Welcome
to the Social Exchange Theory homepage. After reading up on the theory in this brief introduction, please stick around and learn more about Social Exchange through our other sites including two research summaries, a real life application of the theory, and a personal critique.
Introduction
The Communication Theory of Social Exchange, a.k.a. the Theory of Economic Behavior, is a theory based on the exchange of rewards and costs to quantify the values of outcomes from different situations for an individual.
The outcome of an interaction is the combination of rewards and costs. These rewards and costs are assigned numbers, any numbers will work as long as the scale is constant. Rewards are assigned positive numbers and costs, then, are assigned negatiive numbers.
People strive to minimize costs and maximize rewards, as with economics, and then base the likeliness of developing a relationship with someone on the perceived possible outcomes. When these outcomes are perceived to be greater, we disclose more and develop a closer relationship with that person.
There are Two ways to evaluate outcome levels:
1. The Comparison Level, CL. How happy or sad does the outcome of the interaction make the participant feel?
2. The Comparison Level of Alternatives, CLalt. Consider the best payoffs available outside the relationship, or the worst outcome that a person will accept and still participate in the relationship. This is based on perceived available, possible alternatives.
Optimum Situation
Outcome>CLalt>CL The outcome of the interaction is greater than the perceived alternatives, which is greater than the comparison level.
Another Research Report by Adam!
A Real Life Application by Chrissy!
