Psychology of power: mechanisms and desire

Among people, there is a widespread idea of power as a high position, the predominance of the will of one person over the will of others. Metaphors of power are often floors and stairs, pyramids, puppeteers with puppets. Traditionally it is associated with command, control, coercion and even violence.

In modern psychology, a more common definition of power is the ability to get what you want regardless of others. It is associated with influence and responsibility, but not with coercion, restriction or change of other people. Getting what a person wants without harming other people depends on the ability to conduct dialogue, study needs, and rely on common values.

Political power, which involves the subjugation of large numbers of people, is the destiny of a few. The power to get what you want is available to anyone.

Mechanisms

Manifestations of power are especially noticeable in politics and the management of organizations, but every family, adult and children's groups, friends and random people, and people alone with themselves and their internal conflicts face them every day.

It happens that a person occupies a high position in society or a corporation, or is the head of a family, but has no power. A five-year-old son does not obey his father, subordinates ignore orders, and society does not intend to comply with laws.

It happens that a person is far from the throne, or holds a modest position at work, or is the youngest in the family, but has enormous power. The family dances around the little tyrant, colleagues stare at him, and society copies everything the idol does.

The reality of power depends on whether the mechanisms (instruments, sources) of power are in the hands of a person (group). These can be individually or in any combination:

strength - physical strength, weapons, army;
real or learned helplessness;
knowledge, information, secrets;
money, distribution of benefits among others;
satisfying the needs of another (security, sex, prestige);
law, contract, right that gives power;
charm, charisma;
authority.

Thus, a newborn baby has power over the family due to his helplessness, charm and the right to humane treatment. As he grows up, he may notice the advantages of a dominant position and begin to imitate helplessness, consciously or unconsciously. Adults will have to fight for power in their family.

88. Psychology of power

Power -

this is the ability to order in conditions when the one who is ordered (the object of power) is obliged to obey the one who orders (the subject of power).

It is mandatory for the authorities to:

1) presence of at least two partners;

2) subordination of the object to the order of the subject of power;

3) the presence of social norms establishing the right of the subject of power to give orders and the obligation of the object of power to obey them.

Types of power:

1) coercive power

be built on the fear of punishment by the subject of the object of influence, depriving him of any benefits, which often acts as a motivational force for a person, prompting him to act accordingly. However, the abuse of punishment negatively affects the socio-psychological climate of the team, leads to the emergence of a subordinate person’s negative attitude towards the leader, to concealing his insubordination and failures, and to mutual distrust between the leader and the subordinate;

2) reward power

is based on the ability of the subject of power to somehow reward the object of power if it achieves positive results in the latter’s activities. Moreover, this can be either a material reward (a bonus, a gift), or recognition, praise, promotion up the career ladder, a higher rank, receiving a new working tool, an interesting difficult task, a business trip abroad, etc. However, even in this in case there is an element of fear of punishment in case of failure to complete the work on time;

3) expert power

arises from attributing to the subject of influence a significant superiority in knowledge or experience. Thus, we usually trust a doctor or lawyer because there are years of professional training and relevant practice behind the advice, although we may not understand all of their explanations. This type of power is characterized by the spread of the power of power beyond this specific area: recognizing the high competence of a specialist in a particular area, we sometimes believe that he is equally competent in other areas. If distrust arises in the source of such power, a “boomerang effect” arises - a person tends to act in the opposite way in response to the influence of such a person;

4) information power

stems from the convincing content of any message in itself and does not depend either on the personality of the subject of influence or on the nature of his relationship with the object. This type of power can lead to serious internal, lasting changes in the beliefs, attitudes or values of the object of power;

5) referent power

is based on the identification of the object with the subject of influence, on a sense of community with him. In this case, the subject of influence is perceived as a role model, whom the object of attention strives to imitate. in negative forms. Referential influence can manifest itself in the case when the subject of influence is unsympathetic to us (“boomerang effect”);

6) legitimate power

based on the object’s conviction of the legitimacy of the subject’s power and its obligation to obey it. Highlight:

a) legitimate power of reciprocity - based on the desire to “give in order to take” (for example, bribery);

b) the legitimate power of justice is based on the belief in the justice of one’s actions (“I earned it”);

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c) the legitimate power of responsibility (or dependence) is based on the fact that the subject forces the object to help or listen to him, since he is strong and must help the weak. Typically used by people who feel they lack other forms of power.

