Power and influence are commonly interchanged though this causes individuals to misunderstand the true meaning of each. Power and influence are defined differently. Power, is the ability an individual has to potentially influence others (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, 2012). Influence is defined as the actual change in the targeted individual’s attitude (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, 2012).
Displaying power can be as simple as attire or the way one dresses. After reading about attire and power I quickly thought back to my previous Psychology class, and our discussion on power. In our previous class we reviewed various experiments which compared compliance between those in high status attire and normative attire. The majority of the studies in fact did show those dressed in attire signaling power obtained more compliance than those dressed regular.
This past weekend I was at the pool with a few of my friends. A man was sitting in his trunks, shirtless, with no sign of him being in charge. Two of my friends were running and the man instructed them to stop. Due to the man not providing sufficient attire proving his power, my friends continued to run. The man quickly placed his shirt on signaling his power, and as soon as he placed his shirt on my friends stopped running. Though this is a very mild example of uniform and power, this shows the influence attire has on individuals.
Milgram’s experiment in delivering electric shocks of different voltages also signals the importance of authority. Milgram’s experiment found 70% of those participating conformed even when the learners were screaming in pain (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, 2012). Without taking into account the various types of taxonomy of social power, merely legitimate power plays a large role in whom an individual listens too.
Taxonomy of social power is broken down into, expert power, referent power, legitimate power, reward power, and coercive power. Expert power is defined as the knowledge the leader holds in a specific field, for example a doctor has more power over a nurse (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, 2012). Referent power is different and focuses on the relationship between the follower and leader (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, 2012). Legitimate power, which was previously talked about is simply the title one holds, which could be a boss or teacher (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, 2012). Reward power is also powerful and is the ability to deliver rewards which may vary in what they are. Last but not least is coercive power, this power is opposite of reward and is actually punishing an individual for not complying with a task (Hughes, Ginnett, and Curphy, 2012).
Various types of power may lead to different impacts brought to the followers. Using one type of power may be more beneficial in one situation but not another. The amount of power attire has on conformity is shocking to many, for many people do not realize how much impact attire can have on a person in conforming.
References
Leadership: Enhancing the Lessons of Experience. Homeland, IL. (1993).
It is always interesting to me how people in different levels of power represent their roles. The point you made about the lifeguard being in a more visible daily position of power in comparison to the CEO of an organization reminded me of several things. First, often times, it’s obvious who the CEO is at a company. One can tell by the secluded office, his/her attire, signs or name plates indicating who is in charge, and the way that subordinates sometimes seem to physically shrink in their presence. A leader’s motive for deciphering him/herself in these ways lends to a need for personalized power noted by McClelland and Boyatzis (1982) which can be attained through several strategies including building trusting relationships, and being outspoken and forceful. This type of leader likes to see signs of their own authority and status and finds satisfaction in having others defer to them (McClelland and Boyatzis (1982). The motivation for personalized power, the kind of power that points to his or her status and attends to their narcissistic need for individual attention and affirmation has several facets. Personalized power seekers are selfish, impulsive, uninhibited and lack self-control. Their desire for personalized power is focused on their own needs, as opposed to the needs of the organization (Williams, 2016).
Conversely, you give the example of the lifeguard whom exemplifies socialized power on a daily basis. Socialized power is expressed in the service of higher goals…and often involves empowering subordinates instead of employing a fear-driven, coercive style which implies possible punishment or loss of valued outcomes (Williams, 2016). In this case, the lifeguard allows swimmers the opportunity to manage themselves. He does not flaunt his power with a title written across his chest, he simply puts the power of his attire to use when it becomes necessary to establish his role. His specific type of power here is legitimate power, where his position gives him power by defined role, and his role defines him as an expert power as well; one who obtains a level of knowledge beyond that of his subordinates (Williams, 2016). While in reality he may have simply been trying to establish a good base tan, the lifeguard established himself as possibly more influential than the aforementioned CEO, which suggests that he is more powerful, even though the CEO may be regarded as having a higher level position. The lifeguard manages a large and varying group of subordinates on a daily basis, and seems satisfied with the understated, yet meaningful influence that he has acquired, not needing personalized power to feed his ego. He takes his responsibility seriously, which was evident by the fact that he gave verbal warning before envoking his attire to establish his power and proved successful in his management style since your friends did stop running after being told by someone wielding perceived power.
