The marital balance of power and quid pro quo: An evolutionary perspective

Abstract

Although the marital therapy literature recognizes the importance of quid quo in marital negotiations, there has been little attention to certain important sources of power for men and women in that process. This paper will show how parental investment, certainty of paternity, patterns of mate preference, intrasexual competition, and reproductive status all affect the bergaining positions of men and women. Both premarital and marital negotiations will be discussed. Put into a developmental perspective, this will help clarify what is at stake in the common sources of conflict between the sexes. These considerations form a central part of the socioecology of marriage.