social exchange theory

a theory envisioning social interactions as an exchange in which the participants seek to maximize their benefits (the rewards they receive minus the costs they incur) within the limits of what is regarded as fair or just. Intrinsic to this hypothesis is the reciprocity norm: People are expected to reciprocate for the benefits they have received. Social exchange theory is similar to equity theory, which also maintains that people seek fairness in social relationships and that fairness exists when each party in the relationship has the same ratio of outcomes (benefits) to inputs (resources brought to the relationship). [proposed by Austrian sociologists George C. Homans (1910–1989) and Peter Blau (1918–2002) and extensively studied by John W. Thibaut and Harold H. Kelley]

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Psychology term of the day

December 18th 2024

endosomatic current

an electrical current produced by a living organism.