Transparency for the Public Good: When Feeling Powerful Does and Does Not Affect Willingness to Sacrifice for the Environment

In two studies, we tested the hypothesis that the effect of feeling powerful on willingness to sacrifice for the preservation of shared resources depends on whether such willingness is expressed publically or privately. Participants were randomly assigned to either a power priming condition or a control condition and then completed measures assessing their attitudes, future intentions, and willingness to sacrifice for environmental conservation. Consistent with our hypothesis, the psychological experience of power decreased people's environmental attitudes and willingness to sacrifice for the environment, but only when these responses were made privately. These findings suggest that a sense of power, when experienced in private, influences the way individuals feel about and intend to engage in pro-environmental sacrifice. The findings also suggest that this effect may be eliminated when judgments are made transparently, in public view.