Power-status theory

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The power-status theory is an approach to the sociology of emotions , developed by Theodore D. Kemper , an American sociologist who, with his work Power and Status and the Power-Status-Theory of Emotions, is considered one of the pioneers in the sociology of emotions. Kemper assumes a dyadic relationship model in which the actors relate to the respective power - status - dimensions within this model.

Basics of power-status theory

If you orient your actions in social relationships to the behavior of the other, this happens in two dimensions - the power and status dimension. These two dimensions and the personal assessment create emotions. If an actor gains power, this is tantamount to a loss of power for another actor. Kemper differentiates between the actors:

  • Ego , i.e. the actor's self-perspective
  • Age , so the point of view of other actors
  • The third party, it can be about aspects like God , fate or the intangible

The three possible actors are also those to whom the emotions can be directed.

The importance of power and status

According to Weber, power means “every chance within a social relationship to enforce one's own will against resistance, regardless of what that chance exists.” This power can take the form of physical violence , measures such as house arrest or emotional violence, but also through indirect forms of power such as manipulation , Fraud and rumors , are practiced. Once a power structure has been established, the one with the greatest power can be sure that his will will be obeyed, while the actor with less power knows that a violation of the power structure means punishment.

Status, on the other hand, is granted voluntarily by the actors. This happens through acceptance, support and love, for example. Having a high status gives you greater benefits from the other actors. In smaller groups, large differences in status between the individual group members are less likely, in large groups there are “central” and “ peripheral ” members. All these power-status relationships can be mapped in a two-dimensional axbox.

Power and status also play a role at the macro level , but here we speak of freedom (as adequate to power) and justice (as adequate to status). An example of this can be seen in social movements that are motivated by freedom and justice. There are also meta-processes within the groups to gain or reduce power and status.

Power and status in social relationships

In every social interaction , power and status play decisive roles: If you do not agree with your current power or status rank, this leads to feelings of envy, frustration and dissatisfaction. This dissatisfaction leads to a process of change in the power-status gap. One can feel this dissatisfaction not only for one's own situation, but also when another actor does not receive adequate power or status.

Status deficit

A status deficit arises if one is of the opinion that one's status level is insufficient or inappropriate. This can lead to different reactions:

  • In order to gain more status, high risks are taken. For example, you use all your savings in the casino in the hope of making more money and thereby gaining prestige .
  • You try to get attention in the group by presenting yourself in a victim role . This behavior has a higher chance of success if you can explain your supposed victim role to the other group members in detail. In order to secure his status, complaints about unjust, terrible or stressful events are often reported. Within a relationship there is a reciprocity in this regard : sometimes you complain to others, sometimes you listen to the complaints of others.
  • You can also gain status within a group by telling jokes and playing Punch. You get attention and, in a certain way, encouragement. By laughing together, all those involved are placed on the same status level for a short time.

Power deficit

When an " ego " regards its own power as insufficient, it feels in some ways vulnerable and fearful. In order to be able to describe the resulting emotions more precisely, one has to distinguish in the case of a power deficit whether ego attributes this deficit to itself or to age , someone else. If "ego" attributes the power deficit to himself, he feels helpless and insecure as well as fear; . "Ego" tries to regain its power or to reduce the power of "Alter" by trying to reduce the dependence on the person in power, by looking for allies or by doing propaganda.

The power-status theory of emotions

In every social interaction, power and status play a major role and emotions arise. Kemper differentiates between three types: structural, anticipatory and resulting emotions.

  • Structural emotions are derived from stable power and status relationships, so they are not formed directly from interactions. In dyadic relationships, each actor feels emotions according to his power or status or the power or status of others. In order to be able to take a closer look at the emergence of structural emotions, Kemper first breaks down between ego and age and then again whether the respective power / status relationships are insufficient, appropriate or excessive.

For example, if one takes adequate power of one's own, the ego feels secure; Alter has too much power, feels ego due to the reciprocity and the associated loss of power, fear. If one's own status is too much, the ego feels shame. This happens because, according to Goffman, you play a role and try to present yourself in a good light, but if you get more status than you think is appropriate, you feel shame and in special cases also guilt.

  • Anticipatory emotions (including anticipatory emotions) can be the result of a planned interaction process. They result from structural changes in relationships that are thought out in advance and are pronounced depending on whether you are fundamentally optimistic or pessimistic and whether you have a lot or little self-confidence.
  • Resultant emotions are the result of actual interactions and the effects on power-status relationships. For example, receiving praise from someone brings joy.

