The revealing effect of power: Popularity moderates the associations of personal values with aggression in adolescence

Abstract

Objective Values have been found to predict aggressive behavior in adolescents. Adolescents who endorse self‐enhancement values typically exhibit more aggressive behaviors, while adolescents who endorse self‐transcendent values are less likely to behave aggressively. The associations between values and aggression are low to moderate, suggesting that other factors might moderate them. The study examined whether these associations were moderated by adolescent popularity, an indication of social power. Method The study included 906 adolescents from three cultures: Brazilians (N = 244), Jewish citizens of Israel (N = 250), and Arabic citizens of Israel (N = 409). Personal values were assessed using the Portrait Values Questionnaire (PVQ). Peer nominations were used to assess direct aggression and popularity. Results Popularity moderated the associations between values and aggression: while the aggressive behavior of popular adolescents was highly associated with their personal values, the behavior of unpopular adolescents was unrelated to their values. This effect consistently emerged across samples, with specific variations for gender and culture. Conclusion Popularity enables adolescents to act according to their personal values: aggressive behaviors increase or decrease according to personal value priorities. The strength of this effect depends on cultural expectations and gender roles.

The Contribution of Peer Values to Children’s Values and Behavior

“…Aside from the moderating effect of age, future research may consider additional factors that might facilitate or hinder peer influence on children values and behavior. Such factors can be related to children’s status among their peers, as reflected in their popularity, which has been linked with children’s influence on others (Brechwald & Prinstein, 2011) and has been found to moderate the relationship between values and behavior (Rubel-Lifschitz et al, 2020). Other moderators may be related to children’s ability to resist social pressure, as is reflected in their sense of autonomy (Allen et al, 2006; Bamaca et al, 2006).…”

Human values and organizational justice in the context of the assignments and relocation of police commissioners in a Brazilian state police

“…Valores humanos podem ser estudados em nível cultural ou individual, a depender da pergunta a ser investigada (Ros, 2006). A perspectiva adotada no presente estudo é a individual, em que VHI são princípios transituacionais abstratos desenvolvidos a partir da cultura, personalidade e processo de socialização, organizados hierarquicamente entre si e que funcionam como guia de sobrevivência tendo em vista necessidades biológicas e sociais das pessoas, predizendo suas atitudes, emoções e comportamentos (Allport, 1961;Maio, 2010;Rockeach, 1973;Schwartz, 1992;Schwartz et al, 2012;Tamir et al, 2015; Rubel-Lifschitz et al, 2020). Os valores humanos individuais embasam a avaliação sobre a capacidade de coisas, pessoas, ações e atividades, em promover a melhor vida possível (Rohan, 2000).…”

“…No presente caso, apesar da estabilidade funcional, a falta de transparência e critérios para distribuição dos postos de trabalho (inclusive os cargos de chefia) fortalece o contexto de incerteza na PCDF, mantendo-se, portanto, ativadas as metas de autopromoção dos delegados. Nesse mesmo sentido, é preciso considerar que ao galgar posições sociais as pessoas tendem a usar o poder egoisticamente (Rubel-Lifschitz et al, 2020), sendo esperado, portanto, o fortalecimento de metas de autopromoção em um ambiente de incerteza e competição por posições na estrutura organizacional.…”