Maintenance Restart
- Created by: Jordstaylor
- Created on: 09-05-16 09:59
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- Maintenance of Relationships
- Social Exchange Theory (Thibaut + Kelley)
- A01
- We form a relationship if its rewarding, we attempt to maximise our rewards and minimise the costs. A successful relationship is one where the rewards outweigh the cost (Rewards - Costs = Outcome)
- To judge how one partner compares to another we use a comparison level which is a standard where all relationships are compared.
- The comparison level is based on memories of past experiences combined with expectations of what we want and expect in the future.
- When we meet a new partner, they are compared with the comparison level and if the profits of the new relationship are thought to exceed the costs then we form a relationship.
- CL ALT is where the potential rewards of the new partner are checked.
- A02
- Resbult + Martz
- Used the profit + loss concept to explain unrewarding relationships. If the investments are high such as children then it is still seen as a profitable situation thus, the woman stays with the man.
- Social Exchange theory doesn't explain why people leave relationships despite having no alternatives.
- Argle + Duck
- Found that the theory assumes people spend considerable time monitoring their relationship. They found that people only spend considerable time considering alternatives when they are dissatisfied with their own.
- SET is reductionist as it breaks down complex relationships into a number of basic social interactions that are focused on the selfish rewards of a single individual.
- The suggests that the theory is oversimplified in its explanations of the formation / maintenance of relationships.
- Resbult + Martz
- A01
- Equity Theory (Walster)
- A01
- An extension of the social exchange theory, states why people strive to achieve fairness in their relationships and people become distressed if they don't. If you give a great deal but receive a little, then this results in inequity therefore dissatisfaction
- Equity is balance and stability
- If there is inequity, we are motivated to restore it which can be done by changing how much we put into a relationship and how much we demand. Using our CL, we may assess whether it is worth continuing the current relationship.
- A02
- Van Ypeern + Buunk
- Longitudinal study using 259 couples (86% married) and found 65% said there was equity, 25% of men over-benefited and 25% of women felt under-benefited. One year later, they were asked about satisfaction and group one were most satisfied and group two were least.
- Clark + Mills
- Suggested relationships are not based on economics, there is a difference between exchange and communal. Exchange relationships are with colleagues and communal relationships are with loved ones and are about responding to needs.
- Moghaddam
- Stated that economic theories only explain high mobility in western cultures not low mobility such as collectivist cultures.
- Most research into both theories have been done using students so it is hard to generalise.
- Van Ypeern + Buunk
- A01
- Social Exchange Theory (Thibaut + Kelley)
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