Theories of romantic relationships: social exchange theory Flashcards
Social exchange theory
Assumes romantic partners act out of self-interest in exchanging rewards and costs
-Relationship satisfying when rewards exceed costs (profit) and potential alternatives are less attractive
Who devised the social exchange theory
Thibault/Kelley
Examples of rewards in relationships
-Emotional support
-Sex
-Companionship
Examples of costs in relationships
-Time
-Stress
-Energy
-Compromise
What does opportunity cost mean
Investment of time/energy in current relationship means using resources that you cannot invest elsewhere
What is comparison level
Amount of reward you believe you deserve
What is CL based on
-Past experiences
-Social norms
So constantly changing
How is self-esteem linked to CL
-Someone with low self-esteem has low CL so is satisfied with little profit/some costs
-Someone with higher self-esteem believed they are worth a lot more
How do we measure profit in romantic relationships
Comparison level
Comparison level for alternatives
Comparison level for alternatives
Gives context for current relationship as we compare to others/being single
-SET predicts we will stay in current relationship if we believe it is more rewarding than alternatives
Comparison level for alternatives
Gives context for current relationship as we compare to others/being single
-SET predicts we will stay in current relationship if we believe it is more rewarding than alternatives
Four stages of relationship development
-Sampling stage
-Bargaining stage
-Commitment stage
-Institutionalisation stage
Sampling stage
We explore rewards and costs of social exchange by experimenting with them in our own relationship
Bargaining stage
Beginning of relationship
-Partners exchange rewards/costs and identify what is most profitable
Commitment stage
As time goes on sources of rewards and costs + predictable/relationship is more stable as rewards + and costs -
Institutionalisation stage
Partners settled down as costs/rewards are fully established
Strength of social exchange theory
Research support
-e.g Kurdek questionnaire found most committed partners perceived most rewards/fewest costs/viewed alternatives as unattractive
These findings match predictions from SET, confirming validity of theory in gay/straight partners
Strength of social exchange theory
Research support
-e.g Kurdek questionnaire found most committed partners perceived most rewards/fewest costs/viewed alternatives as unattractive
These findings match predictions from SET, confirming validity of theory in gay/straight partners
Counterpoint to research support
Studies ignore equity
-Much research support for role of equity- not just balance of rewards and costs but partner’s perceptions that this is fair
=SET is limited explanation which cannot account for significant proportion of research findings
Weakness of SET
Claims that dissatisfaction arises only after relationship stops being profitable but Argyle argued that we don’t monitor costs/rewards/alternatives until after we are dissatisfied
Suggests that considering costs/alternatives is caused by dissatisfaction, rather than the reverse
Weakness 2 of SET (vague concepts)
-Real-world psychological rewards/costs subjective/harder to define
-Unclear what the values of CL/CLalt must be before dissatisfaction threatens a relationship
=Theory is difficult to test in a valid way
