Deck 8: Power

Question 1

Is there any truth to the expression "Power corrupts"?

Answer 1

Answers will vary.

Question 2

You must design a group.Will you make the authority structure hierarchical and why?

Answer 2

Answers will vary.

Question 3

Use the approach-inhibition model of power to explain how teachers (those with power)and students (those without power)often change their actions over time.

Answer 3

Answers will vary.

Question 4

You must convince your professor to grant you an extension on a project.What power tactics will you use and why?

Question 5

Explain why some individuals rise to positions of authority and others do not.

Question 6

If you were the manager of a large staff of people in a manufacturing company,which bases of power would you rely on most heavily and why?

Question 7

What did Milgram find when he decreased the distance between the teacher and the learner,placed subjects in three-person groups,and varied the authority's social power?

Question 8

Do online groups allocate status more fairly than face-to-face groups?

Question 9

Compare and contrast the engaged-followership model of obedience and Milgram's agentic theory of obedience.

Question 10

Use Kelman's three-stage theory of conversion to explain why people followed Jones' orders at Jonestown.

Question 11

Why did participants in the Milgram experiment obey at such high rates?

Question 12

A tragedy of such magnitude as the Holocaust,in which millions of Jews were killed by Hitler's regime,defies explanation.But does a social-psychological analysis that draws on the concepts of conformity,obedience,and power yield some-although admittedly incomplete-insight into this terrible chapter in human history?

Question 13

Discuss the change that occurred when Milgram's participants worked in small groups rather than alone.

Question 14

What steps would you take,if a very powerful person,to minimize negative reactions to your use of power over others?

Question 15

Critique the Milgram studies on scientific and on ethical grounds.

Question 16

Sociologist Max Weber used the term charisma to explain the sheer magnitude of the power wielded by leaders such as Hitler,Lenin,and Mussolini.Draw on the concept of power bases to explain charisma.

Question 17

Edwina is the only woman in a work group.She has many good ideas,but the group members ignore them.How would expectations-states theory explain her dilemma? What would you tell Edwina to do to improve the situation?

Question 18

Compare the professor's power to the student's power in terms of French and Raven's concept of power bases.

Question 19

When a sample of Americans was asked,"Why do you think people become involved in cults?" the most frequently mentioned causes were "need for leadership or father figure," "unhappiness,feeling of hopelessness," "gullibility," "need to have a sense of belonging," and "mental illness." Please give your own answer to this question,and offer an interpretation of the responses given by the individuals sampled in this survey.

Question 20

Describe five variations Milgram used to study factors that may influence obedience,and summarize his findings and conclusions.

Question 21

According to French and Raven,power comes from two sources: rewards and punishment.

Question 22

Differences in power result when a person's experience of positive and negative outcomes depends on another who is not similarly dependent.

Question 23

Diffuse status characteristics,such as gender and race,do not play a role in status allocation.

Question 24

Milgram found particularly high levels of obedience when participants were members of a group whose members all obeyed.

Question 25

Kelman's three-stage theory of conversion is persuasion,pressure,and then coercion.

Question 26

The effectiveness and reaction to power tactics depends on three factors: directness,rationality,and bilaterality.

Question 27

Obedience was high in all conditions of Milgram's study but one: When the victim said,"Let me out of here," 82% of the participants refused to administer any more shocks.

Question 28

Giving power to a person increases the likelihood that they will adopt a wait and see attitude since their need for power has been satisfied.

Question 29

Power tactics often work by disrupting the target's capacity to think about what they are being asked to do.

Question 30

Because participants in Milgram's study often refused to continue when given a direct order,the engaged followership model argues participants were cooperating rather than mindlessly obeying.

Question 31

Social dominance orientation is the tendency to follow others' orders,even in situations where the orders may cause harm.

Question 32

Milgram suggested an agentic state occurs when individuals become so submissive to authority that they feel little responsibility for their actions

Question 33

The fundamental attribution error occurs when a person believes that others' actions are a product of their internal beliefs and personalities and overlooks the role of the group and environment.

Question 34

People who are extraverted tend to use a wider variety of power tactics than do introverts.

Question 35

The distress Milgram's subjects displayed suggests that they were struggling to resist the experimenter's orders.

Question 36

Zimbardo,in his study of college students who were either prisoners or guards in a simulated prison,concluded that the participants felt compelled to act consistently with their roles.

Question 37

One of the tenets of the interpersonal complementarity hypothesis is dominant behaviors elicit submissive behaviors and vice versa.

Question 38

Participants in the Milgram study were more likely to refuse to obey when the victim said,"I refuse to continue" than when he shouted out in pain.

Question 39

Milgram conducted his studies in the 1960s,and when researchers have tried to replicate them,people do not obey the experimenter.

Question 40

Because they control fewer resources,the rewards low people give are viewed as more valuable than the same rewards given by powerful individuals.

