Not Giving a F***: High Power People are Less Likely to Tell Self-promotional Lies

The possession of power has been linked to self-interested and even unethical behaviors. In contrast, we predict that high power individuals are less likely to tell self-promotional lies. This may be because individuals with higher power are disposed to greater control of their environments and thus have a lower need for managing their image in the eyes of others. Across two studies, measured and manipulated high-power participants displayed less self-promotional lying. Specifically, corporate executives with higher power in their organizations are less likely to lie when discussing their work achievements, such as the number of negotiation projects they completed or the amount of revenue they generated (Study 1). PhD students with higher power in their PhD studies are less likely to lie when reporting their publication records (Study 2). Therefore, power need not always corrupt but can have positive social effects for managing self-promotional lying in organizations.