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[Title & authors               ]
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
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. 2020 Sep 15;117(37):22780-22786.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2005088117. Epub 2020 Aug 31.

People with disagreeable personalities (selfish, combative, and
manipulative) do not have an advantage in pursuing power at work

Cameron Anderson^  1 , Daron L Sharps^  2 , Christopher J Soto^  3 , 
Oliver P John^  4
Affiliations Expand

Affiliations

  * ^1 Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley,
    CA 94720-1900; anderson@haas.berkeley.edu.
  * ^2 Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley,
    CA 94720-1900.
  * ^3 Department of Psychology, Colby College, Waterville, ME
    04901-8855.
  * ^4 Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley,
    CA 94720-1650.

  * PMID: 32868412
  * PMCID: PMC7502814
  * DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2005088117

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People with disagreeable personalities (selfish, combative, and
manipulative) do not have an advantage in pursuing power at work

Cameron Anderson et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2020.
Free PMC article
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Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
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. 2020 Sep 15;117(37):22780-22786.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.2005088117. Epub 2020 Aug 31.

Authors

Cameron Anderson^  1 , Daron L Sharps^  2 , Christopher J Soto^  3 , 
Oliver P John^  4

Affiliations

  * ^1 Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley,
    CA 94720-1900; anderson@haas.berkeley.edu.
  * ^2 Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley,
    CA 94720-1900.
  * ^3 Department of Psychology, Colby College, Waterville, ME
    04901-8855.
  * ^4 Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley,
    CA 94720-1650.

  * PMID: 32868412
  * PMCID: PMC7502814
  * DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2005088117

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Abstract

Does being disagreeable-that is, behaving in aggressive, selfish, and
manipulative ways-help people attain power? This question has long
captivated philosophers, scholars, and laypeople alike, and yet prior
empirical findings have been inconclusive. In the current research,
we conducted two preregistered prospective longitudinal studies in
which we measured participants' disagreeableness prior to entering
the labor market and then assessed the power they attained in the
context of their work organization ~14 y later when their
professional careers had unfolded. Both studies found disagreeable
individuals did not attain higher power as opposed to extraverted
individuals who did gain higher power in their organizations.
Furthermore, the null relationship between disagreeableness and power
was not moderated by individual differences, such as gender or
ethnicity, or by contextual variables, such as organizational
culture. What can account for this null relationship? A close
examination of behavior patterns in the workplace found that
disagreeable individuals engaged in two distinct patterns of behavior
that offset each other's effects on power attainment: They engaged in
more dominant-aggressive behavior, which positively predicted
attaining higher power, but also engaged in less communal and
generous behavior, which predicted attaining less power. These two
effects, when combined, appeared to cancel each other out and led to
a null correlation between disagreeableness and power.

Keywords: disagreeableness; extraversion; hierarchy; power.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

In Study 2, the mediation...

Fig. 1.

In Study 2, the mediation model for the relationship between
personality dimensions at...

Fig. 1.
In Study 2, the mediation model for the relationship between
personality dimensions at Time 1 (2004 was the median year for the
Time 1 assessment) and power measured 14 y later on average (in
2018). Shown are standardized b coefficients. Indirect effects are in
italics and gray boxes. *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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