Examining the connection between position-based power and social status across 70 cultures

Arkadiusz WASIEL; Maciej R. GÓRSKI; Michael Harris BOND; Victoria Wai Lan YEUNG; Plamen AKALIYSKI; Grace AKELLO; 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 IŞIK; 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 DOMINGUEZ-ESPINOSA; Agustín 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 Šolcová POLÁČKOVÁ; Ewelina PURC; Muhammad RIZWAN; Ana Rocha MARIA; Heyla SELIM; Rosita SOBHIE; Moritz STRENG; Chien-Ru SUN; Morten TØNNESSEN; Claudio TORRES; Kiều Thanh Trà THỊ; Vladimir TURJAČANIN; Wijnand Tilburg VAN; Christin-Melanie VAUCLAIR; Jorge VERGARA-MORALES; Cai XING; Belkacem YAKHLEF; Jae-Won YANG; Eric Kenson YAU; June Chun YEUNG; John ZELENSKI; Kuba KRYS

doi:10.1111/bjso.12871

Examining the connection between position-based power and social status across 70 cultures

Arkadiusz WASIEL^*
, Maciej R. GÓRSKI^*
, Michael Harris BOND
, Victoria Wai Lan YEUNG
, Plamen AKALIYSKI
, Grace AKELLO
, 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 IŞIK, 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 DOMINGUEZ-ESPINOSA, Agustín 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 Šolcová POLÁČKOVÁ, Ewelina PURC, Muhammad RIZWAN, Ana Rocha MARIA, Heyla SELIM, Rosita SOBHIE, Moritz STRENG, Chien-Ru SUN, Morten TØNNESSEN, Claudio TORRES, Kiều Thanh Trà THỊ, Vladimir TURJAČANIN, Wijnand Tilburg VAN, Christin-Melanie VAUCLAIR, Jorge VERGARA-MORALES, Cai XING, Belkacem YAKHLEF, Jae-Won YANG, Eric Kenson YAU, June Chun YEUNG, John ZELENSKI, Kuba KRYS

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications › Journal Article (refereed) › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

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.

Original language	English
Article number	e12871
Journal	British Journal of Social Psychology
Volume	64
Issue number	2
Early online date	4 Mar 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12871
Publication status	Published - Apr 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 British Psychological Society.

Funding

University of Roma Department of EducationalStudies Grant, Grant/Award Number: DSF 2017-2018; European Union-Next Generation EU(Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, NPO:EXCELES, Czechia, Grant/Award Number:LX22NPO5101; HSE University Basic ResearchProgram; Hungarian OTKA, Grant/AwardNumber: K-111789; Brazilian National Councilfor Scientific and Technological Development,Grant/Award Number: 301298/2018-1; NorwayFunds, Grant/Award Number: 2019/34/H/HS6/00597; Polish National Science Centre,Grant/Award Number: 2020/37/B/HS6/03142

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

culture
other‐orientation
power
self‐orientation
social status

Access to Document

10.1111/bjso.12871

Cite this

WASIEL, A., GÓRSKI, M. R., BOND, M. H., YEUNG, V. W. L., AKALIYSKI, P., AKELLO, G., PARK, J., JOSHANLOO, M., SOKOLOV, B., HUSSAIN, M. A., LI, L. M. W., OLECHOWSKI, M., Vignoles, V. L., GUEMAZ, F., BOUSSENA, M., REZA-A-RABBY, M., OKVITAWANLI, A., MYŚLIŃSKA-SZAREK, K., HAAS, B. W., ... KRYS, K. (2025). Examining the connection between position-based power and social status across 70 cultures. British Journal of Social Psychology, 64(2), Article e12871. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12871

@article{a0a676080ae24198865c065475caee79,

title = "Examining the connection between position-based power and social status across 70 cultures",