Different types of power are interconnected. The use of one type of power can greatly affect others.

The desire for power

Some people strive for power more than others, and some avoid having it. It depends on what they associate power with, often unconsciously. With privileges or responsibility, risk or invulnerability, creation or destruction, respect or contempt of the ruled, with omnipotence (kings can do everything) or self-restraint (no king can marry for love).

The desire for power comes down to the main question: to use it for the benefit of another (child, wife, subordinates, people), or to use another for one’s own benefit?

It is most difficult to answer this question to yourself due to the complex interweaving of conscious and unconscious motives, but from the outside the answer is obvious.

The psychology of power and its attraction

From an emotional point of view, power is one of the most powerful passions, all-consuming and insatiable. No wonder many compare it to a drug. The one who got it rarely parts with it of his own free will.

According to Bertrand Russell, the desire for power is similar in its attractive force to the desire for fame. You can be fed up with everything - abundance, entertainment, overseas dishes, but excessive satisfaction with power is a rare phenomenon.

However, it not only brings incredible pleasure, but also makes great demands on the subject. Those who strive for it must understand that it is just as difficult to maintain it as it is to achieve it. Not everyone can endure power activities because of its frantic pace, which sets the rapid pace of today's life.

Psychology of influence, power and authority: how to manage people

Successful work requires coordination of actions of all its participants. This is possible only under the condition of unified leadership and the subordination of all workers to a single will. However, such unity cannot arise by chance: it must be organized, activated and supported by the activities of the individual worker and the group.

The leader must know the forces and means by which this can be done.

Every time a leader gives instructions to a performer or group of performers, he assumes that his instructions will be fully reflected in the minds of people and the desired actions will immediately follow. But in life this does not always happen. Even if a person is more or less fully aware of his tasks and functions, the expected actions may not follow. This requires certain efforts by the leader, which can influence people's behavior.

1. Influence

Influence is the use of specific means by which one person brings about a change in the behavior, attitude, etc. of another person. The means can be very varied: from a request made in a whisper in the ear, to a knife put to the throat; from expressing ideas to violence.

The manager must imagine the effect of his influence on the behavior of the future performer. As a result, the leader and the performer learn similar or dissimilar behavior patterns for the future.

Common sense dictates that in order to have influence, you must be able to control something that matters to the performer. What creates his dependence on you and forces him to act as you wish. This “something” is the basic needs of the performer.

Influence is based on addressing the active needs of the performer.

No one can influence people in any situation. Influence depends on the specific situation, on the abilities of the leader, as well as on the person being influenced. A manager depends on his immediate superior, subordinates and colleagues. Without the assistance of these people, who are part of the leader's environment, he cannot influence and carry out his functions.

The manager must influence subordinates in a way that motivates them to action, to actual work, to submission necessary to achieve the goals of the company. In order for influence to be effective, the manager must understand the interests of the company and his role capabilities, show will and use power. To influence, you must have a basis of influence - power.

2. Power

Power is the ability to influence the behavior of other people, the ability to influence their activities using any means: will, coercion, encouragement, suggestion, intrigue, etc.

Usually, a manager has power over his subordinates because they depend on him in matters such as work assignment content, salary increases, promotions, etc. However, in some cases, subordinates have power over the manager because he depends on them for issues such as cooperation, obtaining reliable information, etc.

A successful leader will always maintain a balance of power over subordinates and his dependence on them. Exercising power, he will take care of the implementation of group goals, of helping the group with the means to achieve them.

3. Forms of power

Power can take many forms. The foundations of power can be represented in four main forms:

Power based on coercion.
Power based on rewards.
Official (traditional) authority.
The power of authority.

These power bases are a tool through which a manager can force subordinates to do work aimed at achieving the goals of the firm. They are also tools that can be used by opinion leaders to thwart the achievement of these goals. Each form of power has its pros and cons, and no one is capable of leading people in all situations.

3.1. Power based on coercion

This is influence through fear. The performer believes that the influencer can punish, deprive the need, or generally cause some kind of trouble. Therefore, through fear, people consciously or unconsciously allow themselves to be influenced.

Usually fear is associated with violence, with physical pain. But this is far from the only mechanism of fear. For example, the fear of losing an interesting and well-paid job seems to be common to everyone.

