Power Flashcards
What are the Milgram studies? What were they studying?
Many versions of this study - confederate is always the “learner” and participant Is always “teacher”
-Each mistake gets higher shock
pounding on the wall at 300 V
Studying obedience
What were the 4 “prods” that were used in the Milgram study? Which one was the least effective? Why?
“Please continue,”
“the experiment requires that you continue,”
“it is absolutely essential that you continue,” and
“you have no other choice; you must go on.”
The last one is the least effective
Not exactly blind obedience - more like a collaboration with the experimenter which is why the last one isn’t as effective (being an asshole)
What were some of the modified tests that Milgram tried which had little effect on results?
Voice contact, cries of distress, refusal to participate, and information about a heart condition had little effect.
What version of the Milgram test had the most effect on people stopping the shocks?
The version that seemed to have the most effect on people stopping was the “invocation of right to stop”
Did obedience in the Milgram studies increase or decrease with participant’s closer proximity to the victim? What about closer proximity to the experimenter?
victim - decreased
experimenter - increased
What happened to obedience levels in the Milgram studies when it was held at a small private firm rather than Yale?
Declined but not that much
What happened to obedience levels in the Milgram studies when the person giving the orders to give shocks was an ordinary person rather than an experimenter?
Declined drastically
What happened to obedience levels in the Milgram studies when a group inflicted the shocks and one or more group members quit?
reduced obedience to negligible levels
Do we have less obedience levels now than we did in the 50s?
a little less obedience but not much less than the 50’s
What are the 6 types (bases) of power?
reward
coercive
legitimate
referent
expert
informational
What is reward power?
The ability to dispense both physical and social rewards.
Tends to become more important when resources are scarce.
Tends to lead to trust, respect, and deference.
Includes employers/bosses who provide compensation
Advantages of using this method are that those you have power over tend to like you (strengthens relationships)
What is coercive power?
The ability to dispense punishments.
Using this tends to cause relationship damage, so people with other sources of power tend to use this sparingly or not at all.
Opposite of reward power
Weakens relationships
What is legitimate power?
The shared perception that power is legitimate.
E.g., police officer, teacher, boss – everybody accepts that these positions have legitimate power
What is referent power?
Power that flows from liking, admiration, and respect.
E.g., the popular people, the likable/outgoing people
What is expert power?
Power from expertise in an area relevant to the group’s tasks.
Often powerful people derive their power from their expertise (e.g., a teacher)
What is informational power?
The exercise of power through the control of information.
Controlling info often controls people (e.g., the parent is the only one who knows where the car key are and the teenager wants to use the car)
News organizations that put their spin on the news
What are the three types of power tactics?
Hard vs. Soft
Direct/rational vs. Indirect/non-rational
Unilateral vs. bilateral
What are hard and soft power tactics?
Hard (coercive, restrictive) versus soft (relationship-based, e.g. collaborating, using friendship)
Hard - “do this or I will fail you”
Soft - subtle manipulation using relationships
Are hard or soft tactics more effective?
Note that hard tactics are not more effective than soft tactics.
People often think hard tactics are more effective but in the long run, the soft tactics are (e.g., respected bosses are more effective than harsh ones)
What are direct/rational and indirect/non-rational power tactics?
Indirect is more manipulating someone into doing something
What are unilateral and bilateral power tactics?
Unilateral (flow only from the demander) versus bilateral (involve give and take) tactics
Unilateral - flows from the powerful to powerless
Bilateral - exchange
What is the foot in the door technique? What is it an example of?
This involves having a person make a small commitment to a cause, then later making a later, larger request.
Asked homeowners if they can put a huge billboard on lawn - but beforehand (a few days or weeks), someone else went around asking to sign a petition on the same issue - Compliance increases from 2% to 30%
Example of commitment as a power tactic but can also be attributed to identity (staying in line with one’s beliefs/self-identity)
What do groups tend to form quickly even when they start out as equals? What is this sometimes referred to as?
Groups tend to quickly form status hierarchies even when they start out all equal. This hierarchy is sometimes called a pecking order.
How do people signal high or low status to a group?
strength of handshake, openness of posture, presence or absence of smile, etc.
