Deborah H. Gruenfeld

Work

Gruenfeld was a graduate student of Robert S. Wyer and the late Joseph E. McGrath at the University of Illinois. Her doctoral research on status and integrative complexity in decision-making groups, in part examining U.S. Supreme Court decisions, were awarded prizes by the American Psychological Association and the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. Her analysis of U.S. Supreme Court decisions took into consideration both the justices' status in their group as well as their ideological preferences, demonstrating that as justices gained power on the court or entered into majority coalitions their written opinions tended to become less complex and nuanced. Gruenfeld's research is featured in scholarly journals and referenced in lay publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, O: The Oprah Magazine, The Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune.

Theory of Power

Together with Dacher Keltner and Cameron Anderson, both of the University of California, Berkeley; Gruenfeld has developed a theory of power that aims to present an integrative account of the effects of power on human behaviour, suggesting that the acquisition of power has a disinhibiting effect regarding the social consequences of exercising it. The course was the inspiration for Acting With Power: Why We Are More Powerful Than We Believe, Gruenfeld's 2020 book. Gruenfeld describes misconceptions around power, which she defines as a "central organizing force" in society, affording connection as well as control, and as "a resource that exists for the protection of groups."