I know that St.Thomas Aquinas said that it's permissible to beat (or corporeally punish) your children strictly for discipline's sake. Absolutely no more than what is necessary. I don't know what he would say about wives though.
I do know that psychologically women's emotions are GENERALLY not as integrated with reason as is the man, so there might be times where the man must discipline the wife. But as a general rule, the wife is an equal companion ("husbands, cling to your wives") and should be treated as such. To the wife, the man should be seen as a friend, a brother, and a father all in one. At least that's my take on it with what I know.
Of course, this applies only to men who have had intellectual affirmation from their own fathers. This does not at all apply to men who have been arrested in adolescence or boyhood due to a proper father being absent in their lives.