The Sahib Syndrome: Why Power Corrupts the Brain (And How We Can Fix It)

 

Good afternoon, everyone! Look around you. You are the future of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and beyond. You will be the CEOs, the District Magistrates, the corporate heads, and the politicians.

Now, let's start with a scene you all know too well.

Imagine you’re stuck in gridlock. The heat is sweltering, the rickshaws and chingchis (qinqis) are crammed together, and horns are blaring. Suddenly, a sleek, black Land Cruiser appears, tinted windows, maybe even an illegal siren, and it swerves straight into the wrong lane. It bullies autorickshaws and pedestrians out of the way. The driver assumes the road belongs to his father (road uss ke baap ka hai).

You know this figure. We call them the 'VIPs,' the 'Big Shots,' or the 'Sahibs'.

We shrug it off and say: "They are powerful, so they must be arrogant." (Ameeron ki bighri aulaad) Right?

But what if the causality is completely reversed?

What if the very experience of having power physically damages the part of their brain that allows them to care about you?

That is the disturbing, scientifically validated truth we are exploring today.

 

THE POWER PARADOX: THE GIFT AND THE BREAKAGE

Our guide in this journey is Dacher Keltner, a psychology professor at Berkeley and a world expert on the science of power. His work, detailed in his book The Power Paradox, offers a psychological and biological explanation for the behaviour we see daily in our politicians, corporate bosses, and even family matriarchs.

Keltner begins with a premise that might sound incredibly naive to a cynical South Asian ear.

He argues that power is not originally grabbed; it is given.

In studies—from hunter-gatherer societies to college dorms—groups naturally elevate individuals who are socially intelligent, empathetic, who share resources, and who advance the greater good. This, he calls the "Gift of Power."

But here is the Paradox. Once they get this gift, the experience of holding power changes them. The very qualities that helped them rise—empathy, collaboration, listening—begin to erode.

As Keltner famously puts it: "Power corrupts, but it corrupts by causing a deficit in the very skills that got you power in the first place."

This might remind you of Lord Acton’s remark: Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

THE EVIDENCE: KELTNER'S INGENIOUS EXPERIMENTS

How do they prove this in a lab? Keltner and his colleagues created a series of ingenious, simple experiments.

 

Experiment 1: The Cookie Monster Test

Imagine three students working on a boring policy task in a lab. One student is randomly assigned as the "leader". After a while, researchers bring in a plate of four cookies.

Each person takes one cookie. Now we have one awkward, extra cookie left.

If you are the leader, what do you do with the extra cookie?

The results were astonishingly consistent: The person designated the "leader" was significantly more likely to grab the fourth cookie. But they didn't just take it—they revealed their entitlement in how they ate it. High-power individuals ate with their mouths open, smacked their lips, and often got crumbs on themselves. They were the "Cookie Monster" from Sesame Street. In our world, this mirrors the CEO who takes a massive bonus while laying off thousands, or the politician who embezzles funds while cutting a ribbon for a charity. They feel entitled to that "extra cookie".

 

Experiment 2: The Expensive Car Study

Keltner and Paul Piff observed a crosswalk, watching who stopped for pedestrians. They wanted to correlate law-breaking behaviour with the status of the vehicle.

Which drivers do you think stopped less often for the pedestrian—the driver in a Mehran/Maruti or the driver in a BMW?

They found a direct correlation between the price of the car and law-breaking behaviour. If you drive a cheap car (the "low power" category), you stopped for pedestrians nearly all the time. But drivers of expensive, high-status cars (Mercedes, BMWs, or, let’s say, the Land Cruisers we see here) ignored the pedestrian about 46% of the time. The expensive car creates a psychological distance, insulating the driver from the "common" person on the street.

 

Experiment 3: The "E" on the Forehead

This last experiment reveals the most profound consequence: the deficit in empathy.

Participants were primed to feel either powerful or powerless. Then, they were asked to draw the letter "E" on their own foreheads.

If I asked you to draw an 'E' on your forehead right now, how would you draw it so I could read it?

Those feeling "powerless" drew the 'E' so that others could read it (backward from their own perspective). They took the perspective of the observer. But those primed with "power" drew the 'E' so that they could read it (backward to everyone else). This simple test showed a profound truth: Power makes it difficult to see the world through someone else’s eyes. It creates a myopia where your perspective is the only one that matters.

 

THE NEUROSCIENCE OF THE SAHIB BRAIN

This isn't just about bad manners or selfishness; it's physiological.

Is the empathy deficit a choice, or is it biological?

It is a physiological state. Using fMRI scans, researchers found that when people feel powerful, the "mirroring" networks in their brains—the parts that light up when we witness someone else’s joy or pain—actually go silent. Neuroscientist Sukhvinder Obhi found that powerful people physically struggle to mirror the actions of others. Keltner has gone as far as to compare the brain of a powerful person to that of a traumatic brain injury patient. The "brakes" of the brain (inhibition) stop working, and the "gas pedal" (impulse) gets stuck.

 

CONTEXTUALIZING THE PARADOX IN SOUTH ASIA

While Keltner studied Western undergraduates, his findings map disturbingly well onto our South Asian social fabric. But we have unique cultural layers we must address.

 

1. The Power is Not Given Myth

Keltner says power is a "gift" for good behaviour. But in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, is power really a gift given to the most empathetic person?

