Chapter 12 Power and Violence Flashcards
Social power
is the ability to influence or change the thoughts, feelings, or behavior of others to suit our purposes and to resist their influence on us
From an interdependency perspective, ____ is based on the control of valuable resources
power
The principle of lesser interest
holds that in any partnership, the person who has less interest in continuing and maintaining the relationship has more power in that partnership
If your partner loves and needs you more than you love him or her, you’ll get to do what you want more often than not
fate control
One can autocratically determine what outcomes a partner receives, thereby control-ling the other’s fate.
ex- When she is his only option, a woman who refuses to have sex with her husband is exercising fate control; she can unilaterally determine whether or not sex occurs.
behavior control
This occurs when, by changing one’s own behavior, one encourages a partner to alter his or her actions in a desirable direction, too.
ex - If a woman offers to provide a special backrub if her partner cleans the garage, she’s engaging in behavior control.
one partner’s ability to influence the other is often matched by considerable ______ of the other partner over the first
counterpower
Legitimate power
exists when our partners believe that we have a reasonable right to tell them what to do, and they have an obligation to comply
reward power and coercive power
refer to a person’s ability to bestow various rewards and punish-ments on someone else.
We have referent power over our partners when …
they adore us and wish to do what we want because they feel connected to us.
Expert power exists when …
our partners recognize our superior knowledge and experience and are influenced by us because we know more than they do.
informational power is when …
we have specific pieces of information that influence our partners’ behavior; our partners may do what we want if we offer to share a juicy bit of gossip with them.
Universalistic resources, such as money, can be exchanged with ….
almost anyone in a wide variety of situations
Particularistic resources are valuable in some situations and not in others, and they …
confer power to their owner only with particular partners
_____ _____ support and maintain male dominance
Worldwide, most cultures are still governed
by norms of patriarchy that make it seem ordinary and natural for men to be in charge most of the time
social norms
four dimensions with which to judge how close you’re coming to true equality in your relationships
Relative status
Attention to the other
Patterns of accommodation
Well-being
Men and women behave ____ when they are talking to others of the same sex
But in interactions with the other sex, men interrupt women more than women interrupt men, and those who interrupt others are judged to be more powerful
similarly
Powerful people take up more space than less powerful people do. true or false?
true
Powerful people decode others’ nonverbal communications less accurately than less powerful people do. true or false?
true
direct
plainly stating our preferences
indirect
hinting at what we want but never coming right out and saying what it is
bilateral strategies
seeking the cooperation of our partners
unilateral action
doing what we want by ourselves
men are direct and bilateral more often than women are. true or false?
true
People who are high in ______ tend to use direct, bilateral styles of power
instrumentality
Disparities in power are associated with dissatisfaction
in close relationships. true or false?
true
Most modern marriages are happier when spouses share their decision-making equally and both partners’ wishes are given equal weight. true or false?
true
Committed, happy lovers often use their power
to benefit their partners and to enhance,
rather than undermine, their mutual contentment. true or false?
true
Some people actively seek to be the top dogs
in their relationships, and they tend to be controlling,
domineering people who have unhappy partners. true or false?
true
violence
involves acts carried out with the intention of physically hurting another person
____ percent of the women and ___ percent of the men in the United States have encountered severe physical violence from an intimate partner
24
14
___ percent of the world’s women have been assaulted by a domestic partner
30
Situational couple violence
erupts from specific angry arguments that get out of hand.
It occurs when both partners are angry and is tied to specific arguments, so it is only occasional and is usually mild, being unlikely to escalate into serious, life-threatening forms of aggression.
intimate terrorism
one partner uses violence as a tool to control and oppress the other.
intimate terrorism is more likely to be one-sided, to escalate over time, and to involve serious injury to its target.
most likely to get a battered spouse to seek shelter else-where
Isolation: controlling where she goes, what she does, whom she sees
Intimidation: Threatening, destroying her property, abusing pets
Economic abuse: Taking her money, preventing her employment
Emotional abuse: Humiliating, disregarding, and blaming
Minimizing: Denying any abuse
violent resistance
in which a partner forcibly fights back against intimate terrorism.
____ are more likely to throw something, kick, bite, scratch, or punch their partners, whereas ____ are more likely to choke, strangle, or beat up theirs.
women
men
___ are also much more likely to rape or murder their partners
men
mateguarding
we work to regulate and control our partners’ access to potential rivals, and vice versa.
____ are more likely to engage in indirect aggression—by trying to ruin someone’s reputation by spreading rumors or gossip.
women
The I-cubed model recognizes three influences on intimate partner violence:
Instigating triggers that cause partners to be on edge
Impelling influences that make it more likely that the partners will experience violent impulses
Inhibiting influences that encourage the partners to refrain from violence
Impelling and inhibitory influences can be:
Distal, involving background influences such as economic conditions, cultural norms, and family experiences
Dispositional, including personality traits and long-standing beliefs
Relational, involving the current state of the couple’s relationship
Situational, including the current circumstances
And violence is less likely in:
cultures promoting gender equality
cultures that enjoy economic prosperity
couples with good problem-solving skills
couples who are committed to their relationship
couples who are conscientious and have high self-control
Among spouses than among cohabiting couples
people who are sober
Men who are spouse abusers feel superior to women and believe that their aggression is a legitimate response to the provocation and disrespect they receive from their wives. true or false?
true
They also maintain that because they do not enjoy hurting women and did less damage than they could have, they are not “real” abusers. true or false?
true
Most battered women either end the violence
or leave their partners
However, about a third stay. They believe that, despite the abuse, they will not be better off if they go, perhaps because the cost of leaving seems too high or they fear greater violence. true or false?
true