Fear can be exploited so easily and successfully in certain circumstances: hinting at dismissal or demotion usually produces immediate results.

But for a competent subordinate, such rough practices are not so scary. Much more often, the fear instilled in such a subordinate is directed not at his material interests, but at his pride. For example, a casual remark that someone else would have completed such a task long ago is humiliating and can instill fear.

Influence through fear only works if a person violates regulated behavior. Therefore, in order to use such a tool as fear, it is necessary to have a control system.

Research shows that workplaces that use coercive power are likely to have lower productivity and lower quality products.

3.2. Power based on rewards

The promise of reward is one of the oldest and often most powerful ways to influence other people. The performer believes that the influencer has the ability to satisfy a pressing need or provide pleasure.

Reward-based power exerts influence through positive reinforcement of the subordinate's expectations. He does not resist this influence, and the leader achieves the desired behavior from him.

To influence behavior, the reward must be perceived as sufficiently valuable, that is, it must be adequate to consent to the influence. This perceived adequacy is the main benefit of reward-based power.

The manager must correctly evaluate what is a reward in the eyes of the subordinate and actually offer it to him. However, in practice, the manager has many restrictions on his ability to issue rewards. The firm has a limited amount of promotion resources. Therefore, a successful leader must learn to use other methods of influence.

3.3. Official power

Official power is determined by the existing system of subordination (subordination) and the set of functions, rights and responsibilities in the management structure. It is determined by granting the manager the authority to make and implement management decisions, issue regulations, and force subordinates to comply with them.

All managers exercise legitimate power because they have been delegated the authority to manage other people. These bases of power are the tools by which a manager can force subordinates to do work aimed at achieving the goals of the firm.

The doer believes that the influencer has the right to give orders, and that it is his duty to obey them. This influence has become a tradition whereby obedience will lead to the satisfaction of the performer's needs.

The smooth functioning of the company directly depends on the willingness of subordinates to traditionally recognize the legitimate authority of the leader. But such influence is possible as long as the manager is able to satisfy the needs of the subordinate. A system based on tradition will collapse if it does not provide warmth and security to its loyal supporters.

Tradition is especially important for formal work groups. The ability to reward and punish strengthens the leader's authority to give orders. With the help of tradition, the speed and predictability of influence increases and the making of many decisions is greatly simplified.

Tradition has a huge advantage - impersonality. The performer reacts not to the person, but to the position. This increases stability, since the functioning of the company does not depend on the life or abilities of any one individual.

3.4. Power based on authority

One of the forms of exercising power is authority - a positive assessment of the leader’s merits and the conviction of subordinates in the correctness and accuracy of the decisions he makes.

The characteristics of the influencer are so attractive to the performer that he wants to be just like the influencer. The performer believes that the influencer has the knowledge and experience that will allow him to satisfy the need.

Authority is based on two sources:

on faith in a person’s personal characteristics, his prestige;
on faith in a person’s abilities and business qualities.

Real authority is formed as a unity of a specialist, position and personality. It is won by the leader himself, who appears before the team as a person endowed with intelligence, will, integrity, as a demanding, but fair, morally pure person.

Without authority there is no worthy leader. The absence or lack of authority causes a lot of difficulties in the relationship between a manager and his subordinates.

The authority of a leader is based on the trust of subordinates:

on the belief of a friendly attitude towards subordinates;
on the belief that the leader has a broad outlook;
on the belief that the manager makes decisions in some cases because he knows the issue better than his subordinates, and in other cases he involves subordinates in this.

Personal authority . Personal authority is power based on unconscious, charismatic faith (Greek “charisma”, “grace”, “divine gift”, “blind faith”. This is the influence of example.

The characteristics of the influencer are so attractive to the performer that he wants to be just like the influencer. At the subconscious level, the subordinate identifies himself with the leader. This satisfies his need for belonging and respect.

Here are some characteristics of charismatic personalities:

Energy exchange. It seems that these individuals radiate energy and charge the people around them with it.
Impressive appearance. A leader is not necessarily handsome, but he is attractive, has good posture and carries himself well.
Independence of character. These people do not rely on others in their pursuit of well-being and respect.
Good rhetorical skills. They have verbal skills and interpersonal communication skills.
Perception of admiration for one's personality. They feel comfortable when others express admiration for them without becoming arrogant or selfish.
Dignified, confident demeanor. They look collected and in control of the situation.

