Powerful perceivers, powerless objects Flexibility of.pdfVIP

ARTICLE IN PRESS Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes xxx (2006) xxx–xxx /locate/obhdp Powerful perceivers, powerless objects: Flexibility of powerholders’ social attention Jennifer R. Overbeck a,¤, Bernadette Park b a Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0808, USA b Department of Psychology, 345 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309-0345, USA Received 9 October 2004 Abstract We argue that the eVect of power on social attention is a function of Xexible, instrumental information processing that allows the high power perceiver to attain situation speciWc goals using whatever means are available, including attention. Study 1 assigned pow- erful participants to more “people-centered” or more “product-centered” goals, and found that people-centered powerholders better individuated low-power targets. Study 2 examined responses by both high- and low-power organization members, and found power- ful judges more responsive to organizational goals in setting priorities and using information about the organization than powerless judges. Together, these results suggest that powerholders use social attention, like other resources, in order to advance their ability to fulWll organizational goals.  2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Power; Social attention; Individuation; Stereotyping; Subject; Object; Instrumentality; Goals In the American version of the sitcom The OY ce, the individual recognition, the boss