PAPER 3 - RELATIONSHIPS - economic theories of romantic relationships Flashcards
what are the theories relating to romantic relationships?
- social exchange theory
- equity theory
- Rusbult’s investment model
what are the key assumptions of social exchange theory?
- relationships are evaluated in terms of rewards, costs and profits
- our perception of profitability and out level of satisfaction are determines by out previous experience and possible alternatives
- stages of relationship development
what are the stages of relationship development?
sampling stage: explore rewards and costs by experimenting them with out own relationship or observing others
bargaining stage: marks beginning of relationship when romantic partners start exchanging various costs and rewards
commitment stage: as time goes on, sources of costs and rewards become more predictable and relationship becomes more stable as rewards increase and costs lessen
institutionalisation stage: partners settles because norms of relationship are firmly established
what is social exchange theory (not key assumptions)?
- relationships are evaluated in terms of rewards, costs and profits
- can be applied to both maintenance and break down of relationships
- assume both parties wish to maximise profit by minimising costs and maximising rewards
- rewards & costs are subjective
- suggests satisfaction and commitment to relationship is dependent on profitability of the relationship
what affects satisfaction? (SET)
- comparison level
- comparison level of alternatives
what is comparison level? (SET)
a standard against which all our relationships are judged
- is the product of out experiences in other relationships together with out general views of what we might expect from a relationship
what is comparison level for alternatives? (SET)
expected potential rewards and costs associated with forming a relationship with a different partner
how is research by Mills & Clark an evaluation point for social exchange theory?
- found some couples in high exchange orientation do evaluate their relationships in these terms but not all couples do (e.g. communal couples)
how does research from Kurdeck and Schmitt support social exchange theory?
- broad application
- evidence supports importance of CL and CL Alt
- has population validity
- found that greater relationship satisfaction is associated with perception of benefits of current relationship (CL) and seeing alternatives to current relationship as less attractive (CL Alt)
what are the other strengths of social exchange theory?
- explains maintenance of abusive relationships due to CL and CL Alt
- real world application - couples therapy
what are the limitations of social exchange theory?
- not applicable to all couples - only to couples in high exchange orientation
- costs & rewards are subjective and difficult to classify & quantify
- fails to consider role of investment
- asssumes we continually evaulate but we only evaulate relationships after we become dissatisfied
- culture bias - overemphasis on costs, rewards & profitability reflects western, individualistic culture
What is equity theory?
- Economic model of relationships based on idea of fairness for each partner
- individual assesses relations ship in terms of costs, rewards and investments (inputs)
- emphasises need for each partner to experience balance between their cost/effort and the benefit/reward
How does equity theory emphasise fairness/balance? (EQUITY)
If relationships are balanced partners are likely to feel satisfied (equity can be defined differently by each member of the couple)
What does perceived imbalance/lack of fairness lead to? (EQUITY)
- Dissatisfaction in the relationship
- the greater the imbalance,me more motivated the patter should be to put things right and whilst the ‘loser’ in the relationship feels there is a chance of restoring equity, they are motivated to save the relationship
- this means they will endeavour to re- establish equity
What was the study by Stafford & Canary? (EQUITY)
- Asked sample of 200 married couples to complete measures of equity and relationship satisfaction
- Findings: satisfaction was highest for more that perceived their relationship to be equitable, followed by over-benefitted partners and lastly by under-benefitted partners
How does the Stafford and Canary study support equity theory? (EQUITY)
- Large sample
- also directly questions SET as SET would predict over-benefited would be most satisfied, but it was the equitable relationships that had greatest satisfaction
What was the research by Huseman? (EQUITY)
- Developed idea of equity sensitivity (reflects extent to which an individual will tolerate inequity)
- identified 3 categories of individuals: benevolents, equity sensitives and entitleds
- Benevolents: “gives”, tend to be more tolerant of under rewarded equity
- Equity sensitives: behave in accordance with equity merry, experiencing tension when faced with inequity
- Entitleds: Peter to be over rewarded
What does research by Huseman suggest with regard to equity theory predicting levels of relationship satisfaction in all individuals? (EQUITY)
- Supports cavity teary but suggests it doesn’t account for individual differences (doesn’t apply equally for all individuals)
- doesn’t apply to “benevolents” or “entitleds”
- suggests people focus on equity in relationships to different extents
What were the studies by DeMaris (2007 & 2010)?
- Suggested women appear more sensitive to inequity than men in romantic relationships
- eg. women were more disturbed by being under benefited than men, also women were more nicely to perceive themselves as more under benefitted and less over benefitted compared to men
- also carried out research assessing importance of equity using sample at 1500 American couples and found a woman’s sense of being under-benefitted was most important in predicting later relationship disruption
What does research by DeMaris suggest with regard to the role of gender? (EQUITY)
- There are gender differences in perception and response to equity
- gender bias in application of theory (more applicable to females)
What was said by Moghaddam? (EQUITY)
Argues that emphasis on exchange and equity is a reflection a highly individualistic, capitalist, work ethic values of north America
How does Moghaddam’s view print make it important to consider culture in equity theory? (EQUITY)
- Based on western culture
- expected ed in some cultures mat parses de equitable
- some men in specific cultures have many wives (not applicable)
what does investment model of relationships suggest?
suggests an individuals level of commitment to their romantic relationship is determined by:
- satisfaction of relationship
- quality of alternatives
- level of investment
what is “satisfaction with the relationship”? (INVESTMENT)
- feeling that the relationship is rewarding
- satisfaction is dependent on outcomes of relationship
- outcomes are compared to personal standard of what constitutes acceptable outcomes
