Power (Education)

One's influence over others. It is the ability to get things done. French and Raven (1959) described five types, or bases, of power: (1) reward power, (2) coercive power, (3) legitimate power, (4) referent power, and (5) expert power.

A person with the ability to reward others is said to have reward power. Thus, a university department chairperson might have reward power in the eyes of a faculty member because of his or her ability to assign teaching loads. The strength of one's reward power increases based on the perceived ability to provide continuous and greater rewards. So a department chairperson's reward power increases in the eyes of a faculty member as he or she is able to provide letters of recommendations for awards, recommendations for tenure and promotion, and the like.

Coercive power stems from the ability of one person to punish another or force that person to act against his or her will. The sponsor of an honor society might be seen to have coercive power by its members based on the minimum grade point average (GPA) they must maintain to remain active members. For example, if a member's GPA slipped below the minimum required for membership in the honor society, the sponsor would have the authority to dismiss the student from it.

Legitimate power is based on the belief that one person has the genuine right to influence others. Others feel an obligation to accept this influence, as it seems to spring from an authentic source. An example of legitimate power would be that of a professor in a college classroom. Students perceive the professor's power as legitimate since he or she has the academic credentials to qualify for such a teaching position.

Referent power is derived from a person's feeling of kinship, affiliation, or liking for another person or group. Sororities and fraternities on college campuses have referent power over their members and pledges. The greater the feelings of kinship or affiliation, the greater the referent power.

Expert power is attributed to an individual when others perceive him or her as having a particular type of knowledge or skill. Career services centers at universities are perceived as having expert power in the area of job placement. Expert power is limited, however, to the particular area of knowledge or skill. Career services centers would not, for example, be recognized by college students as places to seek other types of services, such as counseling or health services. For more information, see French and Raven (1959).