We have all seen the headlines. A powerful athlete (Lebron James), politician (Bill Clinton), actor (Arnold Schwarzenegger), or businessman (Jeff Bezos) have admitted to extramarital affairs.
Is it the power?
Is it the opportunity?
Although the above-mentioned perpetrators are all men, there are plenty of cases in which women also have extramarital affairs.
Professor Joris Lammers of Tilburg University and his research team discovered that people with power, whether men or women have a greater propensity (30%) to cheat than people without power.
The study revealed two key discoveries as to why powerful people cheat. First, there is a strong association between power and confidence, and that the amount of confidence a person has is the strongest link between power and unfaithfulness. Second, the researchers found that among powerful people gender made no difference in past digressions or the participants’ desires to cheat.
If women have some power, they will have as much propensity to cheat as their male counterparts.
Psychologist Jon Maner, at Florida State University, found that people with power tend to touch their subordinates more, they maintain more direct eye contact. They behave in an overall more flirtatious manner.
Power also causes both men and women to see themselves as more attractive than they really are. And it makes perfectly innocuous comments from subordinates and strangers sound like come-ons.
In my limited experience as a powerful person, I have felt more confident approaching women and starting relationships.
Have you been in a position of power? Has your position of power led to sexual interactions? Send me a message and let me know.