Again, as in all areas of human experience, the strength of this behavior modeling varies enormously from person to person. Second and later marriages often show that some serious lessons were learned in the first marriage, but not always. Some people go through one marriage after another trying to duplicate their birth family or rebelling against it. The decision on how to make decisions may depend on the area considered, but most couples soon develop a way of making decisions. The method may range from free-wheeling fights to calm discussions to any combination of any known method.
Some families allow all decisions to be made by one person.
However it is done, a successful marriage works out a way of dealing with decisions that is satisfactory to all concerned. With this settled, the other problems are more easily dealt with. If it is never settled, no other problem ever seems to be finally dealt with. This difficulty works out in roommate situations, as well, but not with the intensity of a marriage. Again, the label creates an automatic, unconscious change in how things are done between the two.