# 16 - Social power

# Social power

© SPMM Course 
balanced flexibility, and if the minority appeared to have some similarity to the rest of the group. 
Milgram’s experiments on obedience: Subjects were recruited by an authoritative university 
faculty and were asked to administer electric shock to victims kept in a different room by 
pressing buttons. The sham victim would make crying sounds in pain on increasing the dose of 
electricity. 
Group processes 
There are various processes that influence individuals when making decisions as a part of a 
group. The group can make more risky decisions than what an individual him/herself can. This is 
called risky shift. 
A group discussion process can strengthen average individual inclinations and polarise the 
group in the direction where most individuals were heading already. This is called group 
polarisation. 
While making extreme decisions, the desire to agree with other members of a group can override 
rational judgment applicable in individual decision-making. This is called groupthink. 
Group processes, especially polarization, are considered to be due to three underlying 
phenomena: 
 Normative influence: People have a need not to appear odd or ‘stick out’ like a sore 
thumb. So they say yes to what others in the group say. 
 Informational influence: Having more information after group discussion can facilitate 
decision-making 
 Social identity: A group norm is established soon after a group is formed. This creates a 
social identity and pressure to conform to maintain the belongingness. 
Robert Bales made observations around small group communication in early 1950s. In small 
groups, discussion initially tended to shift back and forth quickly between a task and its 
relevance to the group members. This helped to balance task completion and group cohesion. 
Later a linear phase emerged – the discussion moved from a mere exchange of opinions to 
evaluating values underlying a decision and then to making a decision. He also noted that no 
matter how large the group, the most talkative member spoke for 40-50% of the time, and second 
most talkative 23-30% of the time – dominating the conversation to the detriment of the others. 
Social power 
French and Raven identified 6 sources of social (or organizational) power. They used the term 
Bases of Social Power to describe these factors.