The division of labor in close relationships: An asymmetrical conflict issue

This research addresses couples' reports of their (hypothetical) attempts t o maintain or change a gendered division of labor through conflict interact ions. Two experiments in which spouses responded to scenarios showed that s pouses reported more conflict over the division of housework than conflict over paid work and child care, and that wives more often than husbands desi red a change in their spouses' contribution. Spouses reported more wife-dem and/husband-withdraw than husband-demand/wife-withdraw interaction during h ypothetical conflict over the division of labor, but only when the wife des ired a change in her spouse's contribution. Together, the data imply that w ife-demand/husband-withdraw interaction is a likely response to the asymmet rically structured conflict situation in which the wife is discontent with her husband's contribution to housework, while her husband wants to maintai n the status quo. We further showed that defenders of the status quo were m ore likely expected to reach their goal than complainants. In the role of c omplainant, wives were more likely expected to reach their goal than were t heir husbands, but only when the conflict issue concerned their own gender stereotypical domain (i.e., family work).