Social Exchange Theory Flashcards
Minimax principle
Thibaut and Kelly assumed that people try to maximise the rewards they obtain from a relationship and minimise the costs. The exchange comes from the assumption that when people receive rewards from others they feel obliged to reciprocate.
Comparison level
How satisfied individuals are with the reward and costs depends on what they have come to expect from previous relationships. If the current relationship compares favourably with past relationships we are motivated to stay in the relationship.
Comparison level for alternatives
The level of satisfaction also depends on the rewards and costs that would be involved if they formed a relationship with someone else. The person weighs up the potential increase in rewards from a different partner, minus the costs associated with ending the current relationship.
Thibaut and Kelly 4 Stage Model
1) Sampling: the couple explores the rewards and costs in a variety of relationships.
2) Bargaining: the couple negotiates the relationship and agrees to the rewards and costs.
3) Commitment: the couple settles into the relationship and the exchange of reward becomes fairly predictable.
4) Institualisation: norms and expectations are firmly established.
- P - Evidence to suggest lack of generalisation
E - Mills and Clark - identified two types of relationships.
E - First is a communal couple where there is concern for each other. The second is an exchange couple, where each keeps track of who is ahead and who is behind.
L - This suggests that there are different types of relationships, some of which SET can be applied and some which it cannot.
- P - Lacks universality
E - Research suggests they only apply to western cultures, specifically short term relationships where the individuals have high mobility.
E - They allow little time for development of long term commitment, and thus result in more concern around profits and costs.
L - This suggests that SET is culturally biased and cannot be applied to all relationships universally.
- P - The model is too simplistic
E - Sedikides who claimed that people are capable of being unselfish. They said that some do things for other without expecting anything in return, especially in relationships with people who are the most emotionally close to us.
E - This could be explained by the research showing that SET mostly applies to short term relationships; those emotionally closest to use are likely to be long term relationships.
L - This suggests the theory is limited in explaining all types of relationships, and the individual behavior that goes on in them. Thus, suggesting the model is a simplistic and inaccurate description of relationships.
