French and Raven's bases of power
[6] The bases of social power have evolved over the years with benefits coming from advanced research and theoretical developments in related fields.
French and Raven developed an original model outlining the change dependencies and also further delineating each power basis.
[5] As mentioned above, there are now six main concepts of power strategies consistently studied in social communication research.
Additionally, research has shown that source credibility has an explicit effect on the bases of power used in persuasion.
One organizational study found that reward power tended to lead to greater satisfaction on the part of employees, which means that it might increase influence in a broad range of situations.
Coercive power was more effective in influencing a subordinate who jeopardized the success of the overall organization or threatened the leader's authority, even though in the short term it also led to resentment on the part of the target.
In the short term, complete reliance on information power might even be dangerous (for example, telling a small child not to run into the street unattended).
A military officer leading his troops into combat might be severely handicapped if he had to give complete explanations for each move.
[9] An example of impersonal coercion relates a person's belief that the influencing agent has the real power to physically threaten, impose a monetary fine or dismiss an employee.
The power of coercion has been proven to be related with punitive behavior that may be outside one's normal role expectations.
Some examples of reward power (positive reward) are: (a) a child is given a dollar for earning better grades; (b) a student is admitted into an honor society for excellent effort; (c) a retiree is praised and feted for lengthy service at a retirement party; and (d) New York firefighters were heralded as heroes for their acts on September 11, 2001.
Some examples of reward power (negative reward) are: (a) a driver is fined for illegal parking; (b) a teenager grounded for a week for misbehaving; (c) a rookie player is ridiculed for not following tradition; and (d) President Warren G. Harding's name is commonly invoked whenever political scandal is mentioned.
[5] Legitimate power comes from an elected, selected, or appointed position of authority and may be underpinned by social norms.
Occasionally, those possessing legitimate power fail to recognize they have it, and may begin to notice others going around them to accomplish their goals.
[14] Three bases of legitimate power are cultural values, acceptance of social structure, and designation.
[5] An agent for change motivated with a strong need for affiliation and concern of likeability will prefer this power base and will influence their leadership style.
[5] Examples of referent power include: (a) each of the last seven White House press secretaries have been paid handsomely for their memoirs relating to their presence at the seat of government; (b) Mrs. Hillary Clinton gained political capital by her marriage to the President; (c) Reverend Pat Robertson lost a bid for the Republican Party's nomination for President due, in significant part, to his religious affiliation; and (4) national firefighters have received vocational acclaim due to the association with the heroic NYC firefighters.
[3] A link between informational power, control, cooperation, and satisfaction have been hypothesized and tested in a lab study.
The findings indicate that a channel member's control over another's strategy increases with its informational power source.
[1] According to Raven, there will be more use of Information power if the motive is a need for achievement and can also be affected by an agent's self-esteem.
Examples of information that is sensitive or limits accessibility: (a) national security data; (b) personnel information for government or business; (c) corporate trade secrets; (d) juvenile court records; (e) many privately settled lawsuit documents; (f) Swiss bank account owners; and (g) private phone conversations.
Information can, and often is, used as a weapon as in a divorce, a child custody case, business dissolution, or in civil suits discoveries.
Our society is now reliant on information power as knowledge for influence, decision making, credibility, and control.
Traditions, for the most part, are social constructs; they invite, seduce, or compel us to conform and act in predictable, patterned ways.
The power of traditions, rather than being typically vested in particular individuals, is ordinarily focused on group conformity[8] Charismatic power is that aura possessed by only a few individuals in our midst; it is characterized by super confidence, typical physical attractiveness, social adroitness, amiability, sharpened leadership skills, and heightened charm.
Some charisma has dark and sinister overtones such as that shown by Adolf Hitler, Jim Jones, Idi Amin, Osama bin Laden, David Koresh, and many confidence tricksters.
Power tactics are different strategies used to influence others, typically to gain a particular advantage or objective.
An interpersonally oriented individual who wishes to be liked will use more soft, indirect, and rational power tactics in leader roles.
In contrast, someone who holds dictatorial power will use hard, direct, and irrational tactics.
Females tend to intervene more diminutive than their male counterparts in leadership roles and use far fewer tactics.