The authority of a specialist . The authority of a specialist is power based on reasonable faith. Performers believe in the competence of the leader.

Submission is conscious and logical because the influencer has the knowledge and experience that will allow them to satisfy their needs. A leader's influence is achieved through his visible achievements. Reasonable faith in a leader forces one to obey due to the belief in the correctness and accuracy of his orders.

The increasing complexity of technology has accelerated and intensified the use of intelligent belief as an influence mechanism in modern enterprises. Some studies have shown that if a group of people are simply told that one of them is a specialist (expert) in a certain field of activity, the group is more likely to follow the recommendations of this person.

By taking the opinions of experts on faith, the line manager thus frees up his time. Failure to take expert advice on faith may mean that the line manager is more concerned about his own personal security than about meeting the higher needs of his subordinates.

In some cases, the influence of rational belief can change the balance of power between the leader and the subordinate because the leader needs the information and recommendations of the subordinate. At least temporarily, the subordinate may have more power than the manager would in a similar situation. It is possible that the manager himself, during the first stages of his work in this position, will be strongly influenced by the reasonable faith in the authority of specialists and will take on faith much of what his subordinates tell him.

4. Influence through collaboration

The increasingly higher educational level of performers in many cases eliminated the intellectual gap between the leader and subordinates. Over the years, social and financial differences between people have also decreased. Consequently, it becomes increasingly difficult to base power solely on coercion, reward, tradition or authority.

Two forms of influence that can motivate a subordinate to actively cooperate are persuasion and participation. Today's leaders can become more successful leaders if they improve their skills in these two forms of influence.

4.1. Influence through persuasion

Persuasion is the effective communication of one's point of view to another. The manager makes the subordinate believe in the need to do the work independently. He recognizes the qualifications of his subordinate, trusts him as a specialist and expresses confidence that everything will be done on time and with high quality.

By using persuasion, the leader tacitly accepts that the subordinate has some degree of power that may reduce the leader's ability to act. In other words, the leader recognizes his dependence on the subordinate.

Conviction influences the fact that it brings to the consciousness of the subordinate the fact that, having fulfilled the desire of the leader, he, as a specialist, satisfies his own need. To persuade, the leader uses logic and emotions, depending on the situation and the disposition of the subordinate.

Some methods of influence through persuasion can be schematically represented as follows:

try to accurately determine the needs of the subordinate and appeal to these needs;
speak in accordance with the interests of the subordinate, and not your own;
When speaking, try to evoke trust and a feeling of reliability.

4.2. Influence through participation

Influence through participation goes even further than persuasion to recognize the power and abilities of the subordinate. Here the leader simply directs efforts to work together. This facilitates the exchange of information and unification of efforts into a single position that both sincerely believe in.

Participatory influence succeeds because people inspired by high-level needs tend to work hardest towards the goal that was formulated with their participation.

Participation in decision making clearly appeals to higher-level needs—the needs of power, competence, success, self-expression.

Therefore, this approach should only be used in cases where such needs are active motivating factors, and provided that the subordinate can be relied on to work towards solving the problem that he himself has chosen.

Unfortunately, research has shown that participatory management is not suitable for all situations. Performers who dislike ambiguity, are not very individualistic, and prefer highly regulated tasks perform best in more controlled environments. One of the reasons why participation in management is not so widespread may be the fact that managers do not want to give up their traditional powers and prerogatives.

5. Practical use of influence

To motivate others to work (especially creative and inspired work), power alone is not enough for a leader. For influence through power to be strong enough, the following conditions must exist:

the subordinate must consider influence as a source of satisfaction (dissatisfaction) of some of his needs;
the subordinate must highly value the need to which the leader appeals;
the subordinate must consider the probability of satisfying the need to be sufficiently high if the task is solved;
the subordinate must believe that his efforts will be fairly appreciated by the leader.

Persuasion and participation methods are slower and less certain. They help to increase management efficiency when subordinates are asked to satisfy higher-level needs, especially if the task is unstructured and requires a creative approach.

