Social Exchange

• Practical Applications

  1. Use deterministic nature to predict when relationships will end

  2. IBCT tries to prevent marriages from ending

  3. Gottman found marriages stopped being profitable when behaviour exchanges became more negative and when they spoke/acted towards each other in an unloving and unkind manner

  4. Positive to negative ratio = 5:1 in successful marriages and 1:1 or less in unsuccessful

  5. IBCT trains couples to understand and become more accepting of each other's differences

  6. IBCT improves interactions and strengthens the positives in a relationship

  7. IBCT maintains relationships so benefit to economy
• • Support → Kurdek + Schmitt studied 44 heterosexual married couples, 35 co-habiting heterosexual couples, 50 gay couples and 56 lesbian couples. For each type of couple, greater relationship satisfaction was associated with a high perception of relationship benefits and seeing alternatives as less attractive. Included all sexualities so no bias + is generalisable. / Self report methods e.g. questionnaires and interviews so social desirability.  
• • Validity → Reductionist as people stay in relationships where they are in a deficit or leave if they are in a profit. Equity and investment theories. / Rewards and costs are subjective and vary from relationship to relationship and day to day, so difficult to generalise the theory due to individual differences. Also comparison levels vary from person to person so can be difficult to test.