Theories of romantic relationships: Social exchange theory

Question 1

A01

Outline social exchange theory

Thibault & Kelley

SET uses economic assumptions of exchange to study relationships

Answer 1

Thibault & Kelley(1959) proposed social exchange theory (SET) explaining how people view the costs & benefits of their current relationship
SET states that partners aim to minimize their losses & maximize their profits ( minimax principle)
we judge our satisfaction with a relationship in terms of the profit it yields-the rewards minus the costs.

Question 2

A01

Outline SET-rewards & costs examples

Answer 2

Rewards & costs are subjective , what one person considers a reward might be viewed by someone as less valuable
The value of rewards & costs might change over the course of the relationship
* Rewards include beneficial things such as companionship , sex & emotional support
* Costs can, however, de-stabilise a relationship if lead to arguments, conflict.
Blau (1964) relationships can be expensive, so costs include time, stress , energy , compromise

In economic terms : relationships also incur a opportunity cost -investment of time, energy & resources in a relationship, someone cannot invest elsewhere

Question 3

Outline the comparison level

Answer 3

There are 2 ways in which we meaure the profit in a romantic relationship
1. The comprison level** (CL) is the the amount of reward you believe deserve to get. It develops out of our experience of previous relationships which feed into our expectations of current one,
is also influenced by social norms that determines what is widely considered within culture to be a reasonable level of reward
This is reflected in books, films & TV programmes
* We consider relationships worth persuing if our CL is high, which also influences self esteem
those with low self esteem have low CL & will be satisified with gaining small profit in comparison to those with high CL who believe they are worth more

Question 4

Outline the comparison level for alternatives

Answer 4

2n way of measuring profit-The comparison level for alernatives (Clalt), used to determine whether or not a new, diff relationship would bring more reward & fewer costs
SET predicts we will stay in our current relationships as long as we believe it is more important than alternaties
Duck(1994), The Clalt we adopt will depend on state of current relationship, if costs of current relationship outweighs rewards, alternatves become more attractive

Question 5

A01

Outline the 4 stages of how relationship development

Thibault & Kelley’s SET 4 stages of how relationships develop

Answer 5

1. Sampling stage-Explore the rewards & costs of SE by experimenting with them in our own relationship
2. Bargaining stage-Marks beginning of relationship, when romantic partners start exchanging rewards & costs, negotiating & identifiying what is most profitable
3. Commitment stage-The source of costs & rewards become more predicatble & relationship becomes more stable as rewards increases & costs lessen
4. Institutionalisation stage- The partners are settled down, rewards & costs are established

Question 6

A03

SET concepets are vague & cost & rewards subjective

Limitation

Answer 6

SET concepts are vague & hard to quantify
rewards & costs have been identified superficially in research (i.e money) in order to measure them
a difficulty of attempting to measure SET is that rewards ,costs & profits are subjective variables that differ from person to person , making it difficult to operatioinalise research thus limits reliability of thery
* Concept of CL is problemtic- its unclear what values of CL & CLalt must be before dissatisfication threatens relationship- this means theory is difficult to test in valid way

Question 7

A03

SET ignores equity

Answer 7

The central concern on SET is comparison level but ignores the role of equity in relationships & the view that equity is more important than the balance of rewards & costs
thus SET is limited explanation as does not take into account signif proportion of research findings on relationships

Question 8

A03

dissatisfaction comes first,
*Argyle -dont measure costs & rewards in a relationship, or ALT until we are dissatisfied with the relationship

MIller*-t ppl who rate themselves ,highly commited relationships spent less time looking for alternatives

Limitation

Answer 8

Argyle we dont measure costs & rewards in a relationship, nor do we consider the attractiveness of alternatives. That is not until we are dissatisfied with the relationship
research supports this view that dissatisfaction comes first,
MIller found that ppl who rate themselves as being in highly commited relationships spent less time looking at images of attractive ppl
so ppl in a commited relationship ignore even most attractive alternatives- thus SET cannot account for direction of causation

Question 9

A03

Issues & debates

Limitation

Answer 9

SET suggests ppl calculate the costs, rewards & profits involved in relationship means it falls under cognitive approach with its emphasis on informartion processing & perception, thus researcher can only draw inferences from SET , as processes are not directly observable