Many actions which at first glance appear to consist of mere unilateral process in fact involve reciprocal effects. The speaker before an audience, the teacher before a class, the journalist writing to his public—each appears to be the sole source of influence in such situations, whereas each of them is really acting in response to demands and directions that emanate from apparently passive, ineffectual groups. The saying “I am their leader, therefore I must follow them” holds good for politicians the world over. Even in hypnosis, which is manifestly the most clear-cut case where one person exercises influence and the other shows total passivity, reciprocity still obtains.

QUESTION: If even hypnosis involves reciprocity, what does this imply about other 'obvious' power imbalances — parenting, management, therapy?

XREF: Echoes the reciprocal social dynamics in leadership theory and group dynamics literature, and parallels descriptions of the leader-follower feedback loop.

Georg Simmel, on individuality and social…, loc. 218