Kemper tries to simplify the model in some places and therefore mainly assumes the emotions like and dislike in the structural aspects of a relationship; a summary judgment as to whether the entire power relationship is appropriate.

Love and liking

In the course of his text, Kemper goes into love and liking again, both emotions that are difficult to grasp: If the actors like each other, there is an adequate status and a small power differential between them. It is a love affair when at least one of the actors gives extremely high status to another actor while the power in it is variable. Using these definitions, Kemper developed the seven ideal relationship types.

The seven ideal relationship types

Kemper assumes that power and status play a decisive role in every social interaction and that they can be used to explain the origin of emotions. Love and liking are also emotions, although it must be said that it is difficult to clearly define the difference between the two. With the seven ideal relationship types, Kemper therefore falls back on the two dimensions of power and status: In a love relationship, at least one of the actors has to give another actor a lot of status, while the distribution of power is variable. If the actors like each other, there is an appropriate status with them and a low power differential. Using these definitions and the power / status dimensions, he developed the ideal relationship types:

  1. Adoration by fans: One actor, the fan, thinks the other actor is worth receiving a lot of status. The fan feels a lot of affection for this person, while the adored person often doesn't know anything about it.
  2. Ideal love: Both actors have a high level of affection for one another, so they give each other a lot of status, but have no power over one another. This type of relationship is often short-lived; ideal love often turns into romantic love.
  3. Romantic love : Both actors are assigned a high status. Precisely because of the fact that “you can no longer do without the other” and the good feeling, there is also a lot of power between the two actors. Ideally, status attribution should remain high while power slowly declines again. After the first phase of adulation in this type of relationship, problems often arise, but these also have to be addressed in the "maintenance" phase.
  4. Divine, Parental or Mentor Love: Both actors have high status, but only one of them (the divine, the parent or the mentor) has much power over the other actor. Kemper elaborates the example of Divine Love again: God loves people and yet has a lot of power over them and also receives extreme status. The other types of relationships are structured in this way, to a lesser extent.
  5. Infidelity love: Both have a lot of power over each other, but only one of the actors receives high status. In this type of relationship, the cheated person has lost status while the cheater wants to keep his secret and continues to receive status.
  6. Unrequited love : The actor who is awarded love also receives a lot of status and at the same time also has a lot of power over the actor who gives him the status. The actor without power and status gives a lot to the other in the hope that it will be reciprocated. This type of relationship often occurs in adolescents who are blind with love.
  7. Parent-child love: You can distinguish between two types of love - on the one hand, the parental love described in number 4 and, on the other hand, the parental love in small children. In the case of the latter, the newborn is ascribed a great deal of status, whatever it needs to survive it also gets, although it does not give anything back. And although the parents do not get status back, they have complete power over the newborn.

Critique of Kempers Theory

The creation of emotions is a complex matter. Kemper tried to explain this development with his power-status theory. However, it is critical that 252 possible relationship constellations can develop in a two-person relationship alone. So there are innumerable possibilities through which emotions can arise, on the one hand this number is hardly manageable and on the other hand it is difficult to determine an appropriate designation for the emotional states. Kemper tries to modify and simplify his theory, but the problems with the empirical implementation still remain. One must also take into account that relationships can change over time, regardless of power or status. In addition, he only describes the origin of the emotions and not the form, as for example Schachter and Singer with their experiment on the two-factor theory of emotion . Even if the relationship types are ideals, it is questionable whether Kemper's classification does not overlap - as is the case with parental love (4) and parent-child love (7). Furthermore, it is not clear why these seven relationship types are considered ideal for Kemper. You also have to keep in mind that relationships change over time and therefore it is difficult to classify them. Another point of criticism is that Kemper explains the origin of the emotions, but not how exactly they are lived out.

literature

  • TD Kemper: Power and Status and the Power-Status-Theory of Emotions
  • K. Scherke: Emotions as a subject of research in German-speaking sociology . VS-Verlag, Wiesbaden, 2009. pp. 82-90
  • JH Turner, JE Stets: The Sociology of Emotions . Cambridge University Press, New York, 2005. pp. 216-219

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ TD Kemper: Power and Status and the Power-Status Theory of Emotions . Pp. 103-106