“Empowering, Humbling, and of Course Arousing”: A Qualitative Analysis of Experiences with Power in Sexual Relationships

Relationships Between Power, Communication About Work and Sex, and Emotion Expression: A Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count Analysis

“…Power and organizational/workplace behavior together might inspire a productive sense of duty, responsibility, and accomplishment (Vik & Livingston, 2022), indicating that empowerment in the workplace can benefit organizational members' emotional state. On the other hand, power and sex together might make salient memories of sexual trauma or regret (Livingston & Vik, 2021), indicating that powerlessness in intimate relationships can contribute to lasting negative emotionality.…”

“…Extant research helps to explain these findings, but future studies should examine the effects of powerlessness on sexual thinking and behavior. Partners in unhealthy intimate relationships sometimes engage in or withhold sex as a means of manipulation (Livingston & Vik, 2021). Coercive sexual encounters can contribute to chronic feelings of vulnerability and powerlessness (Armstrong et al, 2018;Miller, 2018).…”

“…Indeed, power is associated with increased perceptions of subordinates’ attractiveness (Bargh et al, 1995), women’s sexual willingness (Livingston & Davis, 2020), and one’s own sexual desirability (Lammers & Stoker, 2019). In one analysis of 314 research participants’ self-reported experiences feeling powerful or powerless, more than one-third of the sample (39%) volunteered descriptions of intimate relationships in which participants derived feelings of power from strategically having or withholding sex or powerlessness from sexual victimization (as well as other themes; Livingston & Vik, 2021). This body of prior work suggests that like workplace experiences, sexual relationships can influence feelings of power.…”

“…These authors found that power assimilated women’s and men’s perceptions of sexual intent, although men overall reported greater feelings of power compared to women. Recalling instances in which they had power, university students reported experiencing regret after exploiting or humiliating sexual partners (Livingston & Vik, 2021). Indeed, power can disinhibit anti-social and unethical behavior in a variety of social contexts including intimate relationships and organizations (Dubois et al, 2015; Gruenfeld et al, 2008).…”

“…Few investigations have examined the contents of participants’ narratives (cf. Livingston & Vik, 2021; Vik & Livingston, 2022): The overwhelming majority of such studies examine effects of the written prime on subsequent self-reported or observational dependent variables relevant to the power construct (Galinsky et al, 2015, for review). The purpose of the current study was to enhance practical and theoretical understandings of power’s bases and affordances by characterizing participants’ narrated experiences with power and powerlessness.…”