Interpersonal Power Research Articles

Weapon of Assault: Combat, Protective Magic, and the Fatal Throat Bite in Icelandic Sagas

Abstract Icelandic sagas contain a literary motif little known in other pre-modern literary traditions: the throat bite. There are 10 scenes in the sagas in which one character bites, almost bites, or contemplates biting the throat of another character. The throat bite was used by saga authors strategically and purposefully, whether to resolve conflict, similar to a more conventional murder; to signify paranormal characteristics – or lack of paranormal characteristics; or to denote interpersonal power dynamics within a saga narrative. Due to the prevalence of the throat bite in extra-narrative contexts, including its use as hunting technique among non-human animals and the documented use of human teeth as a weapon among human populations, the saga writers of medieval Iceland accurately recognized that human teeth can serve as a weapon of assault and they craftily integrated the throat bite into the composition of select sagas.

Faces of Power in Organizations: Foundations, Applications, and Extension

Questions of power are core to organizations, organizing, and the conduct of the organized. Organizational research, however, often avoids addressing questions of power in the direct, explicit, straightforward fashion that their theoretical importance would warrant. Mainstream management and organization studies, including work and organizational psychology and organizational behavior, typically limit themselves to basic and narrow conceptualizations of episodic interpersonal power. Building on broader theorizing in political and social science, an integrative literature review has introduced the ‘four faces of power’ to organizational research a decade ago. Albeit frequently referred to, applications of this model seem rare. However, a systematic assessment of the literature is lacking. Against this backdrop, objectives of this contributions are three-fold: First, an overview of foundational theories and taxonomies for the study of power in organizations is provided. Secondly, a semi-systematic review of the uptake of the ‘four faces of power’ taxonomy in the organizational literature is presented. After seven identified applications are summarized, the current state of knowledge and further research needs are discussed. Finally, an extended version of ‘six faces of power’ is suggested. Envisioned is a perspective that puts power into the foreground of organizational research.

Struggle Over Rights and Duties at Work: Storylines and Discursive Self-Other Positioning in Workplace Bullying Stories

This study examines the phases and dynamics of workplace bullying (WB) as a social positioning phenomenon within moral orders. Applying the positioning theory (PT) and the relational model of WB, the study analyses 136 written online stories of WB, utilizing narrative analysis of positioning in self-other relationships. The findings, limited to the perspective of the bullied (targets), identify four distinct storylines of WB that involve different forms of positioning: (1) the loss of health and ability to work, (2) passive acceptance of bullying, (3) unresolved conflict, and (4) active opponent in bullying. These findings shed light on the development and variations in WB storylines regarding the target, perpetrator, and work community, with a focus on the organizational and interpersonal power dynamics associated with WB. Furthermore, each WB storyline emphasizes the diverse strategies employed in response to WB and the various paths WB can follow over time.

The Cultural Construction of the Domestic Space in France: Women’s Lived Experience and the Materialization of Customs

This article explores the intersecting processes of construction of the home, social, and individual identities through domestic practices inside French housing. It examines the design and occupation of French homes as crucial moments for the consolidation of subjectivities, beliefs, and ideologies manifested through daily actions that are influenced by normative cultural systems. In specific, it looks at codified domestic behaviours and their aesthetic dimension, focusing on how the French “art of living” has influenced taste, design, appropriation, and decoration of domestic interiors. Architectural treatises along with etiquette manuals are analysed as they both represent—through the written word and architectural drawings—cultural and gender stereotypes as well as societal norms and expectations that inform housing design and domestic practices. These documents directly assist in the cultural construction of the domestic space, uncovering mechanisms of reproduction and representation that inform the use and design of residential architecture. By focusing on women’s lived experiences, this research looks at the consolidation of feminine domestic cultures and how they fostered small-scale physical transformations of dwellings’ interiors through daily negotiations that define self-identity and interpersonal power relations. These dynamics are referred to as “cultural domesticity.” The latter frames this study along with feminist literature, situating women’s contribution to the aesthetic and spatial development of French apartments. What emerges from this study is that the French state historically exercised a regulatory power that impacted daily life and housing design.

