Responses to Gender Inequality in the Division of Family Work: The Status Quo Effect

This study addresses responses to gender inequality in the division of family work as well as the outcomes of those responses. Ninety-eight husbands and 95 wives responded to stimulus information manipulated by means of scenarios. Participants reported more wife-demand/husband-withdraw interaction than husband-demand/wife-withdraw interaction when the wife was discontent with her spouse's contribution to family work, but the demand/withdraw interaction patterns were reported equally when the husband was discontent. The data showed support for the Status Quo Effect Hypothesis: The likelihood that the spouse's contribution to family work remained unchanged (i.e., status quo maintenance) was rated higher than the likelihood that the spouse would increase his/her contribution to family work. In line with this, when the wife was discontent, wife-demand/husband-withdraw interaction was negatively related to the likelihood that the spouse would do more family work. Finally, participants reported a greater likelihood for discontent spouses than for content spouses to increase their own contribution, but discontent husbands were more likely to do so than discontent wives.