A brief overview of an article by Johnathan Turner
Summary
This article, by Johnathan Turner, focuses on the strengths of Social Exchange Theory, developed by richard Emerson. He breaks his evaluation down in several main components. These components are: 1)A shift in structure, 2)Results of the shift, and 3)A merger with Network Analysis.
1)A shift in structure; Emerson's approach to the theory unchained it from the confounds of behaviorism and utilitarianism. This allowed for the examination of social structure. Basically, this means that the emphasis was no longer on the behaviors that each individual in the relationship displayed. The emphasis was ,instead, moved to the manner of the existing exchange relations between those individuals. In other words, the theory was now examining the relationship of the individuals involved rather than their individual behaviors. This enabled the social exchanges between individuals involved in larger groups to be analyzed, also.
2)Results of the shift; Due to this shift, the important sociological questions now revolve around the form of the relation, once it exists. This is, of course, opposed to the questions revolving around what rewards and costs will prevail before the relation exists. The dynamics of any relation were now characterized by the dependence of parties on eachother for their resources, the resulting power differences among them, and the ways in which they seek to balance these differences. (Turner, 224) One could say that this shift allowed researchers to ask the question of "why" two people were involved in an exchange instead of "what kind" of exchange they were involved in.
3)A merger with Network Analysis; As you can see, the structure of relations is now being conceptualized in terms of social networks. This bypasses another problem in the sociological theory; the micro-macro gap. This is, the hypothetical space put between the relationship between two individuals and that relationship's impact on a larger group that they are involved in. The emphasis is now on the form of social relations among positions (within that larger group), regardless of whether the actors in them are individual people or collective units. The theory can now be applied to buisiness groups, a group of friends, or two lovers. Since it does not focus on the behavior of each actor, but on the overall dynamics of the relation in terms of costs and rewards, macro-structures can be analyzed using the theory.
Interpretation
This article basically explains how Richard Emerson shifted the focus of Social Exchange Theory from the individual behavior concerning rewards in the relation, to the overall structure of the exchange. For example: Instead of zeroing in on why John sends Cyndi flowers, the theory focuses on what Cyndi and John's relationship is like, what she did to provoke John to send her flowers, and what attitude led John to actually send the flowers. Someone analyzing this scenario would now center on the entire exchange rather than just the behavior of each individual. This enables the theory to be applied to larger institutions. If you think about it, this theory is better applied to the business world, anyway. After all, it was originally an economic concept!
Evaluation
Overall, I must say that this article proved to be a good aid in understanding where Social Exchange Theory may be heading in the future. It has evolved from an economic concept to a communication theory that can be applied to any relationship that features costs and rewards. If you really think about it, almost any relationship that you engage in can reward or hurt you in some sort of way. Although this theory helped me in my communication endeavours, I feel as if it may only confuse those without a basic background knowledge on the subject. If one was writing a paper on the theory or doing some sort of group project, this article would prove to be very helpful. Yet for those who have no prior information on the dynamics of the theory, reading this would only confuse them and leave them wondering what the basic principles of the theory even are.