The social exchange theory states that individuals only engage in social relationships if there is an assurance that they will get benefits. The theory suggests that human beings do not form friendships with people they are not related to without an expectation that the rewards exceed the costs. The common rewards for human relationships are companionship, loyalty, affection, financial gains and acceptance. The costs of a relationship are money, time and effort.
Existing Studies
The theory is applicable in tourism; the tourists and the host community have a good relationship since they both depend on one another. When visiting a new country, the tourist must show respect and a liking for the hosts since they want to have access to their culture and the destinations. Furthermore, as strangers in a foreign land, being rude will make their stay difficult as they will find it difficult to access the destinations. On the other hand, the locals are polite to tourists because they improve the economy of their town/ location (Nunkoo, 2016). Communities that solely rely on tourism depend on a good relationship with foreigner due to the presence of many tourist-based jobs such as the hotel industry, which employs many locals.
In addition to this, the social exchange theory is applicable to religion. Believers are encouraged to obey certain regulations for favors/ blessings. In religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam, there are specific rules to follow. The term sin is used to describe actions that are contrary to these rules. Believers give offerings to God (gods) in exchange for protection and prosperity. Also, there is an assurance of heaven for those who do not sin while those who commit transgressions go to hell where they burn in an eternal fire (Corcoran, 2013). Without the promises of heaven and blessings, people would have no reason to be religious. Hence, religion is a form of social exchange.
Moreover, the social exchange theory is used in social media marketing. Today, most companies use social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to advertise their products. The theory is evident because potential clients engage in these platforms by asking commodity prices and suggesting improvements to the existing products (Accolades, 2014). People comment on these sites because they need the products and the organizations reply to the comments and create a community because they want to attract and maintain clients. Therefore, the two groups of people interact since they want something (reward) from the other.
Finally, in romantic relationships, the social exchