A study published in the July/August 2006 issue of the European Journal of Social Psychology suggests that powerful people are more likely to take risks. The authors of the study theorized that high-powered individuals often benefit when they make choices that are considered high-risk. The more power these people believe they have, the more risk they are willing to take. However, this behavior can set up an incredibly damaging dynamic. Consider, for instance, the number of scandals that regularly arise involving high-powered executives, wealthy stock-market investors, or political figures. I’m quite sure that former president Bill Clinton never believed he would get caught when he embarked on an affair with a White House intern.

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