This edited volume establishes a state-of-the-art perspective on theory and research on gender, power, and communication in human relationships. Both theoretical essays and review chapters address issues relevant to female and male differences in power, dominance, communication, equality, and expectations/beliefs. All chapter contributors share two commonalities. First, each provides a 1990s assessment of power and equality in female and male relationships. Second, each reviews respective programs of research and focuses attention on the relevance of this research to understanding the relationships of women and men.

Unique because it incorporates a multidisciplinary approach to the study of gender and the communication of power in human relationships, this book includes the original work of intellectuals with national and international reputations in the social sciences. The volume provides both scholastic breadth and centralized treatment of issues that form the very foundation of social and personal relationships. It will appeal to scholars working in the disciplines of communication and psychology as well as other areas of social science research.