Would You Rather Have Little Power or No Power?

In a situation where your opponent has an overwhelming amount of power, you would still want to hold on to the power that you do have. This study suggests that, in at least one respect, you'd better be off coming across as entirely powerless. If you're entirely powerless, your opponent feels duty bound to be more generous towards you, whereas if you have declining power, not so much.

Less Power or Powerless? Egocentric Empathy Gaps and the Irony of Having Little Versus No Power in Social Decision Making
Authors: Michel J. Handgraaf, E. Van Dijk, R. C. Vermunt, H. A. Wilke, & C. K. De Dreu
Affiliation: Department of Work and Organizational Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands