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CHAPTER 8
POWER, INFLUENCE AND DECISION MAKING
TRUE/FALSE
using influence, persuasion, and assertiveness.
another member who shouts orders.
or modify another family member’s beliefs or behavior.
husband also uses persuasive strategies.
individual in the family.
consent to a certain decision, not because they agree with that decision, but
because they feel further discussion will be useless.
when the children are still living in their parents’ homes.
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to create a sense of justice by treating family members equally.
decisions about health and treatment of illness more difficult.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The “silent treatment” is what type of strategy?
A. Confirming
2. The following example illustrates which term referring to power?
Sergio and Isabelita each have power over different things in their household.
Sergio is in charge of the purchase and maintenance of the cars and making
decisions about home improvement projects. Isabelita has decision-making power
over the children’s activities and the day-to-day family budget.
D. Reward
3. To say that power operates transactionally in a family means:
D. Power belongs to the entire family
4. Before he left for work, Dad asked Billy to mow the yard, Kristen to put out the
garbage, and Nicholas to straighten up the playroom. If they did those tasks, Dad
promised to buy them tickets to that night’s Sox baseball game. Which power base
is Dad using?
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D. Cognitive resources
5. Which of the following is not true about children and power?
A. The increase in working mothers has added to children’s power because they
6. Which of the following is not an influence strategy discussed in this chapter?
D. Withdrawal
7. When making joint purchases, which types of influence strategies do married or
cohabiting couples tend to use?
A. Smiling and flirting
8. Which of the following was reported as a frequently used influence strategy by
spouses regarding health behaviors?
A. Engaging in healthy behavior together
9. Which of the following statements best represents research on how wives and
husbands differ in use of influence strategies when making purchasing decisions?
A. Wives tend to be more autonomous and less cooperative in purchasing decisions
than husbands.
10. When a parent is trying to influence a child, the success of the influence strategy
will likely depend on:
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A. The parent’s sex
11. Jana and Richard are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary next month.
Richard’s father will be visiting from out of town during their anniversary. The
couple wanted to try a new Thai restaurant for their anniversary dinner, but
Richard’s father insists on taking them to a steakhouse. Jana and Richard consent,
not because they really want steak, but because they figure it is better to let him
have his way and not “rock the boat.” Which type of decision-making process has
occurred in this example?
12. Which statement applies to the family problem-solving loop?
D. In step 7, the family brainstorms for solutions.
13. Affective resources are related to which of the following concepts:
A. Self-disclosure
14. Which conclusion from research is false?
D. Conventional gender roles only significantly affected marital quality indirectly
through perceptions of fairness and understanding.
15. Which of the following is not one of the principles suggested for families to adhere
to in decision making?
A. Create a sense of autonomy
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16. Which of the following examples demonstrate implementation power?
A. Dad tells Brian he can decide where the family goes on vacation over break
17. Skewed power relationships (such as husband or wife dominance) can result in
A. More rapid decision-making in the relationship
18. Which of the following is not one of the four influence strategies that adolescents
tend to use with their parents about purchasing decisions?
D. Request
19. When Chrissy asks if she have a sucker at the grocery store, her dad says “no.” She says,
“why not?” and he says, “because I said so; that’s why.” What power resource is Chrissy’s
dad asserting?
D. Cognitive
20. Jen complements Kelly on his new haircut… and then asks him for a ride to the airport.
Which influence strategy is this?
A. Direct request
21. __________ parenting style promotes “reflection enhancing,” which shows the children how
to think through their problems and mistakes, rather than just punishing them for such.
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A. Authoritarian
22. Which of the types of influence strategies most closely aligns to an authoritarian parenting
style?
A. Bargaining
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Explain the process that a real or fictional family might use in making a decision.
Explain the decision and show how the family’s process would follow the decision
making loop presented in Chapter 8.
2. How are power, influence, and decision-making different? How are they similar?
Use specific examples to illustrate the differences and similarities between these
concepts.
3. Using a real or fictional family, identify one example in which nagging can be
useful and productive in family relationships, and one example in which nagging
can be destructive and detrimental. What do these examples tell you about nagging
as a persuasive technique? When is nagging appropriate (if ever) and when is it
inappropriate (if ever)?