In a village in Sindh or a district in Uttar Pradesh, does a Zamindar (landlord) hold power because he is the most empathetic, or for other reasons?

In our context, power is often inherited (dynastic politics), bought (corruption), or seized (feudal dominance). If power corrupts those who earned it through goodness, imagine what it does to those who were born into it, never having to exercise empathy to begin with. The "Cookie Monster" effect becomes a lifelong trait, not just a temporary state.

 

2. The Saas-Bahu Dynamic

The Paradox isn't just in the capital; it’s in our homes. The classic tension between the mother-in-law (Saas) and daughter-in-law (Bahu) is a textbook case. A woman enters the joint family as a powerless Bahu. She is required to have high empathy, read the room, and serve others—these are the skills of the powerless. Over the decades, she gains status and finally becomes the matriarch (Saas), attaining power. According to the paradox, she should use that hard-won power to protect the new bride. Instead, what happens?

She often becomes the oppressor. The power she waited years to 'grab' turns off her empathy switch, perpetuating a cycle of domestic trauma.

 

3. Bureaucracy and the Red Beacon

Look at the civil services. A young officer often enters service idealistic, topping the exam through hard work and a desire to serve. But once posted as a District Magistrate or Secretary, what happens?

The red beacon, the gunmen, and the fawning subordinates trigger the paradox. Transfers become tools for extortion; files only move with bribes. Transparency International consistently ranks police and land administration in our countries as the most corrupt services citizens encounter.

 

4. High Power Distance

South Asian nations rank very high on Geert Hofstede's index of "Power Distance". This means we accept that power is distributed unequally.

What happens when a leader displays humility in a high-power-distance culture?

We expect our leaders to eat the extra cookie! If a politician stopped at a red light or stood in a queue, many voters might actually see them as weak. In South Asia, the display of "Cookie Monster" behaviour—the convoy, the guards, the cutting of lines—is often the signal of power. Keltner’s work suggests that this culture is self-defeating. By allowing our leaders to disconnect through these displays of power, we are biologically ensuring they cannot empathize with the policies they write for the poor.

 

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Can you think of other instances of abuse by those in positions of power? A CEO/Secretary inappropriately touching the back of his female subordinate? A university professor demanding sexual favours from his students? An aalim sexually abusing children in a madressah?

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CRITICAL EVALUATION: IS THE SCIENCE GOSPEL?

We are students of science. We must look at the science with a critical eye. Is Keltner’s word the final gospel?

1. The Replication Crisis: We must acknowledge that social psychology has faced a "replication crisis". Some specific studies, including the precise "Cookie Monster" scenario (originally an unpublished manuscript by Keltner and Ward), have had mixed results in later attempts to replicate. While the general finding that "power leads to disinhibition" is robust, the specific idea that it always leads to selfishness is still debated.

2. The Amplifier Effect: Researchers like Adam Galinsky have nuanced the view. Power doesn't just turn you into a jerk; it acts as an amplifier. If you are naturally selfish, power makes you a monster. But if you are a deeply moral person with strong institutional checks, power can make you more proactive in doing good.

3. Power Over Others: Crucially, studies suggest the problem isn't autonomy itself, but power over others. If you have power over other people's lives and outcomes, that is what specifically leads to antisocial outcomes.

4. Responsibility vs. Domination: Finally, the effect changes based on how power is framed. If a culture frames power as "responsibility" rather than "opportunity," the empathy deficit is lower.

In South Asia, our feudal and colonial history has created a definition of power closer to "domination" than "responsibility". This is why Keltner’s negative predictions are likely to hold true here, unless we consciously change the definition of leadership.

 

THE ANTIDOTE: CAN WE CURE THE SAHIB?

The good news is that the paradox is not inevitable. The brain is plastic; it can be rewired. Keltner gives us the antidote: awareness and gratitude.

This connects deeply with our own spiritual traditions, which we must remember in practice.

 

1. The "Disturbing" of Power

Leaders must surround themselves with people who challenge them. They need institutionalised dissent. Think of Akbar the Great’s court. He encouraged philosophical debates among scholars of different faiths—Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Christianity—to enlighten him on good governance. Today, our leaders surround themselves with "Yes Men" or Chamchas. This accelerates the brain damage of power.

 

2. Empathy as a Discipline

Powerful people must consciously practice empathy. They must literally stop and ask: "What is that person feeling?" In a corporate setting, this means managers must stop viewing their drivers, peons, and cleaning staff as invisible furniture.

 

3. Remembering the Source: Khidmat and Seva

If power is a gift given by the people (in a democracy) or the family (in a home), remembering that debt keeps the empathy network alive. This is the concept of Khidmat (service) or Seva.

 

CONCLUSION: STOP WORSHIPPING THE COOKIE MONSTERS

Keltner’s research holds up a scientific mirror to the frustrations of South Asian life. It explains why the humble student activist becomes the corrupt minister, and why the sweet bride becomes the tyranny-imposing matriarch.

Science tells us this is not simply a moral failing of the individual; it is a biological hazard of the position. Power is a drug that alters the brain.

For South Asia to move forward, we must stop worshipping the "Cookie Monsters". We must stop viewing the flashing lights and VIP convoys as signs of importance. We must start seeing them for what they are: symptoms of a dangerous psychological disconnect that harms us all.

We need to demand, and more importantly, become, leaders who understand that their power is only as valid as their ability to refuse the extra cookie.

Thank you.