Power operates partly through perception rather than explicit verbal communication
Evidence
In all media some of the problems of information-processing are taken out of the process of verbal communication and left to perception. Not only love but power too makes itself visible. Symbols of hierarchy, along with symbolically intended acts of violence, and not least the personal appearance, the presence, of the greatest power-holder in the interaction, all help in this. — Niklas Luhmann, Trust and Power, 684
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships
- XREF: Connects to Giddens’s ‘presence’ and facework — physical presence of power-holders is a perceptual, pre-verbal route to trust/deference, the opposite pole from faceless commitments.
- ADDENDUM: The ‘symbolically intended acts of violence’ and visible hierarchy parallel the stagecraft of sacrifice in the sacrifice article — power and ritual both work through spectacular visible presence.
Related
- Power reduces information-processing demands by making itself visible through perception, not just words. (similarity 0.82)
- Power operates through indirect communication, not direct action (similarity 0.81)
- Power is code-guided communication, not a property possessed by anyone (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Body language overrides even legitimized interaction openings
#exemplifies(0.70) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 1010 - Others’ signaled openness governs whether one initiates talk
#exemplifies(0.60) — Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order and Action in…, 1008