Abstract
Although objective hierarchical characteristics influence individuals' voluntary behaviors in organizations, individuals' subjective perception of their position within a social hierarchy is also an important factor in predicting such behaviors. In this dissertation, I propose that power and status interact to predict citizenship behavior. Through three studies, I find support for this prediction. Study 1, a field survey, showed that self-perceived power and status are interactively related to full-time working adults' organizational citizenship behavior. Among high-power individuals, elevated status was associated with more organizational citizenship behavior, whereas the same relationship did not exist among individuals with low power. Studies 2 and 3, experiments, orthogonally manipulated status and power and showed that powerful individuals with low status are less likely to engage in extra voluntary surveys or help their coworkers by going above and beyond their roles than powerful individuals with high status. As predicted, the diminishing effect of a lack of status on citizenship behavior emerged among high-power participants and not among low-power participants. Implications for research on power, status, and organizational citizenship behavior are discussed.