Power-Dependence Relations: Two Experiments

Abstract

Data presented from an experiment on conformity and insecurity, include an unforeseen curvilinear relation between conformity and sociometric status. An attempt to explain this finding within the rationale of the study appears forced, and a theory of balancing processes in power-dependence relations is offered as a tentative explanation for these data. Finally, a second experiment is reported, designed specifically to test hypotheses concerning balance in power relations. Conformal tendencies of high status group members in the first study, and differential allocation of rewards within coalitions in the second study, appear to be explainable as two very different manifestations of a single generic balancing operation in power relations.