How do disadvantaged groups perceive allies? Women's perceptions of men who confront sexism in an egalitarian or paternalistic way

AbstractIn this research, we focused on women's perception of men as allies depending on the type of confrontation. We conducted four experimental scenario studies (Study 1 and 2 in a bar setting; Study 3 and 4 in a workplace setting) where a man confronted a sexist comment using either an egalitarian or paternalistic argument. Results showed that women are more likely to perceive egalitarian (vs. paternalistic) confronters as allies (Studies 1–4). This is explained by the fact that they contribute to reducing power asymmetries (decreasing perceived interpersonal power differences: Studies 2 and 4; or increasing women's empowerment: Studies 3 and 4). Furthermore, the egalitarian (vs. paternalistic) confrontation positively impacts interpersonal and intergroup relations, and this is explained by the perception of the confronter as an ally (Studies 1, 2 and 4). We discuss the role of disadvantaged group members’ perception of advantaged group members to disentangle the complexity of alliances.

LOW-INCOME, MARGINALIZED OLDER WORKERS: FINANCIAL STRAIN, HEALTH, AND MENTAL HEALTH

Abstract Social inequalities over the life course shape later life opportunities and outcomes in important ways. Research on paid work in later life has not always captured (and has sometimes mischaracterized) the variety and complexity of lived experiences in later life—in particular for low-income workers, workers of color, women, and others marginalized due to their social position. Marginalized older workers often face greater financial instability, limited interpersonal power, and reduced access to benefits like health insurance and paid leave, all of which can lead to increased risk of early retirement, poor health/well-being, and early mortality. Trend statistics and other aggregated data often obscure how the most marginalized older adults are faring in the aging and work literature and there is a need for more research that centers these voices to inform social change, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study aims to fill this gap by drawing on data collected in 2022/2023 among residents of a large public housing development in New England who are age 40 and older (current N=166; expected N=250). Analyses explore relationships between social resources, financial strain, health, and well-being by work status and age. Preliminary analyses suggest that certain forms of social support can buffer the negative effect of financial strain on mental health (but not physical health) among older adults living in poverty and in poor housing conditions. Implications for interventions aimed toward older marginalized adults who are working or looking for work will be discussed.

Improving donation service design: expanding choice to increase perceived justice and satisfaction

PurposeCircumstances such as pandemics can cause individuals to fall into a state of need, so they turn to donation services for assistance. However, donation services can be designed based on supply-side considerations, e.g. efficiency or inventory control, which restrict consumer choice without necessarily considering how consumer vulnerabilities like low financial or interpersonal power might cause them to react to such restrictions. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to examine service designs that limit the choices consumers are given in terms of either the allowable quantity or assortment variety and examine effects on consumer perceptions of justice and satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachThree experiments are reported, including one manipulating the service design of an actual food pantry.FindingsWhen consumers have low financial or interpersonal power, meaning their initial state of control is low, and they encounter a donation service that provides limited (vs. expanded) choice that drops control even lower, they perceive the situation as unjust and report lower satisfaction.Practical implicationsDonation service providers should strive to design services that allow for expanded consumer choice and use interpersonal processes that empower beneficiaries so they perceive the service experience as just and satisfying. Collecting feedback from beneficiaries is also recommended.Originality/valueWhile researchers have started to look at the service experiences of vulnerable populations, they have focused primarily on financial service designs. The authors look at donation service designs and identify problems with supply-side limits to choice quantity and assortment.

Body, heart, mind and soul: power and personhood in an impersonal world

ABSTRACT This essay outlines a conceptual model for thinking about how human susceptibility to power relations is anchored in basic aspects of the person, emphasising combined material, emotional, cognitive, and moral dimensions of personhood. It argues that these are primal, transhistorical aspects of personhood and society, but that the historical movement from small-scale societies of primarily interpersonal interaction to large-scale societies based on impersonal mediated relationships (markets, bureaucracies, etc.) profoundly alters how power relationships attach to persons. Small-scale interpersonal power relations remain embedded within large-scale impersonal power relations, the former constraining the latter, and the latter distorting the former.

Actor and partner power are distinct and have differential effects on social behavior.

Interpersonal power involves how much actors can influence partners (actor power) and how much partners can influence actors (partner power). Yet, most theories and investigations of power conflate the effects of actor and partner power, creating a fundamental ambiguity in the literature regarding how power shapes social behavior. We demonstrate that actor and partner power are distinct and have differential effects on social behavior. Six studies (total N = 1,787) tested whether actor and partner power independently predicted behavioral inhibition (expressive suppression) and communal behavior (prioritization of partners' needs) within close relationships, including during couples' daily life (Study 1), lab-based social interactions (Studies 1-5; 1,012 dyadic interactions), and general responses during conflict (Studies 5 and 6). Actor power was negatively associated with behavioral inhibition, indicating that actors' low power prompts self-focused inhibition to prevent negative outcomes that low power actors are unable to control. Partner power was positively associated with actors' communal behavior, indicating that high partner power prompts other-focused behavior that prioritizes partners' needs and goals. These differential effects of actor and partner power replicated in work-based relationships with bosses/managers (Study 6). Unexpectedly, partner power was negatively associated with actors' behavioral inhibition within close relationships, consistent with a desire to prevent negative outcomes for low power partners. We present a framework that integrates the approach-inhibition and agentic-communal theories of power to account for the differential effects of actor and partner power. We describe the implications of this framework for understanding the effects of power in both close and hierarchical relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Management of Public Procurement and Institutional Sustainability: Analysis of Interpersonal Power from a Socio-Technical Approach

