Quest for Significance is Linked to Power Motives: Correlational and Experimental Evidence

Drawing on dual perspectives on social hierarchies, we investigated the relationship between quest for significance and the motivation to gain power, as well as their causal links. Studies 1 and 2 found that quest for significance is positively associated with the motivation to gain power in long-term life goals, and in desired rank positions in power hierarchies. Quest for significance was also linked to greater discrepancies between current and desired power, and with dominant behavior. Studies 3 and 4 investigated the causal effects of quest for significance on power motives. Situationally induced significance loss (vs. high significance) increased the motivation to prevail in interpersonal interactions, a marker of exerting power, but did not affect long-term power goals nor desired societal power rank. Together, these findings suggest that when social worth is threatened and upward mobility within status hierarchies is difficult, individuals may pursue power as an alternative route to ascend in social hierarchies.