Social Exchange Theory

who were the psychologists?

Thibaut and Kelley

whats the main idea?

• it is an economic theory of relationship

• we maximise rewards the minimise the costs in a relationship

what are the 4 main concepts of this theory?

• costs

• reward

• comparison levels

• comparison level alternatives

rewards of a relationship

• security

• love

• emotional support

• trust

• family

• shared interests and hobbies

costs of a relationship

• time consuming - less time with yourself

• could end up badly - risk

• could be a waste of time

• could be a waste of money

• conflict

• opportunities lost

comparison level

• the satisfaction level depends on previous experiences of relationships

• if the current relationship is better than the past one, we are motivated to stay and vice versa

comparison level alternative

• if the costs of the current relationship outweigh the rewards, then alternatives become more attractive

strengths - research support

• Lawrence Kurdek

• asked couples to complete questionnaires measuring relationship commitment and SET variables

• found that those partners who were most committed also perceived the most rewards and fewer costs and viewed alternatives as relatively unattractive

• therefore = as these findings match predictions from SET, strongly confirming the validity of the theory in both heterosexual and homosexual couples

limitations - claims that dissatisfaction only arises after a relationship stops being “profitable”

• according to SET, we become dissatisfied when we conclude that the costs of the relationship outweighs its rewards

• but Michael Argyle argues that we don’t monitor costs and rewards or consider alternatives until after we are dissatisfied

• when we are satisfied with a relationship and committed to it, we do not even notice potentially attractive alternatives

• therefore = this suggests that considering costs/alternatives is caused by dissatisfaction rather than the reverse

limitation = vague concepts

• rewards and costs are subjective

• e.g. most people would consider “loyalty” to be a reward however some may consider it as a “cost” e.g. being in an abusive/obsessive relationship

• it is also unclear what the values of Cl and ClAlt must be before dissatisfaction threatens a relationship

• therefore = this means the theory is difficult to test in a valid and reliable way