Question 41

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Because of ethics issues,Milgram's study has never been replicated.
B)Participants in Milgram's study were not aware that their actions were harming another person.
C)Cross-cultural research suggests obedience is a human universal.
D)Milgram's participants were unusually obedient individuals.

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT a base of power identified by French and Raven?

A)reward
B)referent
C)coercive
D)normative
E)legitimate

Question 43

Most of the participants in the Milgram experiment

A)did not take the situation seriously.
B)did not think they were harming the learner.
C)struggled to resist the orders of the experimenter.
D)did not notice the harm they were causing.
E)enjoyed the part the played in the research study.

Question 44

Reward power decreases if

A)the reward offered is highly valued.
B)group members are dependent on the powerholder.
C)the powerholder's promises are credible.
D)other individuals can also deliver the reward.
E)any of the circumstances listed here occur.

Question 45

Milgram recorded the least obedience when

A)he replicated the study away from Yale (in downtown Bridgeport).
B)the shocks were being given to the experimenter who insisted he be released.
C)part of a group that refused to continue.
D)when the authority left the room.
E)when the victim complained of a heart condition.

Question 46

Which of the following statements is true?

A)About one quarter of Milgram's subjects "saw through" the deception and were suspicious.
B)Participants stopped when they realized they were hurting the learner.
C)Initially,Milgram expected that very few of his participants would be fully obedient.
D)Milgram asked participants to judge the length of nearly identical lines in groups.
E)About 10% of Milgram's refused to give even the mildest shock.

Question 47

From a group dynamics perspective,obedience was high in the Milgram experiment because of the

A)immorality of the participants.
B)persuasiveness of the experimenter.
C)power of the experimenter in the situation.
D)ambiguity of the situation.
E)frustration and anger of the subjects.

Question 48

Obedience rates in Milgram's studies were lowest in the ____ condition.

A)voice-feedback
B)women only
C)remote
D)touch-proximity
E)proximity

Question 49

Subsequent studies of obedience in situations like the one Milgram studied suggest that

A)Milgram's findings apply only to that period in American history,and cannot be replicated.
B)most of the participants were not taken in by his deceptions.
C)the people he studied were unusual-their personalities prompted them to obey.
D)the obedience to authorities he documented is common in military and organizational settings.
E)obedience is higher in the U.S.and Germany than in other countries.

Question 50

Through election,I am unanimously selected to be leader.I have ____ power.

A)reward
B)referent
C)coercive
D)expert
E)legitimate

Question 51

Unlike other bases of power,legitimate power stems from

A)an ability to control important resources.
B)the structure of the group.
C)external sources.
D)attraction between group members.
E)arbitrary factors.

Question 52

___ conducted the well-known studies of obedience to authority.

A)Stanley Milgram
B)Stanley Schachter
C)Philip Zimbardo
D)Solomon Asch
E)Herbert Kelman

Question 53

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)In the standard condition about 65% of the subjects obeyed to the 450-volt level.
B)In the standard condition 100% of the subjects gave at least the 90-volt shock.
C)Individuals were more obedient when part of an obedient group.
D)When the victim complained of a heart condition only 12% were obedient.
E)Having to touch the victim reduced,but did not eliminate,obedience.

Question 54

The truly charismatic leader's power comes from ____ power.

A)reward
B)referent
C)expert
D)legitimate

Question 55

Ed,who has little status,says he will get the boss to fire you if you don't support his ideas.Ed is using ____ power.

A)reward
B)referent
C)coercive
D)informational
E)legitimate

Question 56

Milgram found that

A)very few people are willing to obey another person if it will lead to harm.
B)only authoritarian persons are willing to obey.
C)approximately 65% of his subjects were highly obedient.
D)most people who obeyed did so happily.

Question 57

In a group I belong to,members do things for me because of our friendship,and I have built strong positive relationships with the members of the group.I have ___ power in this group.

A)informational
B)referent
C)coercive
D)expert
E)legitimate

Question 58

Which is one of the bases of power identified by French and Raven?

A)normative
B)interpersonal
C)bilateral
D)referent
E)charismatic

Question 59

I have informational power in a group.Therefore:

A)The members appreciate it when I praise or compliment them.
B)I can sanction,in a negative way,members of this group.
C)I am a recognized leader in the group.
D)Members know I have strong skills and abilities.
E)Members seek me out when they need facts and data.

Question 60

Social power implies

A)social influence.
B)forces operating in opposition to one another.
C)inducing change in another person.
D)resisting other's influence attempts.
E)all the processes listed here.

Question 61

William is the recognized whiz in the office when it comes to computer programming,so his influence over others is considerable.William has ____ power.

A)reward
B)referent
C)coercive
D)expert
E)legitimate

Question 62

I am the person who knows the rules and regulations for the department.I have ____ power.

