Sources of Power

 

A lack of power is synonymous with “helplessness or weakness”. It is the opposite of feeling “strong”.

 Rollo May said there are five kinds of power:

1. Exploitative:

2. Manipulative

3. Competitive

4. Nutrient

5. Integrative

At the attached link I read from May's 1972 book on power.

(May, R. (1972). Power and innocence: A search for the source of violence. Norton at pp. 105-113)

Social psychologists have researched 5 sources of social power or influence. These include (1) reward power, based on a person’s perception that another person or entity has the ability to distribute rewards in exchange for obedience of some sort; (2) coercive power, based on a person’s perception that another person or entity has to ability to punish him or her; (3) legitimate power, based on the perception that another has a communally sanctioned or legitimate right to prescribe behavior for him or her; (4) referent power, based on the subject’s identification with the influencer; and, (5) expert power, based on the perception that another has some special knowledge or expertness which is acknowledged by the person. Parents generally have some measure of all of these—especially legitimate power. Stepparents, however, may be stripped of all of these especially when jealousy and rivalries arise to the detriment of the child. An issue that will be discussed below in Part II of this evaluation. (French, J. & Raven, E. (1959). The bases of social power. In D. E. Cartwright, Studies in social power (pp. 150-167). Ann Arbor, MI: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Family Code 6320 and Domestic Violence / Intimate Partner Violence Through Unique Means

  I’ve been participating in the Child Custody Evaluator Annual DV / IPV update with Dr. Love today: Family Code 6320 now has new categories of disturbing the peace / coercive control over various types but also Pet Abuse, Technology Facilitated Abuse and Reproductive Coercion—see the language at Family Code 6320 in the link below: Family Code 6320 Here’s a couple of new terms for you: Stealthing: “wen a partner secretly removes a condom during sex without the other person’s consent”; Fraping: “unauthorized alteration of information on a person's online social media profile by another person.”
Read more

Attachment Trauma in Divorce

Childhood sexual abuse can in some cases particularly disorganize the growing child’s attachment system resulting in among other things for some, an ability to lie about other caregivers. In the link below I explore this observation in my practice as an attorney and now as a psychologist. In saying that, I do not mean to minimize in any way the harm caused to the child or the importance of protecting such children from further harm. The link below will take you to a paper I wrote about 9 years ago but still think it pretty good where I offer some ideas that I explored back in 2013 as an attorney working with families back then. Husen, J. (2013). Attachment trauma in divorce: Recommendations for judges, lawyers, and child custody evaluators. Paper researched and written for Bereavement Counseling with M. Woodruff Johnson, Psy.D.
Read more