Referent power works through a recipient’s identification with, or regard for, the person or group making the request. It can win voluntary cooperation with little formal control, but it can suppress dissent when reputation stands in for evidence.
- Entry typeKey concept
- Category of its source unitAnalytical Frameworks, Typologies & Heuristics
- DomainVoice, Silence & Power
What these mean
Editorial orientation · Entry type
Key concept
Key concepts are the working vocabulary of the field: the terms that the models and tools rely on and that a decision about communication has to use precisely. Each entry defines the term and sends you to the brief or the self-guided audit where it is put to work.
Editorial orientation · Category
Analytical Frameworks, Typologies & Heuristics
Organizes dimensions, distinctions, types or questions so that a situation can be examined systematically. A framework supplies structure, a typology distinguishes forms, and a heuristic offers a usable way to orient judgment.