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Preferred term

interpersonal power  

Definition

  • Over the last several decades, scholars in interpersonal communication have debated how to define what power is and how to distinguish it from related constructs such as dominance, authority, status, and domineeringness. These constructs have been defined in numerous (and often synonymous) ways by a variety of theorists and researchers, but scholars from diverse fields are converging on the definition of power generally as the capacity to produce intended effects and in particular, the ability to influence the behavior of another person, but does not refer to the behavior itself. [Source: Encyclopedia of Communication Theory; Power, Interpersonal]

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https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/interpersonal_power

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