Editing Power (social and political) (section)

=== Tactics ===
A number of studies demonstrate that harsh power tactics (e.g. punishment (both personal and impersonal), rule-based sanctions, and non-personal rewards) are less effective than soft tactics (expert power, referent power, and personal rewards).<ref>Fiske, S. T., & Berdahl, J. L. (2007). Social power. In A. Kruglanski & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Social psychology: A handbook of basic principles (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.</ref><ref>Pierro, A., Cicero, L., & Raven, B. H. (2008). Motivated compliance with bases of social power. ''Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 38,'' 1921–1944.</ref> It is probably because harsh tactics generate hostility, depression, fear, and anger, while soft tactics are often reciprocated with cooperation.<ref>Krause D. E. (2006) Power and influence in the context of organizational innovation. In Schriesheim C. A., Neider L. L. (Eds.), Power and influence in organizations: new empirical and theoretical perspectives (A volume in research in management). Hartford, CT: Information Age. Pp. 21–58.</ref> Coercive and reward power can also lead group members to lose interest in their work, while instilling a feeling of autonomy in one's subordinates can sustain their interest in work and maintain high productivity even in the absence of monitoring.<ref>Pelletier, L. G., & Vallerand, R. J. (1996). Supervisors' beliefs and subordinates' intrinsic motivation: A behavioral confirmation analysis. ''Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71,'' 331–340.</ref>

Coercive influence creates conflict that can disrupt entire group functioning. When disobedient group members are severely reprimanded, the rest of the group may become more disruptive and uninterested in their work, leading to negative and inappropriate activities spreading from one troubled member to the rest of the group. This effect is called ''Disruptive contagion or ripple effect'' and it is strongly manifested when reprimanded member has a high status within a group, and authority's requests are vague and ambiguous.<ref>Kounin, J., & Gump, P. (1958). The ripple effect in discipline. ''Elementary School Journal, 59,'' 158–162.</ref>