1. Power and obedience

What is the Hogg and Vauhgan definition of power?

Capacity to influence others while resisting their attempts to influence

Fiske and Berdahl, 2007 definitions of power

• The relative control over another’s valued outcomes

• outcomes can be physical, financial, social and etc

• people who control others’ outcomes have power, like it or not

What kinds of outcomes do harsh bases of power use?

• economic and physical outcomes

• work with outcomes that are more tangible and explicit

What kind of power differentials do harsh bases of power rely on?

rely on power differentials that are more obvious

When are harsh bases of power more likely to exist?

more likely to exist when power is illegitimate

What do harsh bases of power require?

• they require surveillance

• less power when not present

What kind of outcomes do soft bases of power use?

• social outcomes

• work with outcomes are more subjective and intangible

What kind of power differentials do soft bases of power rely on?

rely upon power differentials that may be less obvious

are soft bases of power weaker than harsh ones?

no they are not weaker than harsh bases of power

What kind of influence does soft bases of power produce?

tend to produce influence that is self-sustaining, without surveillance

Definition of coercive power?

• harsh

• the ability to give or threaten punishment for non-compliance

• e.g. a bully

definition of reward power?

• harsh

• the ability to give or promise rewards for compliance

• e.g. a donor

Definition of legitimate power?

• both harsh and soft

• the target’s belief that the influencer is authorised by a recognised power structure to command and make decisions

• e.g. a judge or police

Definition of informational power?

• soft

• The target’s belief that the influencer has more information than oneself

• e.g. spy

Definition of expert power?

• soft

• the target’s belief that the influencer has generally greater expertise and knowledge than oneself

• e.g. doctor

definition of referent power?

• soft

• identification with, attraction to or respect for the source of influence

• e.g. celebrity

What does the approach/ inhibition theory of power suggest about how people behave when they are in a position of high power?

High power → approach

• attention to rewards

• positive emotions (desire, enthusiasm, pride)

• automatic cognition

• disinhibition

• state/ trait driven behaviour

What does the approach/ inhibition theory of power suggest about how people behave when they are in a position of low power?

Low power → inhibition

• attention to threats

• negative emotions (awe, embarrassment, fear, guilt, shame)

• systematic, controlled cognition

• inhibition

• situationally constrained behaviour

What are 8 aspects that we may be more likely to observe in people who feel powerful?

• be more willing to engage in action

• act in line with their own preferences

• express their opinions openly

• experience and express more positive emotions

• have a decreased motivation to affiliate with low power individuals

• make more sinister attributions about the intentions of low-power individuals

• be less likely to engage in perspective-taking and to show empathic concern (particularly towards subordinates)

• have lower basal cortical levels and lower cortisol reactivity to stressors

What was found in Galinsky, Gruenfeld and Magee’s study when participants were places in a high or low power position during a task and then a game of blackjack?

• in task either manager or builder of a lego structure

• in game of blackjack players can ask for additional cards to reach 21

• those previously put in power → took more cards (more action)

What was found in Galinsky, Gruenfeld and Magee’s study when participants were places in a high or low power position during a task and then placed in a room with an annoying fan?

• ppts either allocated lottery tickets or predicted allocation

• when placed in a room with an annoying fan, those previously put in power dealt with the fan

What was found in Galinsky, Gruenfeld and Magee’s study when participants were places in a high or low power position during a task and then asked how much money they want to take/ return to the pool?

• ppts either allocated lottery tickets or predicted allocation

• those previously in power took more AND returned more to the pool

• whether action given is selfish or prosocial, people in power are more likely to take it

Finish this phrase to define Dominance?

The degree of deference, respect and attention one receives as a consequence of…

the perceived ability to coerce, intimidate and impose costs and benefit

Finish this phrase to define Prestige?

The degree of deference, respect and attention one receives as a consequence of…

perceived attractiveness as a cultural model or coalition partner

What was the procedure used by Cheng et al to determine whether one’s impression as dominant and/or prestigious lead to social influence within small groups?

• given imaginary scenario of moon crash-landing. Had to prioritise which things should be prioritised on the journey to the base

• task completed alone then in a group. in order to compare alone and group response to see who was most influential

• participants were then asked to rate their group members in terms of dominance and prestige

What were the measures of dominance and prestige and measures of social influence used by Cheng et al to determine whether one’s impression as dominant and/or prestigious lead to social influence within small groups?

measures of dominance and prestige

• group member evaluations of each other

• third-party evaluations of each group member

Measures of social influence

• behavioural change: how much were group decisions moved toward each individual’s rankings

• third party eye gaze: to whom did third-party gaze while watching videos of groups discussions?

What were the results of Cheng et al who determined whether one’s impression as dominant and/or prestigious lead to social influence within small groups?

• both dominance and prestige independently predict influence

• both independently predict visual attention toward the dominant or prestigious target

What are some dominance motives?

• i like to give orders and get things going

• i would enjoy having authority over people

• I enjoy planning things and deciding what other people should do

What are some prestige motives?

• I like to have people come to me for advice

• I like to be admired for my achievements

• I would like an important job where people look up to me

What are conflicts that leaders face?

• followers give leaders the power to make decisions that benefit the group

• leaders are ostensibly bound to act in the group’s interests

• but the group’s interests may be at odds with the leader’s self interest

• a key conflict can arise when power is unstable - when the leaders’ interest in keeping power may be more important for them than group interests

What was the design used by Maner and Mead to examine whether dominance-motivated individuals act in their own self-interest to maintain power, when a position of power is unstable?

