关键词: 权力, 压力应对, 认知评估, 行为倾向

Abstract: Abstract Power is conceptualized an ability to control or influence other's feeling, thoughts, or behaviors. Although researchers have tested the relationship between power and behavior, the relationship between power, cognitive appraisal and behavior in stress situation has not been reported. It is important to understand why some people perform well under stress. In reality, people can observe that some individuals view the situation as a challenge and perform well, but for others it is a threat and perform poorly. Thus the current research aimed to fill the gap with two experiments. The experimenter hypothesized that the activation of stress will lead to different cognitive appraisals and challenge/threat experiences by high-power and low-power participants, meanwhile opposite tendencies and behaviors will emerge in the two group participants. Considering the correspondences between power, cognitive appraisal and behavioral tendencies, we proposed such a hypothesis that cognitive appraisal will be a mediating variable of power and behavioral tendencies in stress situation. Experiment 1 recruited 60 participants, they were randomly assigned to either high-power condition or low-power condition. Participants in high-power condition were asked to recall an event in which they had power to control others, and in the low-power condition they recalled event about they were controlled. To make stress, we told them they need to make a five minutes speech in front of an expert. Before the speech, participants need to complete threat/challenge assessment items, and after the speech, they done the Sense of Power Scale and BAS/BIS Scale. Participants’ physiological reactions, such as HR, MAP and CO were measured during the whole process. The results showed that the physiological reactions of high power condition are signi?cant different with low power condition，and demonstrated that cognitive appraisal mediate the effects of power on stress-coping behavioral tendencies. A total number of 75 college students took part in experiment 2. This experiment design was same with experiment 1, but added the real behavior variable which measured by black jack game. The result also demonstrated the mediating effect of cognitive appraisal between the power priming and behavioral tendencies. In addition, we found out that high power participants’ coping behaviors are signi?cant different with low power participants, the former had more approach behavior and the latter had more inhibition behavior. To sum up, both the results of two experiments showed the effect of power in the stress situation:(a) high-power led to challenge but low-power led to threat;(b)meanwhile, high-power activated behavioral approach tendencies and approach behavior, yet low-power activated behavioral inhibition tendencies and inhibition behavior.(c)there was a mediating effect of Cognitive Appraisal in stress situation on relations between power and behavioral tendencies. This research expands the cognitive-appraisal theory and the Approach Inhibition Theory. It reveals that power could influence behavioral tendencies by Cognitive Appraisal in stress situation.

Key words: power, stress-coping, cognitive appraisal, behavioral tendency