Reference
Williams, J. (2018). Lesson 7: Power and Influence. Pennsylvania State University, PSYCH 485. Retrieved from: https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1923777/modules/items/23736210
I thought you presented a good example of legitimate power in ordinary life, how even a lifeguard can influence individuals to behave in a particular way, just by wearing a uniform to show their authority. I think it is easy for many people to solely think of leaders as those wielding great power and influence over others, such as CEOs of organizations, and forget about those people whom we run into on a daily basis, such as doctors, professors, police officers, and even lifeguards.
These individuals with legitimate power are likely to be much more influential on others not solely by using their authority, but by also incorporating their expert power of knowledge in the relevant subject matter at hand (Hughes, Ginnett, & Curphy, 2012, pp.116). Doctors are extremely powerful and influential on their patients because their patients trust that he has great expertise on the subject of health and medicine. The unique thing about expert power is that an individual does not have to be in the highest rank to use this type of power. For example, a professor may be more knowledgeable in a particular subject matter than their head of the department. These examples highlight French and Raven’s (1960) ideas of most effective leaders will utilize their multiple sources of power (Hughes et al., 2012, pp.120).
However, it is important to point out that as said by Benjamin Parker, more commonly known as Spider-Man, “with great power comes great responsibility.” I believe that the Milgram experiment you mention is a good example of what can happen when power gets out of hand. While the participants did not cause any actual harm to the “learner” in the experiment, the Milgram Studies is widely considered unethical due to the fact they believed they had caused another individual great harm, leading to great emotional distress and psychological suffering (Hughes et al., 2012, pp.112). The Milgram study opens the door to question how far people will go to harm themselves or others when given a directive from a person in a position of leadership. Lord Acton said “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” applies in this situation because the participants had absolute power, anonymity, and no set repercussions for their behaviors, making it the perfect recipe for abusive power.
References:
French, J. P. R. Jr., and Raven, B. (1960). The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright and A. Zander (eds.), Group dynamics (pp. 607-623). New York: Harper and Row.
Hughes, R. L., Ginnett, R. C., & Curphy, G. J. (2012). Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.
You bring up an interesting topic with attire and how it can coincide with power. I like to think of grocery stores, movie theaters, stores like Target and Wal-Mart. When walking around these places and we can’t find a certain product, item, or have a question who most likely we will approach? An employee wearing a uniform or another person dressed in regular clothes? My bet would be that we would ask the employee wearing the uniform because they work there and possess information power of whatever we may need. However, what if we get upset with that person for not knowing where something is or who we may feel is incompetent at their job what do we ask or say? I want to talk to your manager, correct? Why do we ask for a manager, because most people would associate a manager as a position of power and we feel they will better assist us.
Another connection to make with uniforms and as I just mentioned is position power. “Position power is the power a person derives from a particular office or rank in a formal organizational system,” (Northouse p. 11). Law enforcement is a good example of power associated with attire and position power. Take for example you’re driving down the road above the speed limit and see a cop do you automatically slow down? I would say most people see cops as having a higher status because they are responsible for up holding the law. We know that they are in a position of power and we know the consequences of our actions but does that influence us to do what is right? I would like to think so but that is my opinion. I think that most people see cops in uniform and think power no matter what your opinion of that power may be.
Wearing uniforms presents a professional identity to that person in uniform and sometimes it can be associated with power. There is a psychological impact of uniforms and power based on your own personal opinion of what that person in uniform does. Thanks for the interesting post!
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice. Los Angeles: Sage Publications