• teams completed a puzzle

• each player could be granted clues

• performance earned them money that the group split

• Participants could secretly select clue quality for each member of their group

• Ps told that they had stable leadership, equal authority with all or unstable leadership (could be reassigned based on performance)

would unstable leadership lead dominance-motivated individuals to withhold information from group members?

What were the results of Maner and Mead? Would unstable leadership lead dominance-motivated individuals to withold information from group members

Yes, unstable leaders high in dominance shared less quality clues

How was Maner and Mead’s design adjusted to see if unstable leadership lead dominance-motivated individuals to exclude highly-skilled group members?

• pre-task ppts completed a test and received a high score, so did one other player

• told that too many people showed up for the experiment

• Ppts could anonymously tell experimenter how much they felt other members should be excluded

• leader could be reassigned based on performance in unstable leadership

What were the second results of maner and mead? Would unstable leadership lead dominance-motivated individuals to exclude highly-skilled group members?

Yes, high dominance individuals with unstable leadership had greater desire to exclude other skilled player

What can be concluded from Maner and Mead’s unstable leadership study?

Unstable leadership led dominance-oriented individuals to act in their own self interest, undermining group member performance and excluding highly skilled individuals

Group-based dominance occurs across many societies, based on…

• ethnicity

• religion

• gender

• etc

What are 3 ways in which group base dominance exerts itself

• via force (e.g. internment camps)

• outgroup derogation (e.g. disproportionate punishment of specific groups)

• ingroup bias (e.g. better provisions for healthcare or education)

What are the three theories that try to account for group-based dominance?

• Social identity theory

• social dominance theory

• system justification theory

What is the theoretical basis of social identity theory?

Groups provide us with a social identity

• who we are

• who we ostensibly should be

What are the three things that group identity/ salience increased through a process of categorisation?

• (self-)stereotyping: think of ourselves as possessing the traits of the group

• depersonalisation

• perceived intergroup difference

What are the three ways we strive for positive distinctiveness within the social identity approach?

• individual mobility (if groups are permeable)

• social creativity (change the rules)

• social competition (ingroup favouritism)

How do minimal group paradigms provide support for the Social Identity Approach?

• manipulation with group assignment into arbitrary groups. For example, based on: high vs low estimators, estimation accuracy, aesthetic preferences or even scarf colour

• and then measured using monetary distribution to see if in-group favoured

What is the theoretical basis of social dominance theory?

Group-based hierarchies exist across societies

• some have positive social value (access to power, wealth, healthcare, etc)

• some have negative social value (substandard housing, underemployment etc)

How is discrimination coordinated in social dominance theory? The assymmetry hypothesis 

Discrimination coordinated via legitimising myths

• the asymmetry hypothesis: asymmetrical ingroup bias, more likely to endorse legitimising myths

What is social dominance orientation?

an individual orientation toward group-based dominance

What are some example items from the social dominance orientation scale? (screenshot)

What is the system justification theory?

• system justification is the process by which existing social arrangements are legitimised, even at the expense of personal and group interest

What does system justification theory argue?

• there is a general ideological motive to justify the existing social order

• this motive is at least partially responsible for the internalisation of inferiority among members of disadvantaged groups (outgroup favouritism)

• it si observed most readily at an implicit, nonconscious level of awareness

• it is sometimes strongest among those who are most harmed by the status quo

System justification theory from the perspective of ego?

The desire to maintain a favourable self image, to feel valid, justified and legitimate as an individual

System justification theory with focus on system?

desire to imbue the status quo with legitimacy and to see it as good, fair, natural, desirable and even inevitable

System justification theory with focus on group?

the desire to maintain favourable images of one’s group and to justify the actions of ingroup members

What was found studying gay and straight participants on outgroup favouritism among disadvantaged groups

• gay ppts more likely to show outgroup favouritism on implicit measures

• as political conservatism increases, members of high status groups will exhibit increased ingroup favouritism and members of low status groups will exhibit increased outgroup favoritism

Definition of obedience or coercive compliance?

• a change in behaviour or expresses attitudes and beliefs

• in response to the direct request of a powerful person or group

• does not require internalisation

Definition of conformity

• a change in behaviour or expressed attitudes or beliefs

• in response to social norms or others’ behaviour

• does not require internalisation

persuasion definition

• a change in attitude, beliefs or behaviour

• in response to direct messages

• requires internalisation

What was the procedure in Milgram’s classic experiments?

• An experimenter a teacher and a learner

• the ppt is the teacher. The learner is a confederate

• the learner is completing a memory test. for every wrong answer, the teacher is instructed to deliver the learner a shock, which gets stronger each time

• critical measure: how far does the teacher go before he/she refuses to continue

What were milgram’s key results?

• experts predicted that few people would complete the experiment

• but 65% in the original studies continued to deliver the shocks until the end

• this pattern has been replicated, even in recent years

When did disobedience increase in Milgram’s variations?

disobedience increased when

• experimenter provided no explicit direction to increase shocks

• a group of teachers (confeds) pressured the participant to disobey

• the teacher was proximal to the learner

• the experimenter was no physically present

• the teacher and learner were friends or relatives

• experimenters were inconsistent (providing conflicting instructions)

What are 5 explanations that could be applied to milgrams findings?

• blind obedience to powe

• diffusion of responsibility

• the psychology of sunk cost

• conformity to group norms (SIT)

• persuasion

What is the situationist account for Milgram’s findings?

• often it is not so much the kind of person a man is as the kind of situation in which he finds himself that determines how he will act

Hannah Arendt’s account of Milgram’s findings

• her writings on Eichmann and the “the banality of evil” are often associated with the Milgram studies

• but personal responsibility was central to her arguments

• “there is no such thing as obedience in political and moral matters”