What are...........?

Question

how does Social exchange theory examines the family....also what r the negative and +ve aspects of it?

Answer 1

Social Exchange Theory

Adapted from Scott Plunkett, PhD. Course Pack


What is it?


Social exchange theory is an evolving conceptual framework that can be utilized to explain individual development within the family context.

· Exchange theory is based on the principle that we enter into relationships in which we can maximize the benefits to us and minimize our costs.

· Equity theory, a variation of exchange theory, holds that exchanges between people have to be fair and balanced so that they mutually give and receive what is needed.



In the late 1960s and early 1970s, exchange theory began to play a major role in family studies. Scholars pointed out how exchange theory could be applied to a variety of family issues such as mate selection, courtship, sexual bargaining, marital quality, marital power, family violence, and many others at both the micro- and macro-levels.



Theoretical contributors (Sabatelli & Shehan, 1993)


· Utilitarian economists made certain assumptions which were applied to exchange theory. They believed:

humans are rational and will seek to maximize their gain.

They viewed humans as having access to all the information they needed to make these rational decisions.

If a profit cannot be made they will forego that area of investment.

Last, a long-term reciprocity is necessary for both participants to make a profit, otherwise one will exploit the other.



· Behavioral psychology contributed to the following assumptions:

an individual will elicit behaviors that will produce the greatest reward and the least punishment.

An individual will repeat behaviors that were rewarding in the past, and will keep repeating the behavior as long as it is rewarding.

However, the reward will lose its value the more the individual receives the reward.

· Cultural anthropology made significant contributions to exchange theory. Sir James Frazer in 1919 made certain assumptions about exchange processes:

Exchange processes derive from individuals trying to satisfy basic needs.

As these processes consistently produce payoffs, patterns of social interactions are developed.

These patterns contribute to the development of social structures and lead to power differentiation in social groups.



In 1922, Bronislaw Malinowski devised an exchange theory that differed from Frazer’s assumptions in that exchanges were dominated more by psychological and social needs than economic motives.





Assumptions (Nye, 1979; Sabatelli & Shehan, 1993)
·

Humans avoid costly and seek rewarding statuses, relationships, feeling states, and interaction to the extent that their profits are maximized and their losses are minimized

Social exchanges are interdependent and are regulated by norms of reciprocity and norms of fairness

Prior experiences of relationships affect subsequent exchanges



Concepts, Definitions and Terms


· Rewards – anything which brings pleasure

· Resources – anything which can be exchanged

· Costs – foregoing a reward or experiencing a punishment

· Comparison level – an evolving, individual, subjective standard that determines whether the exchange meets the individual’s expectations (based upon past experiences of one’s self or on observations of others’ exchanges).

· Comparison level of alternatives – an evolving individual subjective standard that determine whether the exchange exceeds the individuals other alternatives



· Distributive justice – rewards and costs should be proportional, just as profits and investments should be proportional

we expect to give up more for a greater gain and sacrifice less for a smaller gain.

for example: we might choose to temporarily give up free time, ability to earn a larger income, etc. in order to pursue a degree.



· Norm of fairness – a subjective test by one participant in an exchange or relationship to determine whether or not it is fair

Is the cost worth the reward? Is it balanced?



· Norm of reciprocity – a subjective test as to the mutual responsiveness of the exchanges

is there a mutual give and take?



· Principles of satiation – refers to rewards losing value as the number of those rewards received increases



· Principles of deprivation – refers to rewards gaining in value when the rewards are few



· Other important terms in social exchange theory include:

· equity

· trust

· commitment

· profit and loss



Strengths
· Most people can understand the general assumptions

· Very parsimonious

· The ability of exchange theory to explain many family issues



Criticisms
· Assumes humans act rationally when deciding on an exchange

· Some issues are difficult to explain effectively utilizing exchange theory such as altruism

· Valuing self-interest

· A tendency to place one’s own bias on the perception of the situation. Very difficult not to place our own bias, such as accepting another’s view of what a resource, cost or reward is.

· Generally limited to dyadic relationships

Answer 2

Social exchange theory posits that all human relationships are formed by the use of a subjective cost-benefit analysis and the comparison of alternatives. For example, when a person perceives the costs of a relationship as outweighing the perceived benefits, then the theory predicts that the person will choose to leave the relationship. When the costs and benefits are equal in a relationship, then that relationship is defined as equitable.

The positives in a family could be that the family unit could stay together for life if found to be equitable. A negative would be the opposite if not euitable the family unit would dissolve.

Answer 3

Uh, well that went over my head, (of course hard questions usually do)