Does being disagreeable—that is, behaving in aggressive, selfish, and manipulative ways—help people attain power? This question has long captivated philosophers, scholars, and laypeople alike, and yet prior empirical findings have been inconclusive. In the current research, we conducted two preregistered prospective longitudinal studies in which we measured participants’ disagreeableness prior to entering the labor market and then assessed the power they attained in the context of their work organization ∼14 y later when their professional careers had unfolded. Both studies found disagreeable individuals did not attain higher power as opposed to extraverted individuals who did gain higher power in their organizations. Furthermore, the null relationship between disagreeableness and power was not moderated by individual differences, such as gender or ethnicity, or by contextual variables, such as organizational culture. What can account for this null relationship? A close examination of behavior patterns in the workplace found that disagreeable individuals engaged in two distinct patterns of behavior that offset each other’s effects on power attainment: They engaged in more dominant-aggressive behavior, which positively predicted attaining higher power, but also engaged in less communal and generous behavior, which predicted attaining less power. These two effects, when combined, appeared to cancel each other out and led to a null correlation between disagreeableness and power.

令人不愉快（即以进取，自私和操纵的方式行事）是否有助于人们获得权力？长期以来，这个问题一直困扰着哲学家，学者和非专业人士，但是先前的经验发现尚无定论。在当前的研究中，我们进行了两项预先注册的前瞻性纵向研究，在这些研究中，我们测量了参与者进入劳动力市场之前的不满意程度，然后在大约14年后当他们的职业生涯展开时评估了他们在工作组织中获得的力量。两项研究均发现，令人讨厌的个人没有获得更高的权力，而外向的个人却在组织中获得了更高的权力。此外，个人差异并不能缓解不同意和权力之间的零关系，例如性别或种族，或根据上下文变量（例如组织文化）。什么可以解释这种空关系？对工作场所中行为模式的仔细检查发现，不满意的人从事两种截然不同的行为模式，这些行为模式相互抵消了彼此对权力获得的影响：他们从事更具统治性的攻击性行为，积极地预测获得更高的权力，但也参与较少的权力行为公共和慷慨的行为，这表明获得的权力更少。当将这两种效应结合在一起时，它们似乎相互抵消，并导致不良和权力之间的无效关联。什么可以解释这种空关系？对工作场所中行为模式的仔细检查发现，不满意的人从事两种截然不同的行为模式，这些行为模式相互抵消了彼此对权力获得的影响：他们从事更具统治性的攻击性行为，积极地预测获得更高的权力，但也参与较少的权力行为公共和慷慨的行为，这表明获得的权力更少。当将这两种效应结合在一起时，它们似乎相互抵消，并导致不良和权力之间的无效关联。什么可以解释这种空关系？对工作场所中行为模式的仔细检查发现，不同意见的人从事两种截然不同的行为模式，这些行为模式相互抵消了彼此对权力获得的影响：他们从事更具统治力的攻击性行为，积极地预测获得更高的权力，但也参与较少的权力行为公共和慷慨的行为，这表明获得的权力更少。当将这两种效应结合在一起时，它们似乎相互抵消，并导致令人讨厌的能力与力量之间的无效关联。预测将获得更少的功率。当将这两种效应结合在一起时，它们似乎相互抵消，并导致令人讨厌的能力与力量之间的无效关联。预测将获得更少的功率。当将这两种效应结合在一起时，它们似乎相互抵消，并导致不良和权力之间的无效关联。