Anxiety and hostility to an "outsider," as moderated by low perceived power.

Abstract

The hostile and anxious responses of young adults to an immigrant (vs. native-born) stranger were examined as a function of participants' self-perceived power. In Studies 1 and 2, individuals with low perceived social power (males, in particular) showed high anxiety toward an "outsider" but more so if that individual was an immigrant (and thus posed an ambiguous threat to their position in the hierarchy). In Study 3, young adult males competed on a reaction time test with an immigrant or native-born rival. With immigrant rivals, males with low perceived social power showed relatively high aggression toward an immigrant rival and derogation of the rival's formidability; however, they showed a more deferential pattern with native-born rivals.

Shaping the modern world with a stone-age brain: Brexit and the Moral Foundations Theory

“…This finding is in line with the previous correlation between low perceived power and anxiety/ hostility towards outgroups (Azzam, Beaulieu, & Bugental, 2007). Perhaps the relationship is exacerbated when people think the EU is unaccountable and undemocratic.…”

Power and revenge

“…Other previous work has often implied, but not directly measured individuals’ chronic sense of power. For example, self‐perceived incompetence (Fast & Chen, ), external locus of control (Goodstadt & Hjelle, ), negative attributional style (Sagrestano et al ., ), low socioeconomic status (Azzam et al ., ), and self‐perceived low parental authority (Bugental et al ., ) have all been linked to aggressive responses. This study complements those various streams of enquiry, demonstrating that perceptions of chronic powerlessness can promote aversive responses among powerholders.…”

“…Importantly, the chronically powerless are more likely than the chronically powerful to respond negatively in situations where they perceive they can get away with it (cf. Azzam, Beaulieu, & Bugental, ). Other related work indicates that individuals with low confidence (Goodstadt & Hjelle, ) or low self‐perceived competency (Fast & Chen, ) tend to display more aggression when in power than self‐secure powerholders.…”

Is revenge about retributive justice, deterring harm, or both?

“…However, for the chronically powerless, this represents a rare opportunity to redress past harms. Indeed, the chronically powerless are more likely to abuse sudden incidental power by using aggression (Azzam, Beaulieu, & Bugental, ). One explanation is that the chronically powerless are using their incidental power to “get even” with an unfair world or boost their self‐image.…”