Chapter 10: PowerPower: defined by the ability to exercise one’s will- Personal powero Power exercised over oneself (aka autonomy)- Social powero The ability of people to exercise their wills over the wills of otherso Exerted in different realms including over the family o Parental power Operates between parents and children- Intimate partner powero Referring to unmarried couples or to unmarried AND married couples- Marital powero Partners described as husbands and wivesWhat Does Martial Power Involve?-Several components- 1.) Involves decision makingo Decisions about where couple will live, how to spend leisure time, etc.- 2.) Division of laboro Who earns money, who does work around the house- 3.) Allocation of moneyo Who controls spending for household, access to personal spending money- 4.) Sense of empowermento Being about to influence one’s partner and feeling free to raise complaints to one’s spouse aboutthe relationship -In addition to the components of martial power, the concept involves both objective means of power and subjective measure of fairness in the marriage- Objective means of powero Who actually makes more or more important decisions- Subjective measure of fairnesso Is the relationship equal are both partners contributingo Fairness can be thought of in terms of Equality vs. equity Equality is when both partners share equally in the rights and responsibility of the relationship Equity: are the rewards and privileges of the relationship proportional to the contributionsof the partner?- Both objective measures of actual equality and partner’s subjective perceptions of fairness influence martial satisfaction, marital commitment, and the risk of disruption, but the perception of fairness is generally more powerful.Power BasesSix bases of social power1.) Coercive powera. Based on the dominant person’s ability and willingness to punish the partner either with psychological- emotional abuse or physical violenceb. Ex: slapping your partner, spanking a child, cold shoulder, withhold sex2.) Reward powera. Based on an individual’s ability to give material or nonmaterial gifts and favors b. Ex: presents, emotional support, financial support, helps out when needed3.) Expert powera. Dominants person’s superior judgment, knowledge, or abilityb. Power typically goes to person with more education and experiencec. Ex: typically finance to men, and children and domestic duties to women4.) Informational powera. Based on the persuasive content of what the dominant person tells another individual b. Ex: convincing a spouse to do or not to do something5.) Referent powera. Based on a person’s emotional identification with the partnerb. Wanting to make the other partner happyc. Referent power increases as partners grow older togetherd. Ex: a husband going to a party because his wife wants him to go6.) Legitimate powera. Stems from the dominant individual’s ability to claim authority, or the right to request complianceb. Ex: most traditional family households are ran by the manThe Dynamics of Marital PowerClassical Perspectives on Martial PowerEgalitarian Power and the Resources Hypothesis-Relative power of wives and husbands results from their relative resources-The resource hypothesis- Holds that the spouse with more resources has more power in marriage- Resources include: education and earnings, good judgment- The resource hypothesis was supported by finding that the relative resources of wives and husbands were important in determining which partner made more decisions- Older spouses and those with more education made more decisions-The relative power of a wife increased after she no longer had young children or when she worked outside of the homeCriticism of the Resource Hypothesis-The questions asked were not that important (how much money to spend on food) and important areas were skipping (sexual life, how many kids, etc.)- Did not take into consideration their background, personalities, and the way they interactResources and GenderDair Gillespi research (1971)Men- Husbands usually earn more money than wives, so have more access to economic resources- Often older and better educated = more status and more knowledgeable (expert and informational power)- Greater physical strength (coercive power)Women- Fewer alternative to marriage if could not support themselves-American marriages continue to be inegalitarian even though they are no longer traditional -At first in marriage, power is equal until the woman gets pregnant, than she relies on her husband- Women can also threatening to leave husband with the childrenResources in Cultural Context- In a traditional society, male authority is legitimate powerResources in cultural context- Stresses the idea that resources are not effective in conferring martial power in traditional societies that legitimate male dominance with a patriarchal norm-True for immigrant families (Asia, Central and South America)Transitional egalitarian situation- Husband-wife relationships are more flexible and negotiated - Generations born in the US-If traditional norms of male authority are strong, husbands will almost inevitably dominate regardless of personal resources-If an egalitarian norm of marriage were completely accepted, then a husband’s superior economic achievements would be irrelevant to his decision-making power (both would have power)- It is only in transitional egalitarian situations in which neither patriarchal norms nor egalitarian norms are firmly entrenched. Martial power is negotiated. Love, Need, and Power- Love = referent power- Typically women hold the less powerful position- Woman value close emotional relationships than men do- Woman are encouraged to express feelings- A woman can gain power over her husband if her husband clearly places a high value on her- Men are less relatively powerful in the private, intimate sphere than they are in the public worldCurrent Research on Martial Power- Blumstein and Schwartz covered aspects such as money and sex and it compared married couples to heterosexual cohabiting couples and gay male and lesbian couples- Even though more women are entering the work-force their decision-making has increased somewhat but not to a degree with the level of income many of them have been earningHousehold Work and Leisure Time-Women’s satisfaction with the fairness of their partner’s contributions to household work is strongly associatedwith women’s relationship happiness,
View Full Document
Unlocking...