AO1

• Social behaviour is a series of exchanges - people maximise rewards and minimise costs. Rewards from a relationship: companionship, being cared for, and sex. Costs from a relationship: effort, financial investment, and time wasted. Rewards minus the costs must equal the outcome (either a profit or loss for that relationship). SET says that commitment to a relationship is dependent on the profitability of this outcome.
• We develop a comparison level, a standard against which all our relationships are judged. This might be a product of our experiences in other relationships together with our general view of what we might expect from this exchange. If the profit in a new relationship exceeds our comparison level then that will be worthwhile, but if the profit is less than our comparison level then a relationship with that person will be seen as less attractive.
• Someone who has bad past relationships may have a low CL, so may be happy in a poor relationship. Someone with a high CL from past rewarding relationships would exit any relationship that doesn’t meet these high expectations.
• Person weighs up potential increase in rewards from a different partner, minus any costs associated with ending the current relationship. They will stay committed if the current overall benefits and costs are perceived as being greater than what might be possible in an alternative relationship or not having a relationship at all.
• There are four stages of relationships. The sampling stage involves exploring rewards and costs by experimenting in our relationships, not just romantic ones. The bargaining stage occurs at the start of a relationship, where romantic partners negotiate around costs and rewards. The commitment stage is where the relationship becomes more stable, the costs reduce and the rewards increase. Institutionalisation stage is when partners become settled because the norms of the relationship are established.