ERM 16 Flashcards
Origin of social exchange theory
arose out of philosophical traditions of utilitarianism, behaviourism, and neoclassical economics.
Three main sociologists
Blau, Homans, Thibaut and Kelley. (focused on the rational assessment of the self interest in human social relationships.
Social exchange theory and economics
S.E.T provides an economic metaphor to social relationships.
fundamental principle
humans in social situations choose behaviours that maximise their likelihood of meeting self interests inn those situations.
Assumptions
1) individuals are generally rational and engage in calculations of costs and benefits in social exchanges.. They are both rational actors and reactors. (SET largely deals with issues of decision making). 2) those engaged in interactions are rationally seeking to maximize the profits or benefits to be gained from those situations, especially in terms of meeting basic individual needs. (SET is efforts by participants to fulfill basic needs). 3) exchange processes that produce payoffs or rewards for individuals lead to the patterning of social interactions. 4) individuals are goal oriented in a freely competitive social system.
Power and privilege
due to competitiveness of social systems, there is difference in power and privilege. Those who possess greater resources that provide an advantage in social exchange have more power. . exchange processes lead to differentiation of power and privilege in social groups. Those with more resources hold more power and, ultimately, are in a better position to benefit from the exchange.
Principle of least interest
those with less to gain through a social exchange tend to hold more power in that exchange. Power comes from less basic dependance on a social exchange. Ex - a young child has more to gain from a parent-child relationship than a parent. The young child relies on the parent for provision of resources to meet her or his basic needs. Because relatively few of the parent’s basic needs are met by the child, the parent has less personal interest in the relation- ship and, consequently, holds more power than the child in the relationship.
Human behaviour
can be viewed as motivated by desire to seek rewards and avoid potential costs in social situations. only those behaviors that are rewarded or that produce the least cost tend to be repeated.
Concept of equity (Homans)
Individuals more comfortable when they perceive they are receiving benefits from a relationship approximately equal to what they are putting into the relationship. Criticism - family relationships(siblings, parent and child, spouse)are unequal. This is concept of equality
Concept of reciprocity (Homans)
equality imply presence of reciprocity. when individuals perceive rel- atively balanced levels of reciprocity in a social exchange, they are more likely to be satisfied in that exchange and maintain those relationships.
Concepts of rewards and cost (heart of view that individuals are rational decision makers)
Rewards are described as any benefits exchanged in personal relationships. They may be concrete or symbolic and particular to one individual or more universal. One thing might be rewarding for some but not for others.. Costs are either punishments or forfeited rewards that result from social exchanges.
Types of potential costs
Investment costs rep- resent the energy and personal cognitive or emo- tional investment put into an exchange by the actors involved. Direct costs include time, finan- cial resources, or other structural resources that are dedicated to the exchange. opportu- nity costs represent possible rewards that may be lost as a result of the relationship or social exchange. For example, a parent sacrifices con- siderable possible rewards or benefits in order to responsibly raise children.
Comparison level
to understand behaviour we need to understand the comparison level a person brings to the exchange. The comparison level is the threshold at which an outcome seems attractive to a person. Ex - you might refuse to take a job that pays $6.00 per hour but would be willing to accept that same job if it pays $9.00 per hour. In this case, $9.00 would be the threshold at which you would be willing to accept the job.
Comparison level of alternatives
It is proposed that individuals assess the outcomes of their social exchanges in relation to other possible relationships or exchanges. As outcomes of rela- tionships fall below the level of perceived out- comes from other relationship alternatives, individuals may choose to leave present relation- ships or social exchanges. Ex - a wife may seek to end her marriage if she perceives being divorced from her husband as more advan- tageous than remaining married.
Family research from a SET perspective
attends to norms of fairness and reciprocity, dynamics of attraction and dependence in relationships, distribution of power within families, and definitions of the rewards and costs associated with social exchanges in families.