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.",

keywords = "culture, other‐orientation, power, self‐orientation, social status",

author = "Arkadiusz WASIEL and G{\'O}RSKI, \{Maciej R.\} and BOND, \{Michael Harris\} and YEUNG, \{Victoria Wai Lan\} and Plamen AKALIYSKI and Grace AKELLO and Joonha PARK and Mohsen JOSHANLOO and Boris SOKOLOV and HUSSAIN, \{M. Azhar\} and LI, \{Liman Man Wai\} and Mateusz OLECHOWSKI and Vignoles, \{Vivian L.\} and Farida GUEMAZ and Mahmoud BOUSSENA and Md. REZA-A-RABBY and Ayu OKVITAWANLI and Katarzyna MY{\'S}LI{\'N}SKA-SZAREK and HAAS, \{Brian W.\} and {\'A}ngel S{\'A}NCHEZ-RODR{\'I}GUEZ and Olha VLASENKO and LUN, \{Vivian Miu-Chi\} and AMINNUDDIN, \{Nur Amali\} and {\.I}dil I{\c S}IK and Oumar BARRY and M{\'a}rta F{\"u}l{\"o}p and David IGBOKWE and Mladen ADAMOVIC and GAR{\DH}ARSD{\'O}TTIR, \{Ragna Benedikta\} and Natalia SOBOLEVA and Julien TEYSSIER and GL{\"U}CKSTAD, \{Fumiko Kano\} and Adil SAMEKIN and Charity AKOTIA and Marwan AL-ZOUBI and Laura ANDRADE and Petra ANI{\'C} and Rasmata BAKYONO-NABALOUM and Arno BALTIN and Vlad COSTIN and Patrick DENOUX and Alejandra DOMINGUEZ-ESPINOSA and Agust{\'i}n ESPINOSA and Vladimer GAMSAKHURDIA and Magdalena GARVANOVA and Alin GAVRELIUC and Biljana GJONESKA and IGOU, \{Eric Raymond\} and Naved IQBAL and Nuha ITER and Natalia KASCAKOVA and Elmina KAZIMZADE and Maria KLUZOWICZ and Agata Kocimska-Bortnowska and Nicole KRONBERGER and LAURI, \{Mary Anne\} and Hannah LEE and Arina MALYONOVA and Fridanna MARICCHIOLO and Linda MOHAMMED and Fatma MOKADEM and Magdalena MOSANYA and Oriana MOSCA and Elke MURDOCK and Martin NADER and Karolina NOWAK and Danielle OCHOA and Zoran PAVLOVI{\'C} and POL{\'A}{\v C}KOV{\'A}, \{Iva {\v S}olcov{\'a}\} and Ewelina PURC and Muhammad RIZWAN and MARIA, \{Ana Rocha\} and Heyla SELIM and Rosita SOBHIE and Moritz STRENG and Chien-Ru SUN and Morten T{\O}NNESSEN and Claudio TORRES and THỊ, \{Kiều Thanh Tr{\`a}\} and Vladimir TURJA{\v C}ANIN and VAN, \{Wijnand Tilburg\} and Christin-Melanie VAUCLAIR and Jorge VERGARA-MORALES and Cai XING and Belkacem YAKHLEF and Jae-Won YANG and YAU, \{Eric Kenson\} and YEUNG, \{June Chun\} and John ZELENSKI and Kuba KRYS",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 British Psychological Society.",

year = "2025",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1111/bjso.12871",

language = "English",

volume = "64",

journal = "British Journal of Social Psychology",

issn = "0144-6665",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",

number = "2",

}

WASIEL, A, GÓRSKI, MR, BOND, MH, YEUNG, VWL , AKALIYSKI, P, AKELLO, G, PARK, J, JOSHANLOO, M, SOKOLOV, B, HUSSAIN, MA, LI, LMW, OLECHOWSKI, M, Vignoles, VL, GUEMAZ, F, BOUSSENA, M, REZA-A-RABBY, M, OKVITAWANLI, A, MYŚLIŃSKA-SZAREK, K, HAAS, BW, SÁNCHEZ-RODRÍGUEZ, Á, VLASENKO, O, LUN, VM-C, AMINNUDDIN, NA, IŞIK, I, BARRY, O, Fülöp, M, IGBOKWE, D, ADAMOVIC, M, GARÐARSDÓTTIR, RB, SOBOLEVA, N, TEYSSIER, J, GLÜCKSTAD, FK, SAMEKIN, A, AKOTIA, C, AL-ZOUBI, M, ANDRADE, L, ANIĆ, P, BAKYONO-NABALOUM, R, BALTIN, A, COSTIN, V, DENOUX, P, DOMINGUEZ-ESPINOSA, A, ESPINOSA, A, GAMSAKHURDIA, V, GARVANOVA, M, GAVRELIUC, A, GJONESKA, B, IGOU, ER, IQBAL, N, ITER, N, KASCAKOVA, N, KAZIMZADE, E, KLUZOWICZ, M, Kocimska-Bortnowska, A, KRONBERGER, N, LAURI, MA, LEE, H, MALYONOVA, A, MARICCHIOLO, F, MOHAMMED, L, MOKADEM, F, MOSANYA, M, MOSCA, O, MURDOCK, E, NADER, M, NOWAK, K, OCHOA, D, PAVLOVIĆ, Z, POLÁČKOVÁ, IŠ, PURC, E, RIZWAN, M, MARIA, AR, SELIM, H, SOBHIE, R, STRENG, M, SUN, C-R, TØNNESSEN, M, TORRES, C, THỊ, KTT, TURJAČANIN, V, VAN, WT, VAUCLAIR, C-M, VERGARA-MORALES, J, XING, C, YAKHLEF, B, YANG, J-W, YAU, EK, YEUNG, JC, ZELENSKI, J & KRYS, K 2025, 'Examining the connection between position-based power and social status across 70 cultures', British Journal of Social Psychology, vol. 64, no. 2, e12871. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjso.12871

TY - JOUR

T1 - Examining the connection between position-based power and social status across 70 cultures

AU - WASIEL, Arkadiusz

AU - GÓRSKI, Maciej R.