Las contrataciones públicas (CP) representan más de la mitad del presupuesto de gobiernos, estudios previos demuestran que las CP se utilizan para resolver problemas socios ambientales y apoyar el desarrollo económico, sin embargo, se presenta ineficiencia y corrupción en su gestión. Este estudio propone un modelo conceptual para analizar la influencia del poder interpersonal en la gestión de las contrataciones públicas y la sostenibilidad institucional con un enfoque socio técnico. La propuesta también contempla la validación del modelo teórico a través de un estudio mixto y para el análisis de los datos se sugiere utilizar el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM). El propósito de esta investigación es aportar con fundamentos teóricos a la gestión y regulación de las CP, así como recomendar nuevas rutas para futuras investigaciones que permitan profundizar o ampliar el estudio.

Power at work: Linking objective power to psychological power

AbstractExperimental research conducted with student participants has documented that feeling powerful or powerless (psychological power) affects outcomes with high practical relevance for organizations. However, it is unclear how results from these studies can be generalized to organizational settings in which individuals have various roles that imply more or less objective power. To address this gap, we present a theoretical framework to aid in the understanding of how objective power in organizations affects psychological power. We assume that stable differences in organizational rank (i.e., structural power) determine the likelihood of interactions with superiors, subordinates, or peers. These interactions give rise to within‐person variation in situational power which should lead to dynamic fluctuations of psychological power and eventually its outcomes. Results of a preregistered experiment (n = 190 participants) and a preregistered experience sampling study (n = 129 participants) conducted with working adults support our key predictions: Structural power was associated with the likelihood of being in a high power versus low power situation. Within‐person differences in situational power were related to feelings of power such as judgments about (1) one's own ability to influence others in a given social situation (i.e., interpersonal power) and (2) one's own competence, agency, autonomy, and independence (i.e., personal power).

The extreme gendering of COVID-19: Household tasks and division of labour satisfaction during the pandemic.

For many years, scholars have directed our attention to the gender gap in domestic labour. Even when women engage in paid employment, they nevertheless perform the majority of the household labour in most wealthy countries. At the same time, disasters and crises both expose and exacerbate existing social inequalities. In this paper, we ask: in what ways has the COVID−19 pandemic contributed to the gender gap in household labour, including childcare? How do women and men feel about this gap? Using data from the Canadian Perspectives survey series (Wave 3), conducted by Statistics Canada three months into the pandemic, our analyses consider the task distribution that made household labour intensely unequal during COVID−19, with women ten times more likely than men to say childcare fell mostly on them, for example. Yet, in nearly all of our models, women did not ubiquitously report being more dissatisfied with the division of domestic tasks within the house, nor were they more likely than men to say that the household division of labour “got worse” during COVID; however, parents did feel that it got worse. We discuss what these findings mean for women's mental health, long‐term paid labour, and interpersonal power, and raise questions about why it is we are not seeing a decrease in women's reported satisfaction with this division of labour. These findings spotlight gender inequality and the family as ongoing pillars of capitalism, and how the structural and interpersonal weathering of the pandemic comes at a particularly great expense to women.

