When and how refusing to help decreases one's influence

When does saying no to a helping request hurt a person's influence? Across five studies, when someone was asked for help, saying no had two opposing effects on their actual and perceived influence by increasing their dominance, but decreasing their prestige. The cost of providing help moderated these effects. Overall, refusing to help decreased a person's influence when helping cost little time, effort, or money, compared to both agreeing to...