Theoretical Perspectives on Power and Resource Inequality

Abstract

This chapter reviews select lines of social psychological work on power and resource inequality. Specifically, we review and analyze four broad themes that are inter-woven across diverse traditions of social psychology. First, we review exchange and rational choice accounts of power that emphasize how power divides, differentiates, and creates gradients of resource inequality among individuals. Second, we examine symbolic accounts of power that emphasize how powerful individuals define the situation and have the ability to establish shared definitions of reality. Third, we consider the cooperative aspects of power, that is, how and when power relations promote cohesion and solidarity by bringing people together around a common task or activity. Finally, we review how power and resource inequalities correlate with other social psychological processes. Along the way we consider how the various perspectives might benefit from greater attention to theoretical cross-fertilization.