Conceptions of Power according to French and Raven´s theory

1. Posse/Potere
•Are from Latin and
meaning ´to be able`

2. POWER

3. POWER
• The extent to which one person can
influence another to do something
OR
• The ability of one person to control some
other person in order to do something

4. Power in small groups
• Is reflected in the ability to
get other group members to
conform to our wishes

5. TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT
Power is a relational
concern for both
leaders and followers

6. In terms of education
Power must be a
relational concern
for both teachers
and students

7. CONCEPTS OF POWER
1. Power Bases
2. Power Processes
3. Power Outcomes

8. 1. Power Bases
• The most common description of
power bases is by French and Raven
(1959), in which power is divided
into five different categories

9. 1. LEGITIMATE POWER
2. REFERENT POWER
3. EXPERT POWER
4. REWARD POWER
5. COERCIVE POWER

10. • Later on, Raven in 1965
added one more category:
6. Informational Power

11. 1. LEGITIMATE POWER
It is associated with having authority
derived from status, a job, etc
I.e. A teacher, who besides being in charge of
the classroom, is balanced in her/his
appraisals, Then she or he exhibits
legitimate power

12. 2. REFERENT POWER
It is based on followers` identification
and linking for the leader
I.e. A teacher who is admired by her/his
students (´be like`) has referent power

13. 3. EXPERT POWER
It is based on followers` perceptions of the
leader `s competences.
I.e. A teacher who is well-knowledgeable about
her/his subject has expert power
As the saying goes… Knowledge is POWER

14. 4. REWARD POWER
It is derived from having the capacity to
provide rewards to others
I.e. A teacher who gives extra points,
desirable assignments and grades to
students who work hard, shows reward
power

15. 5. COERCIVE POWER
It is derived from having the capacity to
penalize or punishing others
I.e. A teacher, who wants to set an example
in order to avoid having a similar behavior
in the future and she or he takes
disciplinary actions against a student as a
punishment, uses coercive power

16. 6. INFORMATIONAL POWER
It is derived from expressing one’s views in
ways that are reasonable and compelling to
others, which is considered effective
communication
I.e. A teacher who explains concise and
clearly her/his subject, for the students`
sake, she or he has informational power

17. Much more important
• Your power base is the sum of
resources you posses that you can use
to exert control over your students

18. CONCEPTS OF POWER
1. Power Bases
2. Power Processes
3. Power Outcomes

19. 2. Power Processes
• Are ongoing interaction among group
members
• Through interaction we put our
resources to work for us
• Interaction itself can be an important
source of power in the group

20. However,
we should consider
• Assertiveness: Which refers to the
numbers of attempts an individual
makes to influence the behavior of
others
• Control: Is the measure of effectiveness
of these attempts and the number of
times these attempts are successful

21. • In other words, the power held by a
group member can be represented by a
ratio of attempts to successful attempts

22. CONCEPTS OF POWER
1. Power Bases
2. Power Processes
3. Power Outcomes

23. 3. Power Outcomes
• Potential = Possibility
• Actual = Real
As we have seen, power may be potencial
or actual

24. Summig up
• Power bases and power processes
represent potential sources of power
• POWER OUTCOMES are the
measure of actual power of a group
member

25. Finally
• Who wins the argument
• Who makes the final decisions
• Who achieves higher status within the group
Are all results of development and use of power
but

26. A great power
involves a great
responsibility