权力对压力应对行为倾向的影响:认知评估的中介作用

Effects of Power on Stress-Coping Behavior Tendency:The Mediating Effect of Cognitive Appraisal

采用实验法探讨权力对压力应对行为的影响以及认知评估在二者关系中的作用。实验一通过回忆法操纵权力,测量被试在压力情境下的认知评估和行为倾向。结果发现,权力水平影响压力下的生理反应,高权力者产生挑战,低权力者产生威胁;认知评估在权力和压力应对行为倾向间起中介作用。实验二进一步探究了权力对压力应对行为的影响,结果发现认知评估中介权力和压力应对行为倾向,且不同权力水平者的压力应对行为存在显著差异。

Power is conceptualized as an ability to control or influence other＇s feeling, thoughts, or behaviors. Although researchers have tested the relationship between power and behavior, the relationship between power, cognitive appraisal and behavior under stress situation has not been reported. It is important to understand why some people perform well under stress. In reality, people can observe that some individuals view the situation as a challenge and perform well, but for others it is a threat and they perform poorly. The Approach-Inhibition Theory of Power holds that high power activates the behavioral approach system, while low power activates the behavioral inhibition system. According to the theory, current research aimed to fill the gap with two experiments. The experimenter hypothesized that the stimulation of stress will lead to different cognitive appraisals（challenge/threat experiences） by high-power and low-power conditions, meanwhile opposite tendencies and behaviors would emerge in the two group participants. Considering the correspondences among power, cognitive appraisal and behavioral tendencies, we proposed such a hypothesis that cognitive appraisal will be a mediating variable of power and behavioral tendencies under stress situation.Experiment 1 recruited 60 participants, they were randomly assigned to either the high-power condition or the low-power condition. Participants in high-power condition were asked to recall an event in which they had power to control others, and in the low-power condition they recalled event when they were controlled. To make stress, we told them they needed to make a five minutes speech in front of an expert. Before the speech, participants needed to complete threat/challenge assessment items, and after the speech, they needed to finish the Sense of Power Scale and BAS/BIS Scale. Participants＇ physiological reactions, such as HR, MAP and CO were measured during the whole process. The physiological reactions showed that high power participants perceived challenge, and low power participants felt threatened. The results also demonstrated that cognitive appraisal mediated the effects of power on stress-coping behavioral tendencies.A total number of 75 college students took part in experiment 2. This experiment design was the same as with experiment 1, but the real behavior variable measured by black jack game was added. The result also demonstrated the mediating effect of cognitive appraisal between the power priming and behavioral tendencies. In addition, we found out that the coping behaviors of high power participants were significantly different with low power participants, the former had more approach behavior and the latter had more inhibition behavior.To sum up, both the results of two experiments showed the effect of power in the stress situation：（a） High-power led to challenge but lowpower led to threat;（b） Meanwhile, high-power activated behavioral approach tendencies and approach behavior, yet low-power activated behavioral inhibition tendencies and inhibition behavior;（c） There was a mediating effect of cognitive appraisal on relations between power and behavioral tendencies under stress situation.This research expands the cognitive appraisal theory and the approach inhibition theory. It reveals that power can influence behavioral tendencies by cognitive appraisal under stress situation. The result indicates that power resources not only directly affect the behavioral tendency, but also buffer or intensify the behavioral tendency by the specific cognition under stress situation.