Social exchange theory Flashcards
what is the social exchange theory?
social exchange theory is a theory of how relationships form and develop. It assumes that romantic partners act out of self-interest in exchanging rewards and costs. A satisfying and committed relationship is maintained when rewards exceed costs and potential alternatives are less attractive than the current relationship.
who proposed the social exchange theory?
Thibault and Kelley (1959)
what does the social exchange theory claim about behaviour in relationships?
set claims that behaviour in relationships reflects the economic assumptions of exchange.
what is the minimax principle?
in a relationship, we try to maximise the gains and minimises the losses. So, we judge our relationship in terms of the profit it yields, defined as the rewards minus the costs.
Rewards and costs are…?
What one person considers a significant reward might be viewed by someone else as …?
subjective
… Less valuable
when might the value of rewards change?
over time and over the course of the relationship.
what is seen as rewarding or costly in the beginning might be viewed by someone else as less valuable.
what are the rewards in a relationship?
companionship, sex and emotional support
what are costs in a relationship?
time, stress, energy, compromise, etc.
According to Peter Blau (1964), relationships can be …
‘expensive’
… and so have lots of costs.
what other type of costs do relationships incur? what does this cost mean with regards to relationships?
an opportunity cost - your investment of time and energy in your current relationship means using resources that you cannot use elsewhere.
what 2 ways do we measure the profit in a romantic relationship?
comparison level
comparison levels for alternatives.
what is the comparison level?
the comparison level is essentially the amount of reward that you believe you deserve to get.
comparison levels develop out of …?
comparison levels develop out of our experiences of previous relationships which feed into our expectations of the current one.
it’s also influenced by social norms that determine what is widely considered, within a culture, to be a reasonable level of reward. This is often reflected in books, films and TV programmes.
what happens over time with regards to comparison levels?
over time, we get more relationships under our belt and more experience of social norms, so our Cl changes as we acquire more ‘data’ to set it by.
we consider a relationship worth pursuing if …
…our Cl is high