SEMBOLİK SERMAYENİN İKTİSADİ DÖNÜŞÜMÜ: BATI ANADOLU’DA GELİR, UNVAN VE STATÜ

Zirai ve sanayi üretim süreçlerinin birlikte ilerlediği az sayıdaki yarı-kent ve yarı-kırsal alanlardan biri olan Buldan, 19. yüzyıl ortasında hatırı sayılır bir oranda dokumacılığın kişisel atölyeler aracılığıyla ilerlediği bölgelerden biridir. Çulha mesleğinin şehir merkezinde tüm meslekler içerisinde yarıdan fazla hane reisinin temel geçim kaynağı olduğu görülse de gerek ziraat erbabı gerekse de ticaret erbabının pamuk ve dokuma işiyle ilgilendiği düşünüldüğünde Buldan, çok daha fazla bir oranda dokumacılığın yön verdiği bir bölgedir. Bu makale, üretim ilişkilerinin sosyal dinamikleri göz önüne alındığında Buldan’daki toplumsal yapıyı tahlil etmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bölgedeki kompleks üretim sürecinin aktörleri arasındaki sembolik sermayeye dayalı ilişkinin tezahür ettiği yegâne alanlardan biri, kişisel statülerin toplumsal yapıdaki konumlanmasıyla ilgilidir. Bu konumlanma, kişiler arası paylaşım ilişkilerinin en nihai göstergelerinden biri olabilir. Temettuat defterleri de hane reisi hakkında gelir, zirai üretim ve mesleki yapı üzerine ayrıntılı bilgilerin yanında, sosyal statü üzerine de unvanlar aracılığıyla bilgi verir. Sembolik sermayenin göstergelerinden biri olarak sosyal statü üzerinden kullanılan unvanlar, temettuat defterlerindeki unvan verisinin bu perspektifte kullanılmasıyla diğer verilerle karşılaştırmalı bir perspektif sunmaktadır. Kişilerin unvanlarına göre değişen mesleki yapı, gelir ve verdikleri vergi üzerine olan değişimler, sembolik sermayenin iktisadi paylaşım ilişkilerine yansımasının en iyi örneklerinden biridir. Zira bu ilişkinin temelinde kişisel aktörlerin gündelik hayatlarındaki sembolik güç ilişkilerinin dil üzerinden unvanlar yoluyla da şekillendiği düşünülebilir. Bir başka deyişle karmaşık üretim ilişkilerini, sosyal statüyü dışlayarak anlamak mümkün değildir. Dolayısıyla bu makalenin nihai amacı aktörler arası paylaşım ilişkilerinin sembolik sermayeye göre ne ölçüde değiştiği üzerine bir tartışma yürütmektir.

The Problem of Affective Nihilism in Nietzsche: Thinking Differently, Feeling Differently

The Problem of Affective Nihilism in Nietzsche: Thinking Differently, Feeling Differently

Just because it don't look heavy, don't mean it ain't: An intersectional analysis of Black women's labor as faculty during COVID

AbstractThe purpose of our scholarly personal narrative was to examine how COVID‐19 and an increased awareness of anti‐Blackness in the United States have exacerbated our labor as Black women faculty, with particular focus on teaching and service responsibilities. Dill and Zambrana's (2009) four theoretical interventions of intersectionality guided our study, and we situated our composite narratives within structural, disciplinary, hegemonic, and interpersonal power domains. Our four composite narratives included (1) Interest convergence, there is no real true investment in change; (2) Institutional intent versus impact, I don't know how it will be incorporated; (3) Perpetuation of Black women's labor, just because it don't look heavy, don't mean it ain't; and (4) Reclaiming my time, and it's not because I don't like them, but it's because I love me. Implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Navigating between punishment, avoidance, and instruction: The form and function of responses to moral violations varies across adult and child transgressors

Immoral actions can elicit a wide array of responses, ranging from pugnacious confrontation to passive distancing. What leads onlookers to react so differently to various violations? Across four studies (N = 2085), we investigated how responses vary depending on whether moral transgressions are committed by adults or by children. Findings reliably demonstrated that adult participants were more likely to avoid adult transgressors, and more likely to instruct child transgressors about why their actions were wrong. These patterns arose from varying cost-benefit structures, derived in part from asymmetries in interpersonal power between adults and children, rendering adults' direct confrontation of children both less costly and more beneficial. Although adults' transgressions were judged to be relatively more wrong, participants had greater anxiety about the negative consequences of confronting adults, and they viewed adults' personalities as less malleable, thus diminishing the effectiveness of confrontation. In contrast, 4- to 9-year-old children did not differ in their willingness to avoid or instruct adult and child transgressors. Across studies, the content of transgressions (e.g., being harmful or impure) mattered little for determining the nature of responses. Overall, diverse responses to moral transgressions were uniquely tailored to the different costs and benefits associated with confronting adult and child transgressors.

“You’re the Whitest Black Person I Know”: Speaking Back to Microaggressions Through the Poetics of Interruption

Anti-Black and anti-woman animus is packed into brief and subtle communication exchanges including seemingly mundane moments like jokes and compliments. The lasting negative effects of microaggressions call for what we deem poetics of interruption, a Black feminist intervention that dynamically responds to interstices of oppression. Through the creative retelling of a conversation that leads up to and follows the microaggression “You’re the whitest Black person I know,” we demonstrate how the poetics of interruption holds interlocutors accountable to structural and interpersonal power imbalances through purposeful dialogue. Practicing a poetics of interruption refigures language with an anti-sexist, anti-racist aim to refute the passive-aggressive postracial language of microaggressions.

