Power And Control Addiction By Daniel A. Bochner

Though many seek power throughout their daily lives, the wish for power is something people should generally avoid. In substantial quantities, one’s wish for power has the ability to help create a good leader; however, in large quantities, one’s wish for power can ultimately cause the downfall of a society. Power-hungry people are those who wish to obtain as much power in the shortest amount of time possible. These people frequently focus solely on their goal and fail to act considerately toward those they associate with, thus ruining their ability to form strong relationships. Strong relationships are necessary in order for progress to occur, as they help people work together and complete tasks faster; therefore, lacking the ability to create …show more content…
Several factors can cause a person to grow to want power. Daniel A. Bochner, a Ph.D., states in “The Power and Control Addiction” that people who have the “experience of being dominated as a child” generally grow up to seek dominance, as it “is the only solution for overcoming a solution of extreme submission.” His philosophy indicates that those who are controlled as children typically wish to be in control later in life. He continues to state that “the child who tries desperately to please a...parent with perfection in all they do, but who never feels they have actually succeeded in pleasing that parent” seeks power later in life while wishing for others to live up to their expectations. This suggests that pressure from others around a person can ultimately result in the person taking advantage of power accessible to them later in life. The power provided, however, can be abused. When people feel as if they do not have power growing up, or when they feel as if they are never living up to someone’s expectations, they will typically use their power to impress others later in life. However, since this power has been kept away from them for so long, once they finally obtain it, they are more likely for them to abuse it and seek for more as they want to prove to others that they are no longer powerless and can live up to others’ expectations. Moreover, many children are raised into playing sports, and this can …show more content…
A study conducted by the University of Southern California reported that “participants were asked to make a series of choices between receiving $120 [then] or increasing amounts of money in one year,” meaning that the participants could either choose to receive $120 when they were were being studied, or they could wait and receive a different sum of money in the future. People who did not have as much power in the workplace “were only willing to take the future reward if it was at least $88 more than” the initial offer of $120. Those with a sufficient amount of power in the workplace “were willing to wait for future rewards that were only $52” more than the initial offer of $120. Since the powerful people were willing to wait and accept a smaller amount of money than those with less power, the study concluded that less powerful people act more greedily than more powerful people when it comes to accepting offers of money. The more powerful people desired less money in the future, as opposed to the less powerful people, who desired a larger sum of money in the future. This study suggests that powerful people do not necessarily want more than those who do not have a substantial amount of power; however, in the article “How Does Having Power Over Others At Work Affect You?” by Douglas