The Importance Of Power In Marriage

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To have power means to have control. The battle for power is a great one in any marriage. It is something that deals with the ability to make an effect or impact. Though it is not necessarily a good or bad thing, it can be used incorrectly on a partner. Some people expect their marriage to go smoothly with no complications along the way. Sometimes they automatically assume their relationship will be egalitarian, that they will share equal roles, but this is not always the case. There can be both constructive and destructive consequences with measuring power and multiple ways to attain it, but in the end, it is one of the most significant issues in marriage. Power can be defined as several things. The textbook describes it as “the ability to …show more content…

There is husband-dominant, wife-dominant, autonomic (equal but separate), and syncratic (jointly shared) (Lauer, 2012). The distinctions between husbands and wives create different branches of control. Typically, men have greater power when swaying someone to their side with knowledge and impelling them due to the man’s respected status. It can be argued that males possess the most power since they usually earn more of an income than women. Most of the time, even if a woman ends up making more money than a man, the man is still the dominant one in the partnership. On the other hand, women are more successful at influencing men by connecting with them and wanting to please …show more content…

Men and women have diverse thoughts and beliefs, leading them to take different actions. It consists of a lot of decision making and depends on whether or not the needs of the partners are being fulfilled (Lauer, 2012). Humans are driven by power and encourage competition, even in marriage. The way a husband and wife can apply power is based on their interaction. A healthy marriage needs good communication to survive (“Understanding Marriage”). Conversations can be symmetrical, where spouses give similar messages to each other (Lauer, 2012). This type of discussion can be competitive, neutralized, and submissive. Conversations can also be complementary, where spouses agree that one partner is dominant and one is

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