Functional Uses of Power
Power behaviors are dependent on underlying power bases. In other words, the connection between the bases of power and the behaviors that reflect that power must be melded in some fashion.
A functional approach would indicate that power bases and behaviors are connected by the beliefs of the target.French and Raven's Power Bases
Now that we have described the nature of power, we provide the following to assist your understanding of functional ways to strategically utilize power bases. Recall that power is only effective to the extent that people see that power as benefiting them. First, legitimate power must rely on the target’s recognition of their position to affect the target’s behavior. Although professors have legitimate control, for example, some students will not see themselves on the receiving end of that power. Students might believe that they have equal legitimacy to control the class. They might question your right or (even) qualifications to be a professor, and slander your legitimacy of working where you do. If you can see that your legitimate power base is corrupted by this student, you can change your strategy to rely on rewards and punishments to change the student’s behavior.
To use the reward/punish power base you need to ask whether you have means control. Students complete assignments made by professors who teach the classes in which they are enrolled, drivers obey state troopers, employees finish projects assigned to them by their supervisors, and children follow rules established by their parents. In all of these situations, people comply because they recognize that the other person has power to make the request from their position and they can be monitored.
Know as well that people who have reward power usually have coercive power; that is, they can enjoy both reward and coercive power. Parents can give their children money, access to the family car, new toys, or other objects and activities the children want.
Likewise, they can take away the keys to the family car, deny their children permission to go to a party, refuse to spend extra money on them, or punish them in any number ofways. A term that represents threats combined with promises is thromise. For example, “you will do well in this position IF you follow my lead” is clearly a threat and simultaneously a promise, which smart students see.Referent power, though quite influential, is sometimes less obvious because it depends on one’s ability to attract others. Stated as the converse of the functional point presented before, you need to behave in ways that will attract your target(s). Referent power exists only when the target wants to be liked or accepted by another or the target wants to be similar to another. Athletes, musicians, and movie stars are hired to appear in commercials because viewers want to be like those public figures. Similarly, attractive and popular high schools students and sorority and fraternity members have referent power over other students who want to be part of the crowd and be popular themselves.
Kellman's Approach
Kellman (1961) offers an effective theory from a functional perspective. He argued that three bases ofpower connect to how power strategies succeed according to functions that the power bases serve for the target—not the communicator. Stated differently, your use of power must somehow involve the needs and wants of people because they interpret messages according to their functional utility. So your compliance-gaining tactics lead to behavior only if the desired behavior meets the target’s wants and needs (not your own).
Kelman’spowerbases arecompliance, identification, andinternalization. Compliance refers to rewarding and punishing power; identification concerns referent power as described above, and internalization concerns persuading the target to adopt a belief. As noted, however, these power bases do not automatically lead to behavior. Such compliance tactics work only when the communicator has “means control,” or when the target desires the reward (or fears the punishment) and when the target knows that s/he is somehow being monitored.
If these factors are missing, no incentive for compliance exists (e.g., as long as no report card exists, why study?). Next, identification power works only when the target views the communicator as somehow attractive (e.g., finds the professor ethical or interesting). If the target is not attracted to the communicator and does not care what the communicator thinks about him/her, then referent tactics will backfire (e.g., a complaint about the professors “inappropriate” behavior). Finally, internalization will work only if the target shares the same values as the point being made or shares in the perspective of the communicator. Otherwise, using any tactic that calls on a change in beliefs and related behaviors will be fruitless.We present the following, inferred from this research:
Conclusion 8.3: People can have several power bases or none.
Conclusion 8.4: People's influence power relies on the meaningfulness and importance that each power base holds for their conversational partners.
Suggestion 8.3: Realize that you have different bases of power, and that you can strategically decide which power base to leverage.
Suggestion 8.4: For strategic conflict, use strategies and tactics that connect to power bases deemed important by your conversational partner.