Does Power Divide or Unite Our Thinking?: Investigating the Relationship Between Autonomy, Influence and Self-Other Integration as Measured by the Joint Simon Task

In this research, two aspects of power; autonomy and influence, are being investigated in respect to how they affect self-other integration. The term self-other integration addresses the phenomenon where an individual integrates others’ perspectives and actions into their own cognitive processing. By getting more insights into how power is related to self-other integration, we will have a better understanding of the mechanisms that shape social structures, relationships and leadership. Based on existing literature, we hypothesized that higher autonomy levels would negatively correlate with self-other integration, and higher influence levels would positively correlate with self-other integration. Self-other integration is indicated through the Joint Simon Effect, which is measured through the Joint Simon task. The study consisted of 64 participants who were randomly assigned to high or low conditions of autonomy and influence. Autonomy showed a non-significant negative correlation...Show moreIn this research, two aspects of power; autonomy and influence, are being investigated in respect to how they affect self-other integration. The term self-other integration addresses the phenomenon where an individual integrates others’ perspectives and actions into their own cognitive processing. By getting more insights into how power is related to self-other integration, we will have a better understanding of the mechanisms that shape social structures, relationships and leadership. Based on existing literature, we hypothesized that higher autonomy levels would negatively correlate with self-other integration, and higher influence levels would positively correlate with self-other integration. Self-other integration is indicated through the Joint Simon Effect, which is measured through the Joint Simon task. The study consisted of 64 participants who were randomly assigned to high or low conditions of autonomy and influence. Autonomy showed a non-significant negative correlation with the Joint Simon Effect, and influence showed a non-significant positive correlation with the Joint Simon Effect. While our study did not find significant results, future studies could investigate the effect of autonomy and influence on self-other integration while taking a sufficient sample size, perceived legitimacy of power, personality traits and cultural differences in mind.Show less

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Does Power Divide or Unite Our Thinking? Investigating the Relationship Between Autonomy, Influence and Self-Other Integration as Measured by the Joint Simon Task