Thaindian News

Washington, June 23 (IANS) Power can either lead to great acts of altruism, or corruptive, unethical behaviour. Being intoxicated can lead to a first date, or a bar brawl.

And the mask of anonymity can encourage one individual to let a stranger know they have toilet paper stuck to their shoe, whereas another may post salacious photos online. What is the common thread that binds three disparate behaviours?

A study from the Kellogg School, Northwestern University, shows how diverse domains of power, alcohol intoxication and anonymity, produce similarly paradoxical social behaviours - for better or worse.

All three states loosen up inhibitions, thus triggering the most prominent response in any given situation, regardless of the consequences, reports the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science.

As a result, alcohol, power, and anonymity can all inspire heroism and hedonism in the same person depending on the context, according to a Kellogg statement.

The research was led by Jacob Hirsh and Adam Galinsky of the Kellogg School, along with Chen-Bo Zhong of the University of Toronto.

“When people lose their inhibitions - from being drunk, powerful, or acting anonymously - there can be significant behavioural consequences,” said Galinsky, professor of ethics at Kellogg.

“This is why intoxicated individuals can be aggressive in one instant and altruistic in another,” said Hirsh, post-doctoral fellow at Kellogg and study co-author.