A)informational
B)charismatic
C)coercive
D)expert
E)legitimate

Question 63

In expectation-states theory,status characteristics are either

A)achieved or ascribed.
B)actual or ideal.
C)specific or diffuse.
D)internal or external.
E)potential or attained.

Question 64

Before asking for a donation of $20,the solicitor for a charity first asks you to sign a petition supporting the group's work.This solicitor is taking advantage of the

A)chain-of-command.
B)agentic state.
C)power of roles.
D)foot-in-the-door technique.
E)fundamental attribution error.

Question 65

According to the concept of status generalization,a group of biased white,middle class males would probably pick a ___ to be their leader.

A)35-year-old black business executive
B)22-year-old college student with group dynamics training
C)58-year-old white male high school teacher who talks a good deal
D)female who is president of the local PTA

Question 66

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Humans are the only primates that live in groups organized into status hierarchies.
B)Groups will remain unstructured unless an external threat prompts formation of a hierarchy.
C)Groups with organized dominance hierarchies are generally more effective than groups with flat status structures.
D)As the interpersonal complementarity hypothesis predicts,dominant behaviors tend to provoke dominance behaviors,
E)The iron law of oligarchy assumes the populace will resist domination by a minority.

Question 67

Vinita is the only woman sportscaster with the network.Studies suggest that one of the most effective ways for her to overcome status generalization biases would be to

A)only cover women's sports.
B)act as feminine as possible while still covering all sports events.
C)announce her right to high status during meetings.
D)demonstrate her commitment to the group's goals by expending extra effort.
E)remind members that evaluations based on sex are illegal in the workplace.

Question 68

During the Korean War,the Chinese apparently influenced POWs by asking them to perform small,petty actions such as writing an essay explaining why communism was good.Later,their requests escalated as they asked for larger and larger concessions.This method of influence is like the ____ technique.

A)door in the face
B)lowballing
C)highballing
D)idiosyncrasy credit
E)foot in the door

Question 69

Carl is a 27-year-old who has worked for ten years with software development and hardware installation.When the group must decide what type of network to install,they listen to everything Carl says and make the choice he recommends.According to expectation-states theory,Carl achieved high status in this group because of his ___ status characteristics.

A)ascribed
B)ideal
C)specific
D)diffuse
E)potential

Question 70

Which of the following is NOT one of the major dimensions that defines the differences among various types of power tactics?

A)soft vs.hard
B)rational vs.nonrational
C)implicit vs.explicit
D)unilateral vs.bilateral

Question 71

Cathy influences people by dropping hints,ingratiation,and evasion.Her tactics are

A)strong.
B)rational
C)indirect
D)bilateral

Question 72

Tactics such as persuasion,discussion,and bargaining are ____ because they require cooperation between both parties.

A)strong
B)weak
C)indirect
D)bilateral
E)irrational

Question 73

Which of the following statements is FALSE?

A)Power activates individuals,increasing their drive,energy,and motivation.
B)Powerful individuals tend to be proactive,rather than reactive.
C)Individuals with power seek out rewards and tend to notice when they are available.
D)Power can be primed by subtle situational cues.
E)Those with power tend to respond more compassionately to others' problems.

Question 74

A loud voice,interrupting others,and sitting at the head of the table are all examples of ____ behavior.

A)unfriendly
B)dominance
C)emotional
D)feminine
E)ineffective

Question 75

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Bullies are usually social misfits.
B)Females tend to bully through relational aggression,males through physical aggression.
C)Bullying tends to be a dyadic process (involving the bully and a victim)rather than a group-level process.
D)Bullying is usually retribution for some previous harm done by the victim to the bully.
E)Bullying is now considered to be a relatively normal conflict stage that most children pass through without any negative consequences.

Question 76

Milgram,by having the subjects agree to give small (15-60 volt)shocks before asking them to give substantial (300 volt)shocks may have inadvertently capitalized on the ___ effect.

A)door in the face
B)lowballing
C)highballing
D)idiosyncrasy credit
E)foot in the door

Question 77

Using Weber's definition,who was the most charismatic?

A)Richard M.Nixon
B)Bill Clinton
C)Adolf Hitler
D)George W.Bush
E)Donald Trump

Question 78

Blass (2000)discovered that most people,when they consider the sources of power of the experimenter in the Milgram experiment,rank his ___ power lowest.

A)reward
B)referent
C)coercive
D)normative
E)legitimate

Question 79

The approach-inhibition model of power suggests that

A)power inhibits the expression of inferiority.
B)powerful people tend to experience and express more negative emotions.
C)powerful people tend to overlook rewards when they are available.
D)high power individuals make decisions more quickly than do those who are low in power.
E)powerful people tend to act in ways that are inconsistent with the situational demands.

Question 80

A(n)____ reaction is to high power as a(n)___ reaction is to low power.

A)inhibitory;approach
B)need for Power;need for Affiliation
C)approach;inhibitory
D)mandate;oligarchy
E)defensive,offensive