What things are high status individuals more likely to do in groups?
more likely to tell others what to do, interpret others’ comments, evaluate others’ points of view, and summarize or reflect on a discussion
People differ in their need for ___________.
power
What is expectation states theory? Whose theory is it?
Berger and colleagues
This theory distinguishes specific status characteristics that are relevant to the tasks at hand with diffuse status characteristics that are irrelevant but associated with status in the wider society.
Specific characteristics - help the group achieve its goals (e.g., high-level relevant skills, experience, knowledge)
Diffuse characteristics - not relevant to achieving the group’s goals but commonly associated with status in society (e.g., white, male, older, professional, straight)
Even though specific status characteristics are much more relevant than diffuse status characteristics to what the group is trying to do, the latter will often override the former, a process called status generalization.
What is status generalization? What exaggerates this tendency? What theory does this concept pertain to?
Even though specific status characteristics are much more relevant than diffuse status characteristics to what the group is trying to do, the latter will often override the former, a process called status generalization.
This tendency is exaggerated by solo status, where the person from the lower status demographic is alone in the group, but mitigated when the group spends more time together and strengths and weaknesses are recognized.
Expectation states theory (Berger)
Diffuse characteristics tend to be most potent at what point in the group process?
Diffuse characteristics tend to be most potent early in the group process - the more time that the group spends together, the more the specific characteristics are noticed
What does the text say about why we tend to have/need status hierarchies? What does Sven say?
Your book tells an evolutionary story about dominance processes enhancing decision-making, but I can tell a different one that has nothing to do with the quality of decisions.
Status hierarchies almost certainly evolve to limit conflict rather than inspire it - allows groups (in nature, animals) to allocate resources efficiently when the hierarchy is stable, which is a lot of the time
What is interpersonal complementarity?
When people are friendly, those around them also tend to be friendly, but when people are dominant, those around them tend to be submissive.
One of the things that leads to high status is talking a lot (battle effect) - if someone talks a lot, other people tend to stay quieter and let that person talk
What are the advantages and disadvantages of clear hierarchies within groups?
Adv - groups with a clear hierarchy often function more smoothly and effectively than those without
Disadvs - People low in the hierarchy may find their low status demotivating and may also experience cognitive deficits.
Conflicts over status can be incredibly disruptive.
What does power tend to increase in the powerful individual? What does it tend to decrease?
Power tends to increase approach motivation and decrease avoidance motivation.
– more effort goes into getting things they do not have rather than avoiding things they do not like
People who feel powerful are more likely to ____________ and less likely to be __________.
People who feel powerful tend to express more ______________________ and fewer _____________________. What is a caveat to this?
take action
passive
positive emotions
negative ones
Caveat - anger is a negative emotion but is also an approach emotion so people with power are more likely to be classified as having more approach emotion (they tend to have more anger)
Powerful people tend to feel both more willing and able (through ___________________________) to pursue goals.
improved self-regulation
Power enhances what three activities in individuals?
Power enhances attention, decision-making, and planning.
Power insulates people from what? What is the result?
Power insulates people from the influence of others, making them more likely to do what they want.
People who feel powerful often take more _______ and may be irrationally ____________.
risks
optimistic
People under the power of other (more powerful) people tend to experience what?
more negative emotions like anger, fear, and tension
Unless understanding their subordinates is very important to carrying out functions they consider important, powerful people are really bad at what?
empathy
Powerful people can often become _______ and _____________.
Powerful people often exert power for what reason?
smug and self-satisfied
fun, even if it makes subordinates unhappy.
Powerful people often lose track of what? What is a famous example of this?
ethics
Bathsheba syndrome - attractive wife of one of King David’s generals - the king arranged to have trysts with her and then arranged to have the general killed
What are the three negative effects of power on subordinates?
Negative emotions
Coercive tactics not only demotivate the targets of these tactics and make them unhappy, they also have similar effects on others who are witnesses.
This can lead to conflict within the group.
Sometimes this leads to outright rebellion, often in the form of a revolutionary coalition.
It the powerful person is admired, a different dynamic occurs: the subordinate progresses from compliance (doing what the powerful person wants) through identification (where the compliance is motivated by a desire to please the powerful person) through conversion (where the person internalizes the powerful person’s goals).
If the powerful person is evil, this can lead to the creation of a new evil person.
