Abstract
Domineering in romantic relationships - the ways romantic partners behaviorally impose their will - is an integral and fundamental part of relationship functioning. This study explores the variability of behavioral dominance strategies utilized in couples' communication.
Romantic couples (N = 63) in the Czech Republic reenacted a typical conflict interaction while being recorded. We used open codes to qualitatively analyze the verbal and nonverbal behavior of partners during the reenactment.
Codes were ascribed to behaviors that led to one partner's display of situational dominance; these codes were categorized into dominance strategies. We identified 14 dominance strategies which featured qualities such as activity, pro-sociality, directness, and the strength of expressed behavior.
We conclude that in real-life disputes of romantic couples, we can find several influential dominance strategies overlooked by the traditional socio-psychological literature, some of which are prosocial or indirect. A better understanding of the variability in dominance behavior could help to improve diagnosis and therapy.
Keywords: couples conflict, dominance, interpersonal communication.