Dyadic Power Theory

First proposed by Boyd Rollins and Stephen Bahr in 1976 and later revised by Norah Dunbar, dyadic power theory (DPT) emphasizes the relative perceived power of partners in a relationship. From a social-psychological perspective, power is generally defined as the capacity to produce intended effects and, in particular, the ability to influence the behavior of another person even in the face of resistance. Dunbar asserts that power is an integral part of any relationship but is especially important in close romantic relationships because it determines how the partners relate to each other and how decisions are made. The theory assumes that perceptions of legitimate authority to make decisions and to exert control over a variety of resources increase individuals' perceptions of their own power compared with that of their partner. Perceptions of power, in turn, increase the likelihood of using dominance as a way to control the interaction through a mechanism Rollins and Bahr call control attempts but what Dunbar often refers to as dominance.

Rollins and Bahr originally argued for a linear relationship between dominance and power, stating that an increase in a spouse's perception of power in a marriage role relative to that of the partner will produce an increase in attempts to control her or his spouse in the role. Furthermore, they argued that the effectiveness of the control attempts is influenced by the relative power perceived by the recipient such that the greater the relative power of the initiator, the more likely the control attempts will result in compliance. From this perspective, the more powerful someone is, the more dominance he or she will exert through control attempts, and the more his or her partner will comply with his or her requests.

However, recent tests of DPT by Dunbar have not supported Rollins and Bahr's linear proposition but have indicated that the relationship between perceived relative power and manifest dominance is curvilinear, such that partners who perceive their relative power difference as extremely high will use fewer control attempts than partners who perceive their relative power difference as low. This is because high-power individuals do not need to make a large number of control attempts over low-power individuals; by virtue of their latent power, they can maintain control without dominant behaviors. On the other hand, in line with Michael Roloff and Denise Cloven's research that suggests a lack of power creates a chilling effect in conflict situations, low-power individuals are unlikely to express grievances to high-power individuals if they fear that retaliation, violence, or termination of the relationship will result from their control attempt. For example, a battered wife may not openly disagree with her husband, or a subordinate may lie to his or her superior at work for fear of reprisal.

The process of displaying verbal and nonverbal dominance during interaction is central to DPT, but the outcomes of such displays must be examined as well. The model proposed by Rollins and Bahr ends with one partner's compliance, or the outcome of the conflict interaction, but Dunbar extended it to examine the outcomes of the interaction for the health of the relationship and satisfaction with the interaction itself. In ongoing relationships, satisfaction is an especially important outcome to examine because dissatisfaction can “erode” the relationship and lead to distress if left unchecked. For example, in the context of marriages, many researchers have found power equality to be a large determinant of marital satisfaction.

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