Power, Predictors of

Resources as Predictors of Power

Most discussions of power are rooted in resource-exchange theory understandings of human behavior. According to these perspectives, people give and receive benefits (or exchange resources) as part of normal interaction. Resources can be anything of value—tangible or intangible—that individuals desire, and they serve as the bases for exercising power. The most obvious resources include money, material goods, and status/prestige, but there are others as well: love, affection, sexual favors, specialized knowledge, social approval, time, attention, and other services (including everything from cooking and cleaning to giving backrubs). In any relationship, these resources are exchanged on an ongoing basis. Sometimes like is exchanged for like, as in a romantic relationship, where both partners give and receive love, affection, and attention. In other circumstances, partners exchange different or even complementary resources. For example, in conventional marriages in Western cultures, men have traded the income they earn as sole (or major) breadwinner for the homemaking and child-care services of their wives.

Relationships develop and continue because each partner has something to offer the other, meaning that, over time, stable and harmonious relationships depend on the continual exchange of resources. Further, there is an implicit pressure toward equitable exchange. It is uncomfortable for participants if one person is giving more (or taking more) than the other; each partner wants to feel that she or he is both giving and receiving something of value and that, on balance, the exchange of resources in the relationship is “fair.”

Achieving this balance depends on a number of factors: specifically, the needs and alternatives of both individuals. The value of the resources exchanged in any relationship depends on the appetite, desire, or need one has for a particular resource, as well as the opportunities one has for satisfying that desire or need elsewhere. For example, if Person A needs monetary resources, she or he will appreciate Person B for providing them. If Person A can provide something of equal value, harmony and stability are achieved. However, if Person A's need for money continues and if she or he cannot find anyone else to provide it, Person B's money becomes even more important. If the resources that Person A has to offer in return are not as attractive or can easily be found elsewhere, an imbalance creeps into the relationship.

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