FSU FAD 2230 - Chapter 11: Power and Violence in Marriages and Families

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Chapter 11 Power and Violence in Marriages and Families Power What is power Who has power Who doesn t have power Types of Power Coercive Power o The power to punish another individual or force them to do something with the threat of punishment o Opposite of Coercive power o The power to reward someone with praise affection or attention Reward Power Expert Power o The power an individual has over someone when they have expertise o For example a professor has expert power over a classroom because he has lots of education over that particular study and has information to teach the subject to others Informational Power o The power of having more information than someone o Example Having negative information about someone can result in Blackmail o Example You heard on a radio commercial that smoking is bad for you so you tell someone else o Different than expert power because you don t have to be an expert on smoking you just have to have heard or read the information to be informed Referent Power o The power that someone who doesn t have much power gives to someone else in more authority o Example We have referent power for the president because we know that he s in the office and we refer to him to make decisions o People who really respect authority will refer to their authority figures to help them make decisions o For example you might not agree with your boss but you as the less powerful person in the relationship will refer to them and give them power as well Legitimate Power o The type of power given to someone by another particular body entity or person to enforce the law o Example a police officer has been given power by the state of Florida o Example attorneys have the power by the BAR association to practice and defend the law but don t have the power to arrest people Martial Power First studied in 1950 s Blood and Wolfe interviewed wives only o Asked them about who has powers to make decisions in the Resource Hypothesis the spouse with more resources has more power in relationship marriage o At this time resources typically meant bringing home a paycheck being protector and provider etc was mostly associated with male roles What resources do spouses bring o Women also bring resources love caring nurturance homemaking cooking cleaning domestic duties talents etc Study Results Most families 72 had relatively egalitarian decision making structure o Most women said that they make decisions equally husbands doesn t dominate decisions 25 Husbands made decisions 3 Wives made decisions Criticisms of Study Surprised that even though men brought more resources to the relationship women still perceived that they had equal power in making decisions What domains men and women have power over Women food shopping cleaning Husbands where they live jobs finances larger scale decisions Having power to make trivial decisions is not the same as having the power to make important ones o Not how much power but what you have power over that really helps to determine how you feel in a relationship Resources and Gender Men tend to have more resources o Money o Education o Status o Physical Strength o Alternatives to marriage Much more acceptable for men to be bachelors Larger pool of eligibles can marry younger women Men have more options acceptable to society It s okay for men to not have children and continue their career Women especially today due to the work force are working more and bring in an income Women are enrolling in college and graduating at higher rates than men are Women tend to be most equal with men at the beginning of marriage o Both working and both have an education equal power First pregnancy and birth diminishes women s resources o Female may take time off and lose income to take care of children o Dependent on males to be father and earner Women may feel financial connected and may also want to nurture the relationship between father and child o Have less energy to resist dominance of husband A women may lose ability to bargain or assert herself in the relationship and may feel that she has to compromise in the relationship for the sake of the family Because of the time and energy required to raised children women may not want to fight battles that they fought before Women may give up power due to tiredness Culture Resources and Gender Resource theory does not explain everything Culture gives husbands absolute legitimate power Interaction of legitimate and resource power Legitimacy and Resources Culture gives husband power husband greater resources husband dominant o Husband has strong firm ground Culture gives power husband less resources husband dominant o Legitimate power makes it likely for the husband to be dominant in Culture does not give power husband greater resources husband o Resource theory husband has more resources so he will have more the relationship probably dominant power or wife dominant Power and Social Class Culture does not give power husband less resources egalitarian marriage 75 of the time whether culture or resources gives the husband power it is an expectation that the husband will be dominant Only exception to this is when the husband has less resources and the culture does not give him power the husband isn t assumed to be dominant and the wife may be dominant Most classes perceive that they have egalitarian equal marriages o Upper class marriages are least likely to be egalitarian marriages o Middle class and low class marriages are more likely to be egalitarian Why would middle class marriages be egalitarian o In both middle class and lower class marriages it is most likely that both partners have to work to survive financially o Therefore both partners bring home resources that are vital to the family so both have a sense of power in the relationship Why would lower class marriages be egalitarian o See above In high class relationships both partners don t need to work so one has more resources than the other so the power would be in their favor and less equal Future of Marital Power Working women are happier in their marriages o More financial freedom Not reliant on husbands can invest in their own future o Psychosocial benefits Develop own professional identity learn that they are good at things and can make a difference in the world Mutually economically dependent couples o Also known as Dual Income couples o Couples in which each partner earns 40 to 50 of the couples Both partners contribute to total income equal power and value


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FSU FAD 2230 - Chapter 11: Power and Violence in Marriages and Families

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