Power

Question 1

What are the Milgram studies? What were they studying?

Answer 1

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

Question 2

What were the 4 “prods” that were used in the Milgram study? Which one was the least effective? Why?

Answer 2

“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)

Question 3

What were some of the modified tests that Milgram tried which had little effect on results?

Answer 3

Voice contact, cries of distress, refusal to participate, and information about a heart condition had little effect.

Question 4

What version of the Milgram test had the most effect on people stopping the shocks?

Answer 4

The version that seemed to have the most effect on people stopping was the “invocation of right to stop”

Question 5

Did obedience in the Milgram studies increase or decrease with participant’s closer proximity to the victim? What about closer proximity to the experimenter?

Answer 5

victim - decreased

experimenter - increased

Question 6

What happened to obedience levels in the Milgram studies when it was held at a small private firm rather than Yale?

Answer 6

Declined but not that much

Question 7

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?

Answer 7

Declined drastically

Question 8

What happened to obedience levels in the Milgram studies when a group inflicted the shocks and one or more group members quit?

Answer 8

reduced obedience to negligible levels

Question 9

Do we have less obedience levels now than we did in the 50s?

Answer 9

a little less obedience but not much less than the 50’s

Question 10

What are the 6 types (bases) of power?

Answer 10

reward

coercive

legitimate

referent

expert

informational

Question 11

What is reward power?

Answer 11

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)

Question 12

What is coercive power?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

What is legitimate power?

Answer 13

The shared perception that power is legitimate.

E.g., police officer, teacher, boss – everybody accepts that these positions have legitimate power

Question 14

What is referent power?

Answer 14

Power that flows from liking, admiration, and respect.

E.g., the popular people, the likable/outgoing people

Question 15

What is expert power?

Answer 15

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)

Question 16

What is informational power?

Answer 16

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

Question 17

What are the three types of power tactics?

Answer 17

Hard vs. Soft

Direct/rational vs. Indirect/non-rational

Unilateral vs. bilateral

Question 18

What are hard and soft power tactics?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Are hard or soft tactics more effective?

Answer 19

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)

Question 20

What are direct/rational and indirect/non-rational power tactics?

Answer 20

Indirect is more manipulating someone into doing something

Question 21

What are unilateral and bilateral power tactics?

Answer 21

Unilateral (flow only from the demander) versus bilateral (involve give and take) tactics

Unilateral - flows from the powerful to powerless
Bilateral - exchange

Question 22

What is the foot in the door technique? What is it an example of?

Answer 22

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)

Question 23

What do groups tend to form quickly even when they start out as equals? What is this sometimes referred to as?

Answer 23

Groups tend to quickly form status hierarchies even when they start out all equal. This hierarchy is sometimes called a pecking order.

Question 24

How do people signal high or low status to a group?

Answer 24

strength of handshake, openness of posture, presence or absence of smile, etc.

Question 25

What things are high status individuals more likely to do in groups?

Answer 25

more likely to tell others what to do, interpret others’ comments, evaluate others’ points of view, and summarize or reflect on a discussion

Question 26

People differ in their need for ___________.

Answer 26

power

Question 27

What is expectation states theory? Whose theory is it?

Answer 27

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.

Question 28

What is status generalization? What exaggerates this tendency? What theory does this concept pertain to?

Answer 28

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)

Question 29

Diffuse characteristics tend to be most potent at what point in the group process?

Answer 29

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

Question 30

What does the text say about why we tend to have/need status hierarchies? What does Sven say?

Answer 30

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

Question 31

What is interpersonal complementarity?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

What are the advantages and disadvantages of clear hierarchies within groups?

Answer 32

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.

Question 33

What does power tend to increase in the powerful individual? What does it tend to decrease?

Answer 33

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

Question 34

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?

Answer 34

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)

Question 35

Powerful people tend to feel both more willing and able (through ___________________________) to pursue goals.

Answer 35

improved self-regulation

Question 36

Power enhances what three activities in individuals?

Answer 36

Power enhances attention, decision-making, and planning.

Question 37

Power insulates people from what? What is the result?

Answer 37

Power insulates people from the influence of others, making them more likely to do what they want.

Question 38

People who feel powerful often take more _______ and may be irrationally ____________.

Answer 38

risks optimistic

Question 39

People under the power of other (more powerful) people tend to experience what?

Answer 39

more negative emotions like anger, fear, and tension

Question 40

Unless understanding their subordinates is very important to carrying out functions they consider important, powerful people are really bad at what?

Answer 40

empathy

Question 41

Powerful people can often become _______ and _____________. Powerful people often exert power for what reason?

Answer 41

smug and self-satisfied fun, even if it makes subordinates unhappy.

Question 42

Powerful people often lose track of what? What is a famous example of this?

Answer 42

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

Question 43

What are the three negative effects of power on subordinates?

Answer 43

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.