The Assertion of Power : Ideals, Perceptions, and Styles / Susan L. Kaplan.

This paper describes an assessment of interpersonal power in a sample of college-age dating couples using both self-report and behavioral measures. While self-reports revealed egalitarian ideals, less than half the respondents perceived their current relationship as egalitarian in practice; rather, these relationships tended to be male-dominated. Behavioral measures of outcome power based on joint discussions by each couple aslo indicated slight male dominance. Interestingly, the sexes differed in verbal styles used to achieve power. Males rated as powerful by outside observers proposed more opinions and facts than their partners, whereas females rated as powerful opposed and questioned their partners. Little correlation was found between different measures of power, a result which agrees with other research on power and suggests that power ideals, perceptions, outcomes, and styles are distinct domains of a multi-dimensional concept. (Author)

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