Psychology
Document Type
Article
Abstract
While power is often defined and operationalized as control or influence over others, alternative conceptualizations define power as the ability to meet various fundamental needs. We argue that this conceptualization may better capture how marginalized minority group members understand their group's power or powerlessness. However, there is little research examining how people themselves construe group-based power. The present study, therefore, used qualitative inquiry to examine perceived ingroup power among Asian Americans, an underrepresented racial minority group with an ambivalent power status in society. Reflexive thematic analysis of 25 interviews illustrated the relevance of Prilleltensky's (J. Community Psychol., 36, 2008, 116) psychopolitical conceptualization of power. Specifically, we identified eight themes that reflect various context-specific construals of power as oppression, wellness and liberation. Additionally, the findings suggest the need to consider intragroup heterogeneity in power and to situate how power is understood in the given sociopolitical, structural context.
Publication Title
British Journal of Social Psychology
Publication Date
10-2024
Volume
63
Issue
4
First Page
2135
Last Page
2157
ISSN
0144-6665
DOI
10.1111/bjso.12777
Keywords
Asian Americans, model minority myth, perpetual foreigner, power
Repository Citation
Jeong, Hu Young; Vollhardt, Johanna; Twali, Michelle S.; and Tawa, John, "Different power perceptions based on socially situated needs: Findings from a qualitative study among Asian Americans" (2024). Psychology. 931.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_psychology/931
Cross Post Location
Student Publications
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Copyright Conditions
Publisher source must be acknowledged with citation: Jeong, H. Y., Vollhardt, J. R., Twali, M. S., & Tawa, J. (2024). Different power perceptions based on socially situated needs: Findings from a qualitative study among Asian Americans. British Journal of Social Psychology.
