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Power and Ideology in Close Relationships
Nickola C Overall1, Matthew D Hammond2
1School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand;
Annual Review of Psychology
|September 3, 2025
Summary
Relationship power dynamics reveal how an individual's power (actor power) and their partner's power (partner power) shape relationship behaviors. Power imbalances influence need fulfillment, aggression, and accommodation, often influenced by societal ideologies.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Relationship Science
- Sociology
Background:
- Power dynamics significantly influence interpersonal interactions within close relationships.
- Societal structures and ideologies often create and reinforce power imbalances.
- Understanding these dynamics is crucial for relationship health and functioning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and synthesize research on how actor power and partner power affect relationship behaviors.
- To examine the role of structural power asymmetries and ideologies in shaping relationship power dynamics.
- To highlight the multifaceted nature of power in relationships, including symmetries and asymmetries.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies examining power in close relationships.
- Analysis of how individual and partner power levels predict specific behaviors.
- Exploration of the influence of external structural power and ideologies on relationship perceptions and actions.
Main Results:
- High-power individuals prioritize their own needs, while low-power individuals may inhibit needs, aggress, or manipulate.
- Individuals accommodate high-power partners but may neglect or protect low-power partners.
- Gender ideologies, such as hostile and benevolent sexism, illustrate how competitive and cooperative ideologies shape behavioral responses to power.
Conclusions:
- Actor and partner power, relationship and structural power, and power symmetries/asymmetries are critical factors in relationship behavior.
- Competitive and cooperative ideologies mediate the effects of power on relationship dynamics.
- A comprehensive understanding requires considering multiple dimensions of power and their ideological underpinnings.
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