Social Exchange Theory

• Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) is an economic model of relationships
• Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) works on the min - max principal as individuals carry out a cost benefit analysis of their relationship to minimise costs and maximise rewards
• Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) is based on operant conditioning with rewards acting as positive reinforcements and costs acting as punishments
• Social exchange theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) rewards egs; Entertainment, sex, and companionship
• Social exchange theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) punishments egs; giving up money, time, and monogamy
• Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) states rewards and costs are subjective and change over time
• Comparison level (Social exchange theory Thibult and Keeley 1959) comparison level is the difference between a current relationship and previous relationships to establish what rewards we feel we deserve
• if Comparison level (Social Exchange Theory Thibult and Keeley 1959) is high then a relationship is considered rewarding and worthwhile
• a low Comparison level (Social exchange theory Thibult and Keeley 1959) is associated with low self esteem as an individual is satisfied with receiving only a small profit or even a loss in their relationships
• Comparison level for alternatives (Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) is looking for alternative partners and whether or not you'd receive a higher profit with them
• Comparison level with alternatives (social exchange theory Thibult and Keeley 1959) states that if a higher profit is found with the alternative then they will be chosen
• Comparison level with alternatives (social exchange theory Thibult and Keeley 1959) states that if costs into a relationship increase then alternatives become more attractive
• Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) 4 stages to relationship development; sampling, bargaining, commitment, and institutionalisation
• Social exchange theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) relationship stage 1; sampling - exploring the rewards and costs of a social exchange by experimenting with our relationships or by observing others via social learning
• Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) relationship stage 2; bargaining - as the relationship starts rewards and costs are exchanged and it is evaluated whether the relationship is profitable
• Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) relationship stage 3; commitment - rewards and costs become consistent and predictable causing stability and increased rewards / lowered costs
• Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) relationship stage 4; institutionalisation - rewards and costs are firmly established
• Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) strength; research support from Kurdck (1995) who surveyed gay, lesbian, and straight couples and found commitment was the result of high rewards and low costs causing alternatives to be seen as less attractive HOWEVER questionnaires are open to social desirability bias especially when considering relationships
• Social Exchange Theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) weakness; unscientific as profits, rewards, and costs are not a standardised and specific measure showing the theory as vague lowering its scientific validity
• Social exchange theory (Thibult and Keeley 1959) weakness; may present humans as overly analytical as Argyle (1987) argues that humans are not constantly monitoring their rewards and profits