Yuri Shibalkin

Elitarium

Psychology of power and the problem of submission

Countering the authorities that interfere with the self-realization of the individual can cause the mobilization of all the potentials of the human psyche. This has been repeatedly proven by the fate of many dissidents, persecuted representatives of the scientific world and unrecognized creative personalities. An active process of searching for other conditions for self-development is launched, previously “dormant” mental mechanisms are activated: passion, passion, determination.

From these positions, the phenomenon of “brain drain” is quite understandable. People with rich potential flock to countries with a favorable political climate. There, freed from the oppression of power, they achieve the discovery of all their talents and become truly happy.

Based on the lessons of history, one cannot but agree with Zh.Zh. Rousseau, who considered the best power to be that which is invisible to the one at whom it is directed.

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Michel Foucault

Foucault insisted that power is everywhere because it comes nowhere. From this point of view, power cannot be limited to one institution or state. Therefore, the Marxist concept of seizing power is impossible.

Power is the balance of forces that arise in society at a given moment . Therefore, power is everywhere, and powerful people cannot be viewed independently of these relationships.

Reversing previous ideas about power, Foucault explored how power relationships can create rules of law, which in turn lead to discussions of truth . While power, law and truth feed off each other, power always has a greater influence on law and truth.

Although Foucault analyzed power in different situations and at different times, one of his most important ideas is bioenergetics. Bioenergy is a practice used by modern states to control populations .

Modern power, according to Foucault's analysis, is woven into social practices and human behavior. This occurs when an oppressed population gradually accepts the rules and expectations of the social order.

Bioenergetics gives way to biological regulation of life. Classic examples can be found in mental hospitals, prisons and courts. These are disciplinary institutions that define norms that certain segments of the population violate, thereby deviating from society.

Part one. MECHANISMS OF DOMINATION AND SUBMISSION IN SOCIETY

…

A. Y. GOZMAN, E. B. SHESTOPAA

PSYCHOLOGY OF POWER

Some kind of power is necessary in any society, and societies without power are as unknown to ethnographers as societies without family or without property.

Power is the ability to force or persuade other people to act in a certain way or according to certain rules. Power is exercised by the President or monarch in relation to the citizens of the country, the sergeant in relation to the soldier, the parents in relation to the child, the kindergarten teacher in relation to the pupils, the lovers in relation to each other.

Most often, power is exercised within the framework of certain institutions - the army, family, state - but it can also exist within informal communities. Almost every person has power in relation to a certain number of other people and, at the same time, for each of us there is a mass of people who can force or convince us to perform certain actions, i.e. have power over us. At the same time, the power of, say, the president or prime minister for an ordinary person appears to be very indirect and may not be noticed at all, while the power of the immediate superior at work or the dictatorship of a repeat bully in a school class is certainly recognized and is a factor determining everyday life. human life. However, no one's power is absolute; it is always limited either by laws and traditions, or by objective parameters of the situation. A tyrant can send any of his subjects to execution, but cannot, for example, prohibit religious practices. Or he is capable of doing any arbitrariness in his capital, but a person who has moved two days away from it may no longer be within his reach simply due to the lack of effective communications.

Of course, power coming from above extends to a larger number of people than the power of those below, but the very relationship between the bearer of power and those who obey him does not directly depend on the place of these two subjects on the social ladder. Thus, it would be incorrect to believe that power is concentrated at the highest levels of society or the state. It is distributed across all levels of the social hierarchy. The same psychological patterns can be found both in big politics and in the relationships of ordinary citizens. At the same time, “condensations” of power are found somewhere – in some structures, someone has very great power in relation to other people, and somewhere – peculiar “thintensities” – power, as if it does not exist at all, no one obeys no one, at least, the holders of power and the management methods they use are not visible either to an outside observer or, sometimes, even to the participants in the interaction themselves. Examples of the first type of situation could be a tyrant’s court or a teenage gang; an example of a situation of the second type would be a hippie community.

The phenomenon of power, like any phenomenon of real life, is not the subject of the exclusive analysis of any one science. The problem of power is considered in political science, in jurisprudence, in history and, of course, in psychology. The subject of psychological analysis is not power relations as such, but rather their subjective aspects - the perception of institutions of power, attitudes towards authority figures, the adequacy of awareness of the degree of dependence from the bearers of power, etc. But perhaps the most interesting question is the problem of psychological mechanisms of power: why are people ready to accept one power, obey some people or rules, but resolutely, sometimes sacrificing their lives, reject another? What gives some people power over others?