Live Better article "Examining the connection between position-based power and social status across 70 cultures" published in British Journal of Social Psychology

The article "Examining the connection between position-based power and social status across 70 cultures" has just been published in British Journal of Social Psychology. This is the first article from the Live Better research consortium where I am credited as a co-author (based on data gathering in Norway).

Reference:

 — 2025, by Arkadiusz Wasiel, Maciej R. Górski, Michael Harris Bond, Victoria Wai Lan Yeung, Plamen Akaliyski, Grace Akell, Joonha Park, Mohsen Joshanloo, Boris Sokolov, M. Azhar Hussain, Liman Man Wai Li, Mateusz Olechowski, Vivian L. Vignoles, Farida Guemaz, Mahmoud Boussena, Md. Reza-A Rabby, Ayu Okvitawanli, Katarzyna Myślińska-Szarek, Brian W. Haas, Ángel Sánchez-Rodríguez, Olha Vlasenko, Vivian Miu-Chi Lun, Nur Amali Aminnuddin, İdil Işık, Oumar Barry, Márta Fülöp, David Igbokwe, Mladen Adamovic, Ragna Benedikta Garðarsdóttir, Natalia Soboleva, Julien Teyssier, Fumiko Kano Glückstad, Adil Samekin, Charity Akotia, Marwan Al-Zoubi, Laura Andrade, Petra Anić, Rasmata Bakyono-Nabaloum, Arno Baltin, Vlad Costin, Patrick Denoux, Alejandra Domínguez Espinosa, Agustin Espinosa, Vladimer Gamsakhurdia, Magdalena Garvanova, Alin Gavreliuc, Biljana Gjoneska, Eric Raymond Igou, Naved Iqbal, Nuha Iter, Natalia Kascakova, Elmina Kazimzade, Maria Kluzowicz, Agata Kocimska-Bortnowska, Nicole Kronberger, Mary Anne Lauri, Hannah Lee, Arina Malyonova, Fridanna Maricchiolo, Linda Mohammed, Fatma Mokadem, Magdalena Mosanya, Oriana Mosca, Elke Murdock, Martin Nader, Karolina Nowak, Danielle Ochoa, Zoran Pavlović, Iva Poláčková Šolcová, Ewelina Purc, Muhammad Rizwan, Ana Maria Rocha, Heyla Selim, Rosita Sobhie, Moritz Streng, Chien-Ru Sun, Morten Tønnessen, Claudio Torres, Kiều Thị Thanh Trà, Vladimir Turjačanin, Wijnand van Tilburg, Christin-Melanie Vauclair, Jorge Vergara-Morales, Cai Xing, Belkacem Yakhlef, Jae-Won Yang, Eric Kenson Yau, June Chun Yeung, John Zelenski and Kuba Krys. Examining the connection between position-based power and social status across 70 cultures. British Journal of Social Psychology. DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12871

Abstract:

Even in the most egalitarian societies, hierarchies of power and status shape social life. However, power and received status are not synonymous—individuals in positions of power may or may not be accorded the respect corresponding to their role. Using a cooperatively collected dataset from 18,096 participants across 70 cultures, we investigate, through a survey-based correlational design, when perceived position-based power (operationalized as influence and control) of various powerholders is associated with their elevated social status (operationalized as perceived respect and instrumental social value). We document that the positive link between power and status characterizes most cultural regions, except for WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) and Post-Soviet regions. The strength of this association depends on individual and cultural factors. First, the perceived other-orientation of powerholders amplifies the positive link between perceived power and status. The perceived self-orientation of powerholders weakens this relationship. Second, among cultures characterized by low Self-Expression versus Harmony (e.g., South Korea, Taiwan), high Embeddedness (e.g., Senegal), and high Cultural Tightness (e.g., Malaysia), the association between power and status tends to be particularly strong. The results underline the importance of both individual perceptions and societal values in how position-based power relates to social status.