Proactive Differentiation,Sequence Restraint,and the Asymmetry of Power: A Multidimensional Analysis

Abstract

A variety of factors affect the configurations of power relations and communication systems observed in human groups, only a few of which are relatively well understood. Previous research has made it clear, for instance, that the communication structure of a group may have important implications for the power structure (Bales, et al., 1951; Homans & Reiken, 1954; Leik, 1967; Gray, et al., 1968; Richardson, et al., 1969; von Broembsen, et al., 1969). Nevertheless, the kinds of effects which may be observed can be expected to vary with situational aspects confronting the group and the understanding of these factors may be crucial to the development of reasonably precise organizational theory. This paper examines a relationship involving (1) the differentiation of participation by group members in the communication process, (2) formal restraint upon the communication structure, and (3) the relative symmetry or asymmetry of interpersonal power relations measured on three separate dimensions. Previous research by Richardson, et al. (1969) indicates some features of these relationships which we shall attempt to extend here.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

BALES, R. F. (1952). Some uniformities of behavior in small social systems, in Swanson, G. E. , Newcomb, T. M. and Hartley, E. L. (eds). Readings in social psychology. New York: Henry Holt & Company , 146-159.

BALES, R. F. (1955). The equilibrium problem in small groups, in Hare, A. P. , Borgatta, E. F. and Bales, R. F. (eds). Small groups: studies in social interaction. New York: Alfred A. Knopf , 449-490.

BALES, R. F. , STRODBECK, F. L. , MILLS, T. M. & ROSENBOROUGH, M. E. (1951). Channels of communication in small groups . Amer. socio. rev., 16 461-468 .

GRAY, L. N. , RICHARDSON, J. T. & MAYHEW, B. H., Jr. (1968). Influence attempts and effective power: a re-examination of an unsubstantiated hypothesis . Sociometry, 31, 245-258 .

LEIK, R. K. (1965). Type of group and probability of initiating acts . Sociometry, 28, 57-65 .

LEIK, R. K. (1967). The distribution of acts in small groups . Sociometry, 30, 280-299 .

MARTIN, J. D. & GRAY, L. N. (1971). Corrections for coefficients of variation . American Sociological Review, 36.

MAYHEW, B. H., Jr. , GRAY, L. N. & RICHARDSON, J. T. (1969). Behavioral measurement of operating power structures . Sociometry, 32, 474-489 .

MURRAY, H. A. (1951). Toward a classification of interactions, in Parsons, T. & Shils, E. A. (eds), Toward a general theory of action. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press , 434-464.

10.

RICHARDSON, J. T. , MAYHEW, B. H., Jr. & GRAY, L. N. (1969). Differentiation, restraint, and the asymmetry of power . Hum. relat., 22, 263-274 .

11.

RIEKEN, H. W. & HOMANS, G. C. (1954). Psychological aspects of social structure, in Lindzey, G. (ed.). Handbook of socialpsychology, Reading: Addison-Wesley , 786-832.

12.

STEPHEN, F. F. & MISHLER, E. G. (1952). The distribution of participation in small groups: an exponential approximation . Amer. socio. rev., 17, 598-608 .

13.

VON BROEMBSEN, M. H. , MAYHEW, B. H., Jr. & GRAY, L. N. (1969). The stability of power structures in short-term simulations . Pacific socio. rev., 12, 118-129 .