social exchange theory (thilbault/kelley)

• Economic theory based on the 'minimax' principle e.g want to minimises cost/losses and maximise rewards/gain. Considers how partners exchange rewards and costs.
• Rewards in a relationship: 

  attention

   gifts 

  affection 

  sex 

  love 

  company 

  Compansionship
• Our satisfaction in a relationship is based on profit

  . Rewards - costs = satisfaction.
• Costs in a relationship:

  Time

   freedom-going out with friends 

  effort.
• Assumes that those who offer rewards are attractive and those who are perceived to involve greater costs are less attractive.
• It predicts that partnership that are balanced and benefits both parties will succeed whereas relationships that are imbalanced will fail
• Cost and rewards are subjective and will vary for each individual.
• Measure the profit in a romantic relationship:

  -Comparison level (cl):

  Judgement of a reward level we expect in a relationship.

  Depends on: previous romantic experience. 

  Cultural norms- reflected in books/film etc.

  Its linked to self esteem, if someone has low self esteem they are satisfied with low level reward.if someone has high self esteem they think they are worth alot more.

  They judge profit to exceed our cl, is that a relationship is worth pursuing.

  Trey judge profit that is below cl, as don't both perusing the relationship.
• Measure the profit in a romantic relationship:

  -Comparison level for alternatives (CLalt):

  The perception of whether another partner would be more rewarding (or being on your own)

  They stay in the relationship as long as there are no better alternatives. ( is grass greener?)

  Stay in a relationship as long as there are no better rewards. If you have lots of rewards, you won't notice alternative. High CLalt will look elsewhere for relationship
• SET states that relationships form through a number of stages
• 1-sampling stage: explore rewards and costs of social exchange in a relationship experiment with them in our own relationships, observe other relationship.
• 2-bargaining stage: marks beginning of a relationship when partners start exchanging costs and rewards , negotiating and identifying what is most profitable.
• 3-commitment stage: as relationships progress, the sources of costs/ rewards become predictable and the relationship becomes more stable. Rewards increase and costs lessen.
• 4-Institutionalisation stage: partners now settled down due to norms in the relationship. Rewards and costs are firmly established.
• A strength of social exchange theory is that there is research support. Kurdek asked gay, lesbian, and heterosexual couples to complete questionnaires measuring relationship commitment and SET variables. Partners who were most committed perceived the most reward, fewest costs and viewed alternative as unattractive. This demonstrates the concepts of SET suggesting validity of the theory. 
• One weakness of SET is that it ignores equity. The central concern for SET is cl. This theory ignores equity (fairness - this idea is the foundation for another theory ). There is not a lot research to suggests that its not just the balance of rewards and costs that matters but the partners perception of what is fair. This is a weakness because it means SET is limited explanation which cannot account for a significant proportion of research findings on relationships. 
• A strength is that there are many useful real life applications. For example, integrated behavioural couple therapy (IBCT), during which partners are trained to increase positive exchange in their everyday interactions and decrease negative ones by changing negative behaviour patterns. Christensen et al found that about 2/3 if couples treated using IBCT reported significant improvement in their relationships and greater happiness as a result. This shows that SET can be used to help distressed coupes in real life, this demonstrates its real-world application and benefits for relationships. 
• One weakness is SET claims that dissatisfaction in the relationship only occurs once the relationship stops being profitable. Argyle argues that people rarely start assessing their relationships before they feel unsatisfied with them e.g being unhappy in a relationship may lead a person to question the rewards, costs and potential alternatives but these thoughts occur only after the dissatisfaction is discovered. This is a problem as is contradicts SET, suggesting that consideration of costs and rewards is not the cause of dissatisfaction relationships, but the consequences