Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
Chapter 12: Influencing Each Other: Dominance and Power Plays in
Relationships
Test Bank
Multiple Choice
1. ______ refers to an individual’s ability to influence others to do what the
individual wants, as well as an individual’s ability to resist the influence attempts
of others.
A. Communication competence
B. Self-esteem
C. Power
D. Egalitarianism
2. Power is a perception because ______.
A. an individual has power only if he or she perceives himself or herself to have
power
B. an individual has power only to the extent that others perceive him or her to
have power
C. an individual has power if he or she has objective power in the form of
position, strength, weaponry, and wealth
D. power is about resources
3. The principle of least interest means that ______.
A. the person who cares the most has the least power
B. the most influential leaders are not interested in yielding high levels of power
C. people who are uninterested in accumulating resources are most powerful
D. people who are good at bluffing often negotiate the best deals
4. You have just been hired as a consultant for a large company to analyze some
5. The term relative power refers to ______.
A. the degree to which a person’s power is situated within a social or
organizational hierarchy
B. the degree to which power is connected to status rather than a dominant
communication style
C. how much power a person has in comparison to her or his partner
D. how much objective versus subjective power a person has
6. What is the definition of the chilling effect?
A. People who have too much power are perceived as cold and calculating.
B. The less powerful person in a relationship often hesitates to communicate
grievances to her or his partner.
C. Subordinates and superiors tend not to socialize with one another.
D. People are more likely to withdraw from conflict once the relationship
becomes committed.
7. If you were trying to predict who would be in the “demanding” versus
“withdrawing” position during a conflict episode, which piece of information would
be most helpful?
A. knowing which person was seeking compliance or change
B. being able to identify who was a man and who was a woman
C. knowing the stage of the relationship the couple was in
D. knowing the age of each of the participants
8. One day at the grocery store, you notice a child and her mother in the cereal
aisle. The child is pulling her mother toward a certain box of cereal. When her
mother says, “No, you can’t have that cereal because it is too sugary,” the girl
stamps her feet, cries, and pouts. Which of the following verbal power ploys best
describes the one the child is using to influence her mother?
A. aversive stimulation
B. hinting
C. ingratiation
D. bargaining
9. Sergio compliments his coach on his “good judgment,” his “ability to see
beyond what happens on the field,” and his “knack for motivating players” in an
effort to prevent himself from being cut from the team. Which verbal power ploy
describes Sergio’s comments best?
A. aversive stimulation
B. hinting
C. ingratiation
D. bargaining
10. A conversational message that shows submission is called a ______.
A. one-across message
B. one-down message
C. one-up message
D. symmetrical message
11. Read the following conversation and then answer the question.
Marissa: You’ve been on the phone for an hour—get off!
Nicole: Okay.
Marissa: Now!
[Nicole tells her friend she will call her later and hangs up.]
Marissa: Thank you.
Nicole: Ask a little more nicely next time.
In the conversation above, Marissa’s line, “You’ve been on the phone for an
hour—get off!” is a ______ message.
A. one-up
B. one-down
C. one-across
D. symmetrical
12. Read the following conversation and then answer the question.
Marissa: You’ve been on the phone for an hour—get off!
Nicole: Okay.
Marissa: Now!
[Nicole tells her friend she will call her later and hangs up.]
Marissa: Thank you.
Nicole: Ask a little more nicely next time.
In the conversation above, Nicole’s line, “Ask a little more nicely next time” is a
______ message.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
A. one-down
B. one-up
C. control neutrality
D. one-across
13. Read the following conversation and then answer the question.
Marissa: You’ve been on the phone for an hour—get off!
Nicole: Okay.
Marissa: Now!
[Nicole tells her friend she will call her later and hangs up.]
Marissa: Thank you.
Nicole: Ask a little more nicely next time.
Consider the first pairing of messages in this conversation. Marissa says “You’ve
been on the phone for an hour—get off!” and Nicole says “Okay.” This message
pairing is an example of ______.
A. submissive symmetry
B. competitive symmetry
C. a transition
D. complementarity
14. People who focus mainly on themselves rather than others engage in
excessive participation, redirect the conversation away from others, and interrupt
are engaging in______.
A. androgynous speech
B. powerful speech
C. powerless speech
D. gendered speech
15. ______ is a richer source of power messages than ______.
A. Verbal communication; nonverbal communication
B. Nonverbal communication; verbal communication
C. The workplace; family relationships
D. Family relationships; the workplace
16. Which of the following about communicating power through clothing is true?
A. Informal, inexpensive clothing communicates power.
B. Men have more options than women in the ways they dress.
C. Women are often perceived more negatively than men when they violate
clothing norms.
D. Wearing high-status brand clothing is perceived as insincere.
17. A person who has a high visual dominance score ______.
A. spends more time looking while speaking than looking while listening
B. is most likely perceived as being more interpersonally sensitive in an
interaction
C. spends more time looking while listening than looking while speaking
D. is most likely perceived as being more interpersonally insensitive in an
interaction
18. The authoritative discipline style is best described as ______.
A. strict, punishing, and highly surveillant
B. undemanding and nondirective, but responsive
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
C. demanding, directive, and nonresponsive
D. demanding and directive, but also responsive
19. The time at which teenagers begin to distance themselves from their parents
to develop an individual identity apart from the family structure is referred to by
scholars as ______.
A. the terrible teens
B. rebellion
C. separation and individuation
D. maladjustive attachment
20. According to research, partners in ______ relationships are likely to use
blatant power strategies such as verbal aggression and constraints on each other
and are not very likely to be diverse in their use of influence strategies.
A. traditional and unequal
B. equal and independent
C. heterosexual
D. cross-cultural
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
21. Research show that men use more powerful forms of speech than women
______.
A. on gender neutral topics
B. when addressing men
C. in e-mail messages
D. across all situations
22. Which of the following is true of parents’ power over their teenage children?
A. They are kidding themselves if they think they can suddenly exert much
control over their teenage kids.
B. Parents exert little control over teenagers.
C. Parents should crack down on their teenage children.
D. They are best off being permissive with their children.
23. Most romantic relationships are characterized by ______.
A. small imbalances in power
B. happiness when the woman has more power in the relationship
C. power is stable rather than dynamic
D. women who see the world in terms of power and hierarchy
24. Greg likes to give his boss little gifts and always compliments his ideas.
Greg’s coworkers feel he is sucking up. Greg’s power play is known as ______.
A. bargaining
B. pregiving
C. ingratiation
D. manipulation
25. Research from numerous countries shows that when married men and
women have more equal income, women ______.
A. are less likely to share in money management decisions
B. do less housework than women who make little money
C. have less decision-making power
D. are more subservient
True/False
1. Panache is a quality that draws others in and makes them more memorable.
2. People are most likely to use the demand–withdraw strategy when they want
their partner to stay the same.
3. Men are more likely to do demanding and women are most likely to do the
withdrawing.
4. The person with more power in the relationship can make and break the rules.
5. Pregiving is when you kiss up or suck up to someone to get your way.
6. A person with power can give someone the cold shoulder by turning their back
on them and not facing them.
Guerrero, Close Encounters, 6e
SAGE Publishing, 2021
7. Manipulation is when you get your way by making your partner feel guilty or
ashamed.
8. Women are more likely to use less powerful speech because they are more
polite and interpersonally sensitive than men.
9. “I am sorry your feelings are hurt!” is an example of a one-up message.
10. A statement like “Try to be on time tomorrow” followed by “I’m sorry, I’ll do my
best” is an example of competitive symmetry.
11. In the 21st century, most women are not satisfied with traditional gender
roles.
12. Traditional marriages are based on a form of benevolent female dominance
coupled with clearly specialized roles.
Essay
1. Power refers to an individual’s ability to control or influence others to do what
they want them to do. There are six power principles. Select four of them and
discuss the effect they have on relationships.
2. According to Dillard, “close personal relationships may be the social arena that
is most active in terms of sheer frequency of influence attempts.” Research
suggests that there are six basic categories of influence. Compare and contrast
four of them.
3. Power is a part of family relationships. Baumrind reported that there are three
general approaches to parenting. Define and explain the three styles.
4. Define and describe the similarities and differences between moral appeals
and distributive communication.
5. What are one-up and one-down messages? What can a single message tell
you? What can pairs of messages tell you?