NATURE, DIMENSIONS/TYPES AND

CONSEQUENCES OF POWER
PICTOpinion:

DIRECTION: TAKE A LOOK AT THE PICTURES AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING RELATED
QUESTIONS. WRITE YOUR ANSWERS ON THE BOXES PROVIDED BELOW.
1. What do the personalities above
have in common in terms of power
exercised?

2. How does their exercise of

power impact their constituents?
Explain.
POWER: DEFINITION, DIMENSIONS,
BASES, FACES, TYPES AND EFFECTS
When studying politics, the concept of
power is crucial in helping us develop
perspectives on how those who govern and
the governed interact in the political system.
Power is a significant component in the
study of social relationships and dynamics
because individuals who exercise varying
degrees of power and their subjects
altogether comprise our society.
 In the field of politics, power refers to a
person’s ability to exercise control or impose
restrictions over other individuals. It is also
viewed as the compulsion over these people
for them to perform certain tasks, which in
ordinary circumstances, they would not do.
Power is tied to the concept of authority,
which is the right to exercise power in
society.
There are three dimensions of power.
These dimensions of power can be more
readily remembered as “head, hands and
heart.”
DIMENSIONS OF POWER
1. Physical power – This dimension of
power is derived from material or physical
advantage. Individually, it can come from
one’s strength or skill, such as the power of
a wrestler. It can also originate from having
weapons which can be the ultimate power of
groups and governments.
2. Informational power – This dimension is
derived from knowledge. Power often
comes from the control of access to
information wherein those who possess such
power can permit or offer access to others.

3. Emotional power – This is the social

power of affect which uses emotion to get
what you want. Forms of emotional power
include a person’s charisma, oratory skills,
and the use of subtle body language.
John French and Bertram Raven were social
psychologists who viewed power as based
on the perception and understanding of the
various participants in society. Each
member of a group or society recognizes
that certain individuals in their circle
possess a degree of power based on the
nature of their relationships with other
members of the group. Power, therefore
could be classified according to several
bases.
BASES OF POWER
1. Reward power is based on the ability to
give rewards and benefits.

2. Coercive power is the degree on which a

leader can deny desired rewards or
administer punishment to control the
subjects and let them follow his/her desires.
3. Legitimate power is the extent on which a leader can
use subordinates’ internalized values or beliefs in a
setting wherein such leader has the right to command or
control his/her subordinates’ behavior.

4. Expert power allows control of other people’s

behavior through the possession of knowledge,
experience, or judgment which the other person needs
but does not have.

5. Referent power leads to control of another’s behavior

because that person wants to identify with the power
source.
 TWO FACES OF POWER
McClelland takes a stand for the use of
authority in a right or wrong fashion,and, in
effect, espoused the two faces of power:

1. Personal power is used for personal gain

and results in a win-lose scenario.

2. Social control involves the utilization of

power to create motivation or to accomplish
group goals.
TYPES OF AUTHORITY (WEBER IN
ETHRIDGE AND HANDELMAN, 2004)

1. Charismatic authority - It is an influence

possessed by a person by virtue of his/her
personal magnetism. Leaders with charismatic
authority have thecapacity to gain respect and
adulation to the point of moving followers to
make great sacrifices. This flows not from the
legal basis of one’s power but an individual’s
personal “gifts.”
2. Rational-legal authority - It is a leadership based
on established law. People obey the leader or
executive because they accept his or her power under
the law.

3. Traditional authority - In traditional authority,

leadership is based from the culture wherein people
often give allegiance to the ones who occupy the
institutional positions.

4. Coercive authority - It is the power to use force,

such as police or military force, to demand obedience
from the subordinates.
 ACTIVITY
Video Analysis Direction: Watch the following video
clips:

1. http://www.iapss.org/wp/2014/09/28/three-
dimensions-of-power/
2. https://managementstudyguide.com/types-of-
power.htm
After viewing the videos, answer the guide questions.
Write your answers on a separate paper. Guide Questions:

1. What are your observations and insights about power

based on the video?

2. How can you relate to the video presented?

3. What do you think will be the effect/s if the

dimensions and types power are unreasonably exercised
in our society?
POWER AND ITS EFFECTS
Power, when wielded by entities such as the
state, often yields significant effects on
society. The exercise of political power is
primarily intended to ensure social control.
This generally results in government
influencing the development of individuals in
society, as well as group behavior and identity.
 Democratic governments utilize their power
to uphold democratic ideals and institutions,
and inculcate a democratic mindset among the
citizens. Within groups and organizations, the
exercise of various forms of power by their
members result in a well-defined hierarchy
that enables them to identify their individual
roles, responsibilities, privileges, and rights
within the group. A well-balanced power
structure within an organization contributes to
its stability and efficiency.
However, irresponsible use of power limits individual
freedom and imposes restrictions to citizens’ actions. A
government that ignores lawful limits on its powers is
bound to violate the rights and freedom of its citizens.
Misuse of power by the government eventually leads to
the loss of legitimacy, especially if the citizens
consider government actions as violations of
democratic ideals.. This leads to wider dissent among
citizens who resort to rebellion or terrorism, which in
turn, brings about instability in government and
society. Many totalitarian states have successfully used
the full power of the state to stamp out dissent among
its citizens and have retained power for a long time.
 KEEP THIS IN MIND:
 Power is the ability of an individual to carry
out his or her will. In politics, power is the ability
to exercise control over individuals and compel
people to do certain tasks.
  Physical power, informational power and
emotional power are the three dimensions of
power.
  There are various forms of power according to
its bases.
 The following are five types of power:
1) Coercive power;
2) reward power;
3) expert power;
4) legitimate power; and
5) referent power. Coercive power is based on a
person’s ability to compel people through threats,
punishment ad force. Reward power is based on a
person’s ability to give rewards and benefits.
Expert power relies on knowledge and skills.
Legitimate power is based on position, role and
duty. Referent power is based on a person’s
personality and ability to attract followers.
 The government exercises power through laws and
regulations which compel citizens to undertake or
refrain from certain actions.
 Power, when exercised effectively and
responsibly, leads to stability in government and
society.
  The government ensures accountability in the
exercise of power through the establishment of
agencies tasked to investigate cases of abuses of
power and corruption in government, the institution
of procedures and laws that define proper exercise of
power, and close coordination with other social
institutions to ensure responsible and transparent
government activities.
ACTIVITY