The concept of power, who holds it and how they use it has been of great interest to almost every field of social science. A crucial way in which power is expressed and resisted is through language. Ng and Bradac (1993) argue that language reveals power, language creates power, language reflects power, and language obscures
When individuals engage in social interaction, regardless of the relationship they have with each other and the context within which it occurs, power and dominance are fundamental dimensions that both shape and are shaped by communication. Studies of how people think about and judge their social relationships have consistently demonstrated the importance of a dominance
Exercising power over others is a common human experience. Children override the better judgment of their parents, displaying temper tantrums or simply nagging them to exhaustion. Parents in turn control their children using reason mixed with bribes and brute force, or the threat of it. In seemingly equal relationships such as that between spouses, people
Nuclear Power Careers Background In 1942 Enrico Fermi produced the first self-sustained nuclear chain reaction with the first demonstration reactor, the Chicago Pile 1. Fermi’s work was part of the U.S. government’s research project, code-named the Manhattan Project, which resulted in the world’s first atomic bomb. Research and experimentation further refined the method by which
Questions about inequalities in marriage and the distribution of power within the relationship have long been a concern within sociology of family. In particular, ideas about historic shifts in the dominance of husbands/fathers within families have vied with feminist inspired views of the continuing significance of patriarchal control in both public and private spheres. The
Social influence is inherent in the process of classroom instruction. Interpersonal power, as social influence, is a relational phenomenon and is defined “as an individual’s potential to have an effect on another person’s or group of persons’ behavior” (Richmond et al. 1980, 38). It is a teacher’s job to communicate and to have an effect
Power plant workers include power plant operators, power distributors, and power dispatchers. In general, power plant operators control the machinery that generates electricity. Power distributors and power dispatchers oversee the flow of electricity through substations and a network of transmission and distribution lines to individual and commercial consumers. The generators in these power plants may
Social Power Definition Social power is the potential for social influence. The available tools one has to exert influence over another can lead to a change in that person. Social power and social influence are separate and distinct concepts. Although social power is potential (which may or may not be used), social influence is an
The need for achievement, power, and affiliation are three primary types of motives or motivational drives that influence a broad spectrum of behavior, from how one interacts on an interpersonal level to one’s choice of and/or success in an occupation. These motives can be either implicit—that is, developed prior to the formation of language in
Power is a broad concept that is used in many contexts, including sociological and psychological realms. The term power has become so expanded and widely used that some believe it has lost strength in its use and value. Diverse conceptualizations of the power construct exist, which are based on the differing theories and philosophies that
Statistical power (SP) refers to the probability of rejecting a null hypothesis (a hypothesis of no difference) when it is actually false. When an organizational researcher retains (fails to reject) a false null hypothesis, he or she is likely to conclude, for example, that the organizational intervention did not positively affect productivity or that a
Need for Power Definition Need for power is defined as the desire to control or influence others. It is not necessarily associated with actually having power, but instead with the desire to have power. In 1933, Henry Murray defined a long list of what he considered to be basic human needs. These needs were seen
Power Motive Definition The key defining element of the power motive is one person having an impact on the behavior or emotions of another, or being concerned about prestige and reputation. This basic imagery is often elaborated with anticipations, actions designed to have impact, prestige, pleasure at reaching the goal, and so forth. The measure
Power affects almost all facets of social life, from the food people eat to how long they live. Power concerns are evident in most kinds of relationships, including intimate bonds, parent-child relationships, sibling relations, and relations between group members. This brief entry examines what social psychology has learned with respect to three questions concerning power: