Comprehension of Readings: Power-Dependence Relations, Psychology of Choice, and Brokerage

This article discusses the concepts and interrelationships of power and dependence among individuals in society, the framing of decisions and the psychology of choice, and the role of brokers in societal relationships. It provides a basic structure of societal relationships and the reasons and approaches to deal with imbalances.

Memo
To:
From:
Date: 08 October 2018
Re: Comprehension of readings
Article 1: “Power –Dependence Relations”
The issue of power, dominance or the authority are discussed in terms of the societal relationships in
an extensive manner. The concepts and interrelationships of power and dependence among the
individuals of the society are being described with the aid of the equations. The emergence of the
social relationships begins from the affinity of the dependent person towards achievement of a
concerned goal in the society and the powerful individual’s investments in the said goals (Emerson).
The existence of the power may be equal amongst the individuals or unequal, as per the kind of social
relationship shared. The case of unequal power means that one individual has an advantage of power
over other. The magnitude of power sharing amongst the individual further leads to the definition of
the cohesion. The situation of balancing the operations in case of power dependence relations arises
out of the imbalance in the power of the individuals. Various examples aid the demonstration of the
same.
The concept of cost reduction is also understood, which in the case of individuals means the change in
the values or morals or the resistance offered while fulfilling the demands of the others. These
concepts are applicable in any kind of social relationships, with little variations from case to case.
However, the cost reduction cannot be regarded as the solution to the imbalanced dependent
relationships.
The change in the variables of the relationships can lead to balancing the operations in different
manner, as per the nature of variable or variables changed. Thus, the article provides a basic structure
of the societal relationships and the reasons and approaches to deal the imbalances in the societal
relationships. Authority and its legitimate use also have a significant role to play in the choice of the
operations. Various operations that can be undertaken by the individuals, which can lead to the
imbalance to move either of the sides, are described as follows.
Dependent actor can choose to withdraw the motivational investment of the powerful actor by
reducing the degree or dependence. Another approach that can be adopted by the dependent parties as
against the most powerful one is the extension of their individual networks, which will also reduce the
dependency. Another operation can be reducing the power of the strongest by forming coalition. The
last one can be increasing the status of the stronger actor and thereby turn the imbalance in one’s own
favour.

Thus, it can be concluded that the above concepts and patterns of societal relationships are applicable
to various scenarios and relationships of the society with variations as applicable. The basic structure
however remains the same.
Article 2: The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of Choice
A decision problem refers to the existence of options or acts among which the one must be chosen by
the individual. The choice of the individuals varies and is dependent upon various factors collectively
known as the decision frame and includes life experiences, habits and the personal characteristics
(Tversky, and Kahneman). It is also significant to note that the preferences change as per the change
in the ways that an act, situation, or an outcome is framed. For instance, when it comes to making
choices concerning gains, individuals tend to become risk averse, and when the outcomes are
pertaining to losses, individuals prefer to take risks.
A number of theories guide the behaviour of individuals while making choices of the outcomes, such
as the utility theory, prospect theory and the probability of losses therein and the results are described
in the form of value function. However, a number of factors govern the application of these theories
too, such as the weights of the qualitative prospects in the decision-making. The article involves a
logical analysis of the different variables such as the contingencies, description of the decision
problem, the certainty effect, pseudocertainty effect, probability of hazards and related costs and
more. Thus, while the first part of the article deals with the analysis of the variable, which guides the
choice making, the latter part deals with the variables pertaining to outcomes.
An outcome frame refers to the set of various outcomes that are examined in the light of preferences
and the manner of their conjunction with each other and the basic reference outcome, which is a no
loss, no gain situation. Thus, it can be stated the deviations from the reference outcome will result in
the shift of the value function graphs. There are several factors and techniques of interpretations,
which guide the occurrence of outcomes.
One of the techniques that are preferred by individuals is the minimal account evaluation of a
situation. As depicted from the name itself, a simplistic approach involves intuition and experience of
the individuals.
Thus to conclude it can be stated that article describes an overall evaluation of the factors that guide
the preferences and the outcomes while making various decisions in society. The factors have been
logically evaluated with the aid of the equations and graphical representations to develop a
comprehensive understanding of the inter-dependent relationships.
Article 3: “Brokerage”
From the very name of “broker,” the person is regarded to be associated with the financial markets;
however, the article sheds light on the fact that the brokers are not limited to only the financial fields.

A broker is general term that is used to denote the individuals who act as bridge between an
unfamiliar situation or field and the goals. The significance of the varied kinds of professions that fall
under this category is that there is a lack of information, knowledge and the required expertise among
public. Thus, the overall societal relationships are transformed because of the involvement of the
brokers (Stovel, and Shaw).
The structural changes in the brokerage lead to a significant changes in the society at micro and macro
levels. The two major concepts that lead to the emergence of brokerage are the bias or the closeness of
one’s relationship and the availability of an individual to act as a broker; and the cohesion among the
community from which the goals are associated. A various diagrams are presented for the easy
understanding of the varied broker relationships.
The idea of broker is associated with the outcomes in the form of commission or any other benefit
derived by the brokers on facilitation of the acts. A number of factors too lead to the emergence of the
need of brokers ranging from the non availability of goods to non availability of some societal
connections. Thus, either the brokers can act as the middlemen or the catalysts to bring together the
other parties.
A number of fields involve the role of the brokers, from economics of goods and services to politics,
to search of job prospects. However, the end results are the same i.e. the smooth flow of operations as
per the instructions and the preferences of the parties. In addition, the roles are not limited to the
national boundaries, but are all pervasive and go beyond a society or a region. Immigration facilitation
is one such example. Thus, the brokers aid and refine the cultural relationships among the individuals.
To conclude, it can be stated that it would be wrong to define the field of broker exhaustively, because
there exists varied roles and forms of the same. However, the relationships are crucial in terms of the
definition of the role, cost involvement and the desired results.

References
Emerson, Richard M. "Power-Dependence Relations". American Sociological Review, vol 27, no. 1,
1962, p. 31. SAGE Publications, doi:10.2307/2089716.
Stovel, Katherine, and Lynette Shaw. "Brokerage". Annual Review Of Sociology, vol 38, no. 1, 2012,
pp. 139-158. Annual Reviews, doi:10.1146/annurev-soc-081309-150054. Accessed 9 Oct 2018.
Tversky, A, and D Kahneman. "The Framing Of Decisions And The Psychology Of Choice". Science,
vol 211, no. 4481, 1981, pp. 453-458. American Association For The Advancement Of Science
(AAAS), doi:10.1126/science.7455683.