Power makes people 'more likely to lie, to cheat, to swear' at work, experts say Posted SatSaturday 20 updated SunSunday 21 Power can corrupt almost anyone, says social psychologist Dacher Keltner. ( Print text only You can't see or smell power. But with enough practice, it's easy to recognise who has it and who doesn't — especially when you're the one without it. Social psychologist Professor Dacher Keltner, from the University of California, Berkley, has talked to thousands of people about power. He's studied it for 25 years. He says most of us consider power in terms of work, money or prestige. However what power really comes down to, he says, is your "capacity to alter the state of another person … their thoughts, their feelings, their actions, their pocketbook, their health".