The power to gaslight

Gaslighting is a dysfunctional pattern of relating that destabilizes an individual’s sense of reality. Adopting a communication perspective, this study examined the relationship between gaslighting and interpersonal power dynamics. Participants ( N = 298) recalled a disagreement with a dating partner and provided measures of dependence power and their experience of gaslighting. Results were counter-theoretical, suggesting a curvilinear relationship between gaslighting and power. Specifically, individuals with low and high levels of power reported greater gaslighting than those with moderate power. Results suggest that tacit control attempts differ from overt control attempts in how they (re)produce relational hierarchy. The study underscores the importance of understanding relationship contexts in studying dysfunctional interpersonal dynamics.

Richardsonian Fiction, Women’s Raillery, and Heteropessimist Humour

The fiction of Samuel Richardson is not fundamentally humourless. This article analyzes the rich vein of humour found in Pamela in her Exalted Condition (1745) and The History of Sir Charles Grandison (1753–54) to show that Richardson was acutely aware of the interpersonal power of laughter and that he harnessed it for aesthetic and moral ends. Novelistic scenes of spontaneous conversation dramatize the various and often embodied effects of humorous performances. Using theories of gender and humour, I argue that Richardson critiques and modifies Restoration wit by using women’s raillery as the primary vehicle for novelistic humour. Richardsonian fiction thus feminizes the domineering tendencies of masculine wit and the adversarial harms of ridicule, replacing them with chaste female models of “satirical merriment.” Such pleasure does not equate to liberation or even subversion. Through Pamela and Charlotte Grandison, the novels generate a heteropessimist humour in which women’s dynamic wit ultimately promotes their marital subordination to flawed, disappointing men.

Interpersonal Power Pemimpin Organisasi dalam Memberikan Pengaruh kepada Staffnya

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mengetahui persepsi karyawan terhadap power pemimpinnya dalam kaitannya memberikan pengaruh kepada staffnya. Sampel yang didapatkan sebanyak 41 orang PNS di salah satu unit pelayanan terpadu Kementerian Pertanian. Alat ukur yang digunakan adalah adaptasi dari Interpersonal Power Inventory. Setelah dilakukan uji Reliabilitas didapatkan Nilai Reliabilitas Komposit 098 ≥ 0.70. Seluruh item memiliki nilai total correlation diatas 0,310. Power yang paling dominan dimiliki oleh kepala balai secara berurutan adalah Power Impersonal Reward, Personal Reward, Formal Legitimate, Reciprocity Legitimate.

Beyond bargaining: forms and mechanisms of interpersonal power

To empower women, it is necessary to better understand the power dynamics they are involved in. The objective of this paper is to analyse intrapersonal power dynamics of women with their husbands in San Felipe del Progreso, a poor and marginalised indigenous community in Mexico State, Mexico. A framework is used that distinguishes between the mechanisms that are used to enforce power and their visibility, using the forms of power proposed by (Gaventa 2011). To achieve the objective, in-depth interviews and focus groups were applied to women of four towns in the area. Power relations related to four fundamental aspects of women´s lives were assessed; women’s mobility, women’s contraceptive use, women’s sexual relations with their husbands, and household decisions on income and expenditures. Results indicate that men and women use different forms and mechanisms of power due to gendered social norms and differences in the control and access to resources.

Where is religion in political ecology?

Political ecology has grown rapidly over the past four decades, incorporating insights from wide-ranging swaths of the academy. One topic it has not yet substantively engaged with, however, is religion. This article argues that the failure to critically engage with the study of religion has led political ecologists to neglect important factors in their analyses and has resulted in incomplete conceptualizations of interpersonal power relations. It does this by first reviewing the scattered literature across political ecology engaging with religion before suggesting potential paths for scholars interested in further incorporating religion into political ecology.

Who’s the boss? How and when process power moderates partner regulation of attachment defenses

Emerging theories suggest that interpersonal power may moderate partner regulation of attachment-related defenses. This study tested whether partner negative engagement (attack, blame, and criticism) and process power (direction and control of conflict resolution) interacted to predict avoidant and anxious targets’ behavioral and physiological responses to conflict. We expected the greatest dysregulation when avoidant targets’ autonomy concerns were maximally threatened (i.e., when partners directed conflict using highly negative tactics) and when anxious targets’ abandonment concerns were maximally threatened (i.e., when highly negative partners disengaged from conflict). Results indicated that highly anxious people recovered poorly from conflict regardless of partner negative engagement and process power but showed greatest heart rate reactivity (HRR) to conflict when partners used strong negative engagement but did not direct conflict. Highly avoidant individuals’ HRR did not differ based on partner negative engagement or process power. As expected, however, they recovered the worst from conflict when highly negative partners directed conflict discussions and recovered best when partners directed conflict without using blame or criticism. Findings suggest that the meaning and consequences of process power may differ for avoidant versus anxious targets and underscore the need to integrate multiple conceptualizations of interpersonal power into future research on partner regulation.

The Effect of Personality on Interpersonal Power and Power Distance of Employees of MRF Tyres Ltd. – Kottayam

Fundamentally every society is made up of individuals and groups who have interaction among them. In the process interaction, power turns out to be the force that keeps the social relationship going. Though there can be various types and levels of interactions, all will have power at the base of it all. Possession of power certainly changes individuals for good or bad. But obviously it happens. Power enables the individuals to make proper decisions provided one is capable of handling power properly. What makes an individual to handle power properly is one’s personality. For, it certainly influences the thinking pattern, emotional expressions and deeds. Hierarchy is part and parcel of a society. Here employees with high dominance of power sustain hierarchy. Due to this there occurs opportunities for interpersonal power and power distancing. Power distancing will certainly occur for those employees who find themselves with less power or with more power than the others. Interpersonal power also will occur among the individuals of the society when they are able to influence the other with their positive utilization of power. Here the study that is undertaken with the title the effect of personality on interpersonal power and power distance of employees of MRF Tyre Ltd, Kottayam, is an effort to find the effect of personality on interpersonal power and power distance. It helps to analyze if personality is related to interpersonal power, is there a relationship between personality and power distance and to see if there is any intervention of interpersonal power between personality and power distance. The methodology used will be a descriptive one. Questionnaire and interviews were used to collect data and various statistical tools will be used to analyze the data. Findings are placed after that with a conclusion suggesting to utilize the power for the welfare of the society and its growth.

Communication Within and Among Faith-Based Organizationsin Community Empowerment Program

The issue of this research is concerning the communication within and among Zakat Management Organizations (OPZs) as Faith-Based Organization (FBO). The main research problem is how OPZ(s) can successfullydevelop cooperationin increasing both public trust and institutional productivity. Interpretive Approach through Social Construction Theory was used as a reference to see the process of organizational communication through OPZ’s communicator ethos. The research method used was qualitative with a technique of case study, and informants were from OPZ’s West Java unit. The results showed that the communicator ethos as a source of credibility in communicationwithin and among OPZs, derived from Islamic Teachings, applicable (positive)laws, and basic guidelines of OPZs, can produce organizational values as the basis of implementing cooperation in community empowerment programs. Cooperation among OPZsin an empowerment program is more related to personal power and interpersonal power aspectsthan to political power aspect. There is a need to strengthen openness and mutual trust values among the OPZs, changes in zakat regulation, more transparent, accountable and equitable governance in order to increase trust, realization of zakat potentials, and prosperity.