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Power dynamics: Perceptions
Hello guys,
what I learned the past few days is the following:
Power dynamics analyses are coloured by our perceptions.
It's a simple idea. An obvious idea. However it has huge consequences. I'll give an example below. (I still cannot post videos, I don't have the video button in the menu)
Husband/wife dynamic in a competition
You can see either:
- That she's in command and he's executing OR/AND
- That she's a good friend and encourage him OR/AND
- That they are a tight team and are good collaborators OR/AND
- That he's doing the work and she's not OR/AND
- That he's courageous and she's a coward OR/AND
- That she hopes to make a lot of money OR/AND
I'm not saying any of those things are real. I'm saying that our perceptions will cement our interpretation of the situation. From there, we will react to the wrong scenario: "our scenario". So at these moments, the first step is to:
Reconcile our perceptions
To do so, we simply share our different perspectives. That allows us to understand the needs and desires of the other instead of imagining them. We're all guilty of that. As humans with our cortex, we are obsessive planners.
So if you think he's a slave, then you will interpret the situation differently than if you think he's a stud and she's just following along. Simple idea as I said. However, if we want to improve our communication skills we must be able to recognize when our perceptions are too much out of alignment and reconcile them. That means to:
Synchronize our minds
Yep, totally true.
And that's also where getting more exposure and being open-minded helps to overcome the chances of miscommunication. The more different approaches one has experienced, plus being open-minded enough to see them and accept them, the more he will be able to consider different point of views, and the less likely miscommunication becomes.
As for most things, there is also a limit to the grey area where misunderstandings can happen.
For example, if that lady in the video had been yelling at him with an angry face, then the "supportive" and "collaborative" interpretation becomes less and less valid, while the "commanding" and "hopes to make lots of money" become more and more relevant.
For example, if that lady in the video had been yelling at him with an angry face, then the "supportive" and "collaborative" interpretation becomes less and less valid, while the "commanding" and "hopes to make lots of money" become more and more relevant.
Definitely!
And that's also where getting more exposure and being open-minded helps to overcome the chances of miscommunication. The more different approaches one has experienced, plus being open-minded enough to see them and accept them, the more he will be able to consider different point of views, and the less likely miscommunication becomes.
This is so important to me. This is why racism and all this kind of thinking is NOT useful. I see myself as a human, therefore I can connect with any human. I don't see myself as part of a particular group which would be at war with another group. I do think that science and rationality are needed for mankind. However they are not the end-all be-all of Life. Beliefs, emotions, traditions, etc. have their place in the World.
