Social exchange theory

• > Thibault and Kelley proposed an economic theory of relationships

  • MAXIMISED rewards - MINIMISED costs = PROFIT = relationship satisfaction

  > Costs and rewards are subjective, for example, rewards such as companionship, sex, praise from your partner may be considered as rewarding for some but not as rewarding for others

  > what is considered in as rewarding or costly in the early relationship may change as the relationship develops
• There are 2 types of comparisons where we measure the profits of our relationship

  • Comparison levels - the amount of reward you believe you deserve to get. This develops from past relationships and we use this to compare with our current relationship rewards, can be influenced by social norms
  • Comparison levels of alternatives - We compare our rewards and costs in our current relationships compared to potential ones
• SET AO3

  :) RTS Kurdeck

  > He asked gay, lesbian and heterosexual couples to complete questionnaires measuring relationship commitment and the rewards/costs of their relationship

  > He found that those partners who were most committed perceived more rewards and fewer costs and viewed alternative relationships as unattractive

  > Increasing the validity of SET as a theory of romantic relationships
• SET AO3

  :( Research is correlational

  > Cause and effect cannot be established between lack of profit and dissatisfaction in relationships

  > For example, other research has found that couples do not monitor costs and rewards, or consider alternatives, until they after become dissatisfied

  > Therefore, limiting the internal validity of the social exchange theory as a theory of romantic relationships
• SET AO3

  :( Rewards and costs are subjective

  > SET states that rewards and costs involve money and time which are considered superficial. Real world costs and rewards are harder to define for couples, for example some couples may regard loyalty as being a reward which vary from couple to couple

  > In addition, it is unclear what the values of CL and CL alt must be before dissatisfaction threatens a relationship

  > Therefore, reducing the validity of SET as a theory of romantic relationships as the concepts are vague and more difficult to test