An Aging Nursing Workforce: Thematic Analysis from the Nurstory Project

Background: Nursing in the United States of America is an aging workforce. This study sought to better understand the lived experience of aging nurses. Because nurses work in systems where other forms of interpersonal power dynamics may influence internalized and external stereotype an approach based on intersectional theory was applied. Methods: A qualitative thematic narrative analysis of an existing data set of first-person digital stories in the Nurstory project, authored by a group of nurses, was the data source. An emergent coding method was applied. The collection of five digital stories were analyzed. Results: All stories were first person accounts of experiences that represented their internalized reflections and elements of ageism in how their age interacted with their work environment. Dominant themes included: 1) Role constriction 2) Strength 3) Tired and (re)Tired 4) Age perceived and 5)Loneliness. Conclusions: These aging nursing stories add to the contextual layers of the aging healthcare workplace and aging nursing workforce. These individual experiences offer a nuanced understanding of the internalized responses to aging and ageism. These stories highlight socially constructed and socially reinforced attitudes that are complicated by the personal and occupational expectations of nurse’s work, their role and embedded hierarchies in healthcare. Stories such as these are important individual and collective indicators of lived experiences that offer a deeper understanding into the intersections of social identity and aging, that when listened to, can offer insight and a way forward in addressing the stereotype, discrimination and social inequities of ageism.

Association of CAI Vulnerability and Sexual Minority Victimization Distress Among Adolescent Men Who Have Sex With Men.

Adolescent men who have sex with men (AMSM) are at high HIV risk. Condomless anal intercourse (CAI) increases HIV risk and has been associated with interpersonal power imbalances, such as asymmetries in decision-making authority, social status, and emotional dependence, between male sexual partners. AMSM experience high levels of psychological and physical victimization due to their sexual minority status. Sexual minority victimization (SMV) is similarly associated with low interpersonal power and may relate to the extent to which AMSM are vulnerable to partner influences to engage in CAI. This online survey study of AMSM 14-17 years (N = 143) tested the hypothesis that experiences and attitudes reflecting vulnerability to partner CAI influence (CAI Vulnerability) and distress in response to experienced sexual minority victimization (SMV Distress) would be positively associated with participant and partner condom non-use during anal sex (CAI frequency). Approximately 35% reported they or their partner(s) had never or rarely used a condom. Positive correlations were found among partners' CAI frequency during sex with the participant, CAI Vulnerability, and SMV Distress. Multiple regression indicated CAI Vulnerability significantly accounted for the relation between SMV Distress and partner's CAI frequency. Findings suggest that distress in response to SMV may be associated with a diminished sense of interpersonal control resulting in CAI Vulnerability and subsequent more frequent instances of partner CAI. HIV prevention strategies designed to increase condom use among AMSM have the potential to benefit from procedures aimed at increasing interpersonal sexual assertiveness and decreasing distress associated with sexual minority victimization.

Masculinity, power and structural constraints: Men's conceptualization of emotional abuse in Mwanza, Tanzania

Intimate partner violence is a global problem with devastating social and health consequences to individuals and families. While some forms of intimate partner violence such as physical and sexual violence have been explored in depth, there is a lack of clarity on men's perspectives of emotional violence, particularly in low-income countries. Yet it is recognized that incorporating men's perspectives and participation is crucial for addressing intimate partner violence. We draw from in-depth interviews with 30 men and 1, 645 pictures collected through photo voice to explore men's conceptualization and experiences of emotional violence by female partners in Mwanza, Tanzania. A sub-sample of the men (n = 16) were interviewed for a second time about pictures showing different aspects of their lives. The fieldwork was conducted between April and December 2019, and the data were analyzed through a multistage inductive process. Participants described emotional violence through a narrative of ‘being hurt’ by some actions or words of their partners. These included: verbal complaints about failure to provide for family, partner's infidelity and flirting with other men, accusation of poor sexual performance, and perceived normative deviance characterized by coming home late and not carrying out domestic chores. Threatened masculinities drawing from negative communal normative ideals, and the underlying interpersonal power struggles with their partners for the control of economic provision, sexual intimacy and family matters framed men's definitions of emotional violence. Ongoing changes such as women's ownership and engagement in economic activities and the scarcity of employment opportunities for men challenges their household dominance. Multicomponent interventions should target men, couples and communal ideals reinforcing negative masculinity. Analysis of interpersonal power and structural dynamics influencing relationships must inform the design of interventions instead of the narrow focus on individual demographic attributes.