Power and Sociability

Social life unfolds with tension between power and sociability. As both, the need of power and the need of sociability, are crucial to interpersonal transactions, the person faces a dilemma. The satisfaction of one need limits the satisfaction of the other. We approach this dilemma by first reviewing two seemingly contrary biases in social perception: self-enhancement and social projection, which are respectively associated with power and sociability needs. We then discuss the ultimatum game, which puts the mandates of power and sociability into direct conflict. Data suggest that observers are sensitive to both material and social interests when judging players’ character. We then introduce a general power game, describe it with the theory of moves, and review observer-judgment data. We conclude with an exploration of how individuals might incorporate reputational concerns into their social decision-making and speculate about how the power-sociability dilemma can be transcended if it cannot be solved.