Intervention and Dialogue - Chapter 6 Using Power Power = Capacity to affect the outcomes of oneself, others and the

e environment. Constructive vs. Destructive Use of Power: 1. Enhance/Decrease Group Effectiveness , longing for goals, 2. Power is used for others /own benefit 3. Power established by voting (others agreement or own will. All in all Increase group effectiveness /all benefit vs. self-benefit or forcing of others.

Dynamic Interdependence view of power Power changes in relation to the interaction between people. Amount of Power influenced by all members.

Power in competitive context: power is used to get advantage to the expense of others. Power is 1. Fixed-pie resource: total amount of power is limited 2. Zero-sum resource: Power An increase, Power B lessened. 3. Commodity that should be hoarded: Use power to increase power difference (iron law of oligarchy) 4. Acting in a unidirectional way: division between powerful and powerless. Dominant influence subservient persons. 5. Being inherently coercive: Force subservient persons.

Reactance = Reestablishing of personal freedom

Power in cooperative context: power is used to maximize group benefits. Power is 1. Expandable: Joint power increase as positive interdependence increase. 2. Something to be shared: Power is shared to achieve goals 3. Acting in a bidirectional way: Power differences minimized/ All members influence each other. 4. Noncoercive: group members want to influence and be influenced by other members. 5. Asymmetrical: One member is more or less dependent on other members resources (never equally!) 6. Based on expertise, competence and access to information: Authority and Personality are set aside in favor of expertise and competence. Group members are inducible (Inducibility: openness to influence) Goal accomplishing by using mobilized power 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Determining the goals Contributing your resources Making coalitions out of group members Negotiating Contracts to support one anothers efforts Carrying out of activities needed to achieve goals

 Trait factor approach: Is the power to persuade inheritable? Is dominance (control over resources) inheritable ?

Social exchange theory: power is based on the control over valuable resources. Six Bases of Power Reward power: s.o is capable of delivering positive reinforcement/ removing negative reinforcement. Coercive power: s.o is capable of punishing group members Legitimate power: s.o has power, because of his/her status/position Referent power: group members like or want to identify with the person in power position Expert power: s.o has special expertise/knowledge and has therefore value for the group Informational Power: Group members think, the leader has valuable information, which is not available anywhere else.

High-power strategies to justify status Quo 1. 2. 3. 4. L: Legitimize own Privileges and intimidate low-power individuals E: Self-enhancement A: Attribute low-power peoples success to own control D: Devalue low-power individuals and their contributions

Metamorphic effects of higher power people change when they have high power Power stereotyping theory high-status members stereotype subordinates, because they pay less attention to them Low-power strategies to change status Quo 1. 2. 3. 4. C: Cooperative, compliant yielding in interactions with high-power members O: Attribution of causes of group successes to own efforts R: Resistance, psychological reactance of high-power members efforts E: Negative Evaluations of high-power members

Relationships among low-power groups: 1. Similarity attraction hypothesis: Low-power groups have similar circumstances higher attraction towards each other 2. Common-enemy position: two-low power groups have the same enemy (high power group)

Conformity Changes in behavior that result from group influences (Asch study) Compliance Behavioral change without attitude change (no internal acceptance) Private acceptance Changes in behavior and attitudes

Group members accept group norms when: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. They see norms exist and also other members accept the norms. They see the norms as helping They have a sense of ownership for the norms; are involved in norm establishing. They enforce the norms to one another after violation. They see examples/models of normed behavior. They see that the norms promote goal accomplishment They see that the norms are flexible/ can be changed.

Collective behavior: panic, mass hysteria, riots actions an individual would not perform on his/her own Explanations: I. Le Bon - Crowd behavior results from: 1. Anonymity: People feel less responsible, when they cannot be identified. 2. Contagion: Emotional states spread from one person to another (disease-like). 3. Suggestibility: Crowd members accept suggestions blindly, like they were hypnotized. II. Convergence theory: A crowd brings people with same tendencies (desires, motivations) together. The crowd represents and acts out in the way of shared desires and motivations. III. Deindividuation theory (Festinger): People act different, when they are anonymous reduction of inner constraints, reduced responsibility, anti-social acts cant be judged.