, Social Psychology, prejudice, confrontations, sexism, power, legitimacy
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations