Wanting to Be Boss and Wanting to Be Subordinate: Effects on Performance Motivation

Does dyad members' motivation to take on a high or low power position influence the dyad's performance motivation when assigned to hierarchical roles? Participants in 69 dyads (33 all‐women, 36 all‐men) indicated whether they preferred the high‐power role (owner of an art gallery) or the low power role (assistant to the owner). Power roles were then randomly assigned. The dyad's interaction during task solving was videotaped. Uninvolved coders rated performance motivation as the degree of quality of the superior's and the subordinate's task contributions and effort put into the task. Performance motivation was better if the boss preferred the high power to the low power role, irrespective of the subordinate's role preference. Leadership effectiveness is thus affected by the superior's power motivation.     

Understanding seat-belt use: A test of Bentler and Speckart's extension of the ‘theory of reasoned action’

It is shown that Fishbein's ‘theory of reasoned action’ can be used to explain people's intentions to wear seat belts. As Bentler and Speckart (1979) have proposed, a self-report measure of past behaviour is shown to significantly improve the model's power; this extended Fishbein model being capable of accounting for the majority of the effects that extraneous variables, which are known to influence seat-belt use, have upon a person's behavioural intentions. In addition, it is shown that the model's motivation to comply term is, as Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) have proposed, a unipolar rather than a bi-polar construct, but that even when this construct is scored as unipolar, it does not significantly add to the model's predictive power.     

Reexamining Bases of Power From an Attributional Perspective1

Four replications of Rodrigues' (1995) study on genotypical similarities of Raven's (1965) power taxonomy are reported. Rodrigues found that compliance induced by reward, informational, and referent power is perceived as more internal and controllable than compliant behavior induced by expert, legitimate, and coercive power. The replications included 4 new aspects: (a) subjects are highly ego-involved in the hypothetical situation presented; (b) subjects are actors rather than observers; (c) subjects are from another culture; and (d) subjects are asked to play the role of a supervisor and apply sanctions to the person who complied as a result of the influence attempt, thus affording an empirical testing of Weiner's (1995) thought-affect-action sequence when responsibility judgments are made. The results of all 5 studies, with a total of 570 subjects, support Rodrigues' (1995) findings and confirm Weiner's (1995) hypothesis     

THE EFFECT OF POSITION POWER AND PERCEIVED TASK COMPETENCE ON TRAINER EFFECTIVENESS: A PARTIAL UTILIZATION OF FIEDLER'S CONTINGENCY MODEL OF LEADERSHIP1

This study investigates the effect of trainer position power and trainer perceived task competence on trainees' performance levels. Three classifications of position power are examined: (1) high position power; (2) moderate position power; and (3) low position power. Two conditions of perceived task competence are also investigated: (1) high competence trainer behavior and (2) low competence trainer behavior. The results indicate that trainees perform at a higher level when trained by a trainer with high position power and high task competence as compared to a trainer with low position power and low task competence. The results also show that the trainer's position power and trainer's task competence jointly affect trainee effectiveness. Based on the research results, changes in organizations' standard training programs are recommended.     

The Idea of Power and Locke's Taxonomy of Ideas

Locke's account of the idea of power is thought to be seriously problematic. Commentators allege (1) that the idea of power causes problems for Locke's taxonomy of ideas, (2) that it is defined circularly, and (3) that, contrary to Locke's claims, it cannot be acquired in experience. This paper defends Locke's account. Previous commentators have assumed that there is only one idea of power. But close attention to Locke's text, combined with background features of his theory of ideas, supports the drawing of a distinction between four different ideas of power. The paper describes each idea and its role in the Essay. It then argues that this distinction can help Locke to avoid the traditional criticisms.     

Exposing information sharing as strategic behavior: power as responsibility and “Trust” buttons

Online platforms' success depends on individual's information sharing (IS). However, previous research showed that “knowledge is power” is a default‐perception in organizations and that individuals share relatively unimportant information while keeping the important private information for themselves. Trust has also been identified as important enabler of IS. We examined the role of power construed as responsibility for others' outcomes and of a “Trust” button, a theory‐inspired technological feature, using a 2(Power construals: opportunity vs. responsibility) × 2(Buttons: “Like” vs. “Like‐or‐Trust”) × 2(Information sharedness as within‐subjects factor; public, private) design. Findings showed that construing power as responsibility and “Trust” button's presence increased the sharing of private information; clicking behavior yielded insights into the underlying mechanisms. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

The attraction of social power: The influence of construing power as opportunity versus responsibility

Social power can be construed as opportunity (focusing on the possibility of one's own goal achievement resulting from the control over others' outcomes) or as responsibility (focusing on the implications of one's own actions resulting from the control over others' outcomes). Four experiments tested the impact of different construals of social power on the attraction of power. Due to the salience of the possibility for goal achievement, power construed as opportunity was expected to be more attractive than power construed as responsibility. This effect was predicted to be particularly pronounced among individuals with a strong promotion orientation, because of their focus on gains and achievements. Results supported these predictions and indicate that future research should take different construals of power into account.     

Reconsidering the will to power in Heidegger's ‘Nietzsche’

In this paper, I reconsider Martin Heidegger's well-known interpretation of the Nietzschean conception of the will to power that emerges during the 1930s and 40s, focusing specifically on his conception of the will to power as the principle that suspends (or to use Heidegger's word, ‘permanentises’) becoming. After revealing the difficulties that this reading presents, I provide my own tentative interpretation of the doctrine. Specifically, I argue that Heidegger's opposition of the will to power and becoming cannot be sustained, and provide a so-called ‘strong’ reading of the will to power as an alternative.     

Theorizing About Power: Intersecting the Ideas of Foucault with the “Problem” of Power in Family Therapy

How to theorize about power has been a controversial issue in systemic family therapy, which, in its understanding of power, has shown the legacy of Gregory Bateson's ideas in terms of its earlier censorship of the concept of power as well as in the way in which the more recent challenges continue to be framed in relation to Bateson's position. This essay examines the work of the French philosopher, Michel Foucault, and his ideas on power in relation to family therapy themes. The main aim in intersecting Foucault's ideas with the “problem” of power in family therapy is to shed a different light on the way in which family therapy has theorized about power. A strong point of connection is made between Foucault's commitment to a relational analysis of power and family therapy's commitment to recursive analysis. However, a number of major contrasts are also identified. These contrasts are used to underline the need for family therapy to abandon the restrictions of Bateson's ideas on power, and to tackle the task of developing and using a recursive understanding of power.     

Sample size determinations for Welch's test in one‐way heteroscedastic ANOVA

For one‐way fixed effects ANOVA, it is well known that the conventional F test of the equality of means is not robust to unequal variances, and numerous methods have been proposed for dealing with heteroscedasticity. On the basis of extensive empirical evidence of Type I error control and power performance, Welch's procedure is frequently recommended as the major alternative to the ANOVA F test under variance heterogeneity. To enhance its practical usefulness, this paper considers an important aspect of Welch's method in determining the sample size necessary to achieve a given power. Simulation studies are conducted to compare two approximate power functions of Welch's test for their accuracy in sample size calculations over a wide variety of model configurations with heteroscedastic structures. The numerical investigations show that Levy's (1978a) approach is clearly more accurate than the formula of Luh and Guo (2011) for the range of model specifications considered here. Accordingly, computer programs are provided to implement the technique recommended by Levy for power calculation and sample size determination within the context of the one‐way heteroscedastic ANOVA model.     

Dynamic Stereotypes of Power: Perceived Change and Stability in Gender Hierarchies

Despite widespread change in gender roles, women continue to have less power than men. From the perspective of social role theory, this gender difference in power should be perceived as eroding as women gain access to male-dominated roles typically associated with power. Study 1's open-ended reports nearly unanimously projected an increase in women's power over the next 50 years, whereas responses were equally split between projecting stability or a decrease in men's power. Study 2's quantitative findings illustrated that participants perceived women as gaining in political, economic, occupational, individual, and relational power from the past into the future. In contrast, men were perceived as decreasing in relational power but maintaining levels of other forms of power over time. Despite the projections of increases in women's power, women were not projected to reach parity with men by 2050. We examine the implications of these beliefs for future social change.     

Power and perceived influence: I caused your behavior,but I'm not responsible for it

There are numerous examples of powerful people denying responsibility for others' (mis)conduct in which they played—and acknowledge playing—a causal role. The current article seeks to explain this conundrum by examining the difference between, and powerful people's beliefs about, causality and responsibility. Research has shown power to have numerous psychological consequences. Some of these consequences, such as overconfidence, are likely to increase an individual's belief that he or she caused another person's behavior. However, others, such as decreased perspective‐taking, are likely to decrease an individual's belief that he or she was responsible for another person's behavior. In combination, these psychological consequences of power may lead powerful people to believe that they instigated another's behavior while simultaneously believing that the other person could have chosen to do otherwise. The dissociation between these two attributions may help to explain why people in positions of power often deny responsibility for others' behavior—unethical or otherwise—that they undeniably caused.     

Spinoza on power

Spinoza's concept of ‘power’ finds expression in every major topic of which he treats. Some of the ways to the understanding of that concept are: the metaphysical, the genetic, and the political. I. Metaphysically, Spinoza distinguishes power from force or energy and defines it as the ability of a system to survive. The most interesting application of this definition is to that system, man, for whom survival means realization of his essence, achievement of understanding. II. The depth and generality of Spinoza's concept of power can be appreciated more clearly if we refer to its sources in (1) the classical analysis of ‘virtue’ beginning with Plato, (2) the traditional theological ponderings on the nature of God, and (3) the method and presuppositions of physical science. III. At the metaphysical level of analysis, power and liberty are shown to be all but synonymous. Spinoza's analysis of political power undermines previous authoritarian, hierarchical, and elitist theories of government and ends with a proof that both individual and social power flourish best under democratic government.     

Effects of Nonverbal Behavior on Perceptions of a Female Employee's Power Bases

Abstract

The authors extended a previous examination of the effects of nonverbal behavior on perceptions of a male employee's power bases (H. Aguinis, M. M. Simonsen, & C. A. Pierce, 1998) by examining the effects of nonverbal behavior on perceptions of a female employee's power bases. U.S. undergraduates read vignettes describing a female employee engaging in 3 types of nonverbal behavior (i.e., eye contact, facial expression, body posture) and rated their perceptions of the woman's power bases (i.e., reward, coercive, legitimate, referent, expert, credibility). As predicted, (a) direct eye contact increased perceptions of coercive power, and (b) a relaxed facial expression decreased perceptions of all 6 power bases. Also as predicted, the present results differed markedly from those of Aguinis et al. (1998) regarding a male employee. The authors discuss implications for theory, future research, and the advancement of female employees.     

Attribution and Social Influence1

This article utilizes an attributional approach to explore genotypic similarities among Raven's (1965) 6 bases of power. Two scenarios describing a successful influence attempt leading to a good or a bad outcome were created. Following a randomized blocks design, 60 subjects in each condition read 6 explanations given by the target of influence that reflected the bases of power of Raven's taxonomy (reward, coercion, legitimate, referent, expert, and informational). Rating scales following each power basis explanation assessed the perceived causal dimensions of locus and controllability attributed to the target of influence's behavior and how much the behavior led, in the good and bad outcome conditions, respectively, to pride (guilt), self-esteem enhancement (decrement), responsibility (as perceived by self and by others), and gratitude (anger). The results revealed that reward, referent, and informational influence are genotypically similar and perceived as more internal and more controllable than expert, legitimate, and coercive influence. These perceptions, in turn, led to higher degrees of affective reactions, confirming the predictions of Weiner's theory (1986). The results are related to Milgram's (1963) obedience studies and Kelman and Hamilton's (1989) crimes of obedience. Comments on why reward and coercive influence were found to be genotypically distinct in this study are also presented. Implications of the actor/observer bias in studies of this nature are indicated.     

Power and Pleasure

SUMMARY

In exploring issues of power and pleasure in relationships the author uses Erikson's (1965) developmental 'eight ages of man' as both a conceptual framework and a way of describing aspects of the developmental growth of boys as men, and he completes Erikson's (1968) epigenesis of the life cycle in relation to identity and intimacy. Drawing on literature on male psychology, his own experience and his experience as a counsellor and a Transactional Analysis (TA) psychotherapist in clinical training, the author focuses on male identity and men's capacity for intimacy in relationships. The use and abuse of power in achieving male identity, and the implications for mutual pleasure and interdependence in intimate relationships are outlined and practice issues for counselling and psychotherapy with men in relation to identity and intimacy issues are considered.     

The Free Harmony of the Faculties and the Primacy of Imagination in Kant's Aesthetic Judgment

This essay argues that, contrary to the prevailing view according to which reflection in Kant's aesthetic judgment is interpreted as ‘the logical actus of the understanding’, we should pay closer attention to Kant's own formulation of aesthetic reflection as ‘an action of the power of imagination’. Put differently, I contend in this essay that the rule that governs and orders the manifold in aesthetic judgment is imagination's own achievement, the achievement of the productive synthesis of the ‘fictive power’ (Dichtungsvermögen), entirely independent of the understanding. While this view does not entail that the faculty of the understanding is not necessary in aesthetic reflection, a stronger emphasis on the role of imagination in aesthetic reflection allows us to realize that its schematizing and interpretive activity, while consistent with, goes well beyond the discursive demands of the understanding insofar as it intimates the supersensible ground of freedom that manifests itself as ‘the feeling of life’. Therefore, I show in this essay that the imagination's unique interpretive power has a special role in completing Kant's critical system by facilitating the connection of the sensible to the supersensible, which further helps us appreciate imagination's practical as opposed to merely cognitive significance.     

Power use and differential competence as determinants of subordinates' evaluative and behavioural responses in simulated organizations

Insights from leader–member exchange theory and social justice theory were combined to derive predictions about the effects of relative competence and power use by a more powerful other on evaluative and behavioural responses of subordinates. These predictions were tested in two experiments, using a simulated organizational structure. The main results of the first experiment (N=73) indicate that frequency of power use is an important determinant of subordinates' evaluations of the status quo, supporting predictions from leader–member exchange theory. However, in line with a procedural justice explanation, perceived legitimacy of the superior's behaviour and participants' cooperative intentions were determined jointly by power use and relative competence. A second experiment (N=152) more closely investigated behavioural responses. The findings obtained in Experiment 1 were replicated, and as predicted, interaction effects of the superior's power use and competence were found for subordinates' collaborative behaviour and employee turnover. Both these effects were mediated by participants' sense of commitment to their superior. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

“Love is only between living beings who are equal in power”: On what is alive (and what is dead) in Hegel's account of marriage

The paper develops a conception of marital love as a complex recognitive relation, which I articulate by juxtaposing it against other recognitive relations that figure in Hegel's theory of modern civil society (i.e., respect and esteem). Drawing on Hegel's early writings, I argue that, if love is to provide its unique sort of recognition, it must obtain between “living beings who are equal in power”—a peculiar form of equality that I name (drawing on Stanley Cavell's work) “dynamic equality.” I conclude that it is by Hegel's own lights that we should reject his notorious conception of the sexual difference. However, I also offer reasons why, from Hegel's early 19th century perspective, he could consider the following two conditions as compatible: (1) equality within marriage and (2) sexual hierarchy outside marriage, namely, in civil society.