AU - BOND, Michael Harris

AU - YEUNG, Victoria Wai Lan

AU - AKALIYSKI, Plamen

AU - AKELLO, Grace

AU - PARK, Joonha

AU - JOSHANLOO, Mohsen

AU - SOKOLOV, Boris

AU - HUSSAIN, M. Azhar

AU - LI, Liman Man Wai

AU - OLECHOWSKI, Mateusz

AU - Vignoles, Vivian L.

AU - GUEMAZ, Farida

AU - BOUSSENA, Mahmoud

AU - REZA-A-RABBY, Md.

AU - OKVITAWANLI, Ayu

AU - MYŚLIŃSKA-SZAREK, Katarzyna

AU - HAAS, Brian W.

AU - SÁNCHEZ-RODRÍGUEZ, Ángel

AU - VLASENKO, Olha

AU - LUN, Vivian Miu-Chi

AU - AMINNUDDIN, Nur Amali

AU - IŞIK, İdil

AU - BARRY, Oumar

AU - Fülöp, Márta

AU - IGBOKWE, David

AU - ADAMOVIC, Mladen

AU - GARÐARSDÓTTIR, Ragna Benedikta

AU - SOBOLEVA, Natalia

AU - TEYSSIER, Julien

AU - GLÜCKSTAD, Fumiko Kano

AU - SAMEKIN, Adil

AU - AKOTIA, Charity

AU - AL-ZOUBI, Marwan

AU - ANDRADE, Laura

AU - ANIĆ, Petra

AU - BAKYONO-NABALOUM, Rasmata

AU - BALTIN, Arno

AU - COSTIN, Vlad

AU - DENOUX, Patrick

AU - DOMINGUEZ-ESPINOSA, Alejandra

AU - ESPINOSA, Agustín

AU - GAMSAKHURDIA, Vladimer

AU - GARVANOVA, Magdalena

AU - GAVRELIUC, Alin

AU - GJONESKA, Biljana

AU - IGOU, Eric Raymond

AU - IQBAL, Naved

AU - ITER, Nuha

AU - KASCAKOVA, Natalia

AU - KAZIMZADE, Elmina

AU - KLUZOWICZ, Maria

AU - Kocimska-Bortnowska, Agata

AU - KRONBERGER, Nicole

AU - LAURI, Mary Anne

AU - LEE, Hannah

AU - MALYONOVA, Arina

AU - MARICCHIOLO, Fridanna

AU - MOHAMMED, Linda

AU - MOKADEM, Fatma

AU - MOSANYA, Magdalena

AU - MOSCA, Oriana

AU - MURDOCK, Elke

AU - NADER, Martin

AU - NOWAK, Karolina

AU - OCHOA, Danielle

AU - PAVLOVIĆ, Zoran

AU - POLÁČKOVÁ, Iva Šolcová

AU - PURC, Ewelina

AU - RIZWAN, Muhammad

AU - MARIA, Ana Rocha

AU - SELIM, Heyla

AU - SOBHIE, Rosita

AU - STRENG, Moritz

AU - SUN, Chien-Ru

AU - TØNNESSEN, Morten

AU - TORRES, Claudio

AU - THỊ, Kiều Thanh Trà

AU - TURJAČANIN, Vladimir

AU - VAN, Wijnand Tilburg

AU - VAUCLAIR, Christin-Melanie

AU - VERGARA-MORALES, Jorge

AU - XING, Cai

AU - YAKHLEF, Belkacem

AU - YANG, Jae-Won

AU - YAU, Eric Kenson

AU - YEUNG, June Chun

AU - ZELENSKI, John

AU - KRYS, Kuba

PY - 2025/4

Y1 - 2025/4

N2 - 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.

AB - 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.

KW - culture

KW - other‐orientation

KW - power

KW - self‐orientation

KW - social status

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/86000447105

U2 - 10.1111/bjso.12871

DO - 10.1111/bjso.12871

M3 - Journal Article (refereed)

C2 - 40035418

SN - 0144-6665

VL - 64

JO - British Journal of Social Psychology

JF - British Journal of Social Psychology

IS - 2

M1 - e12871

ER -

Examining the connection between position-based power and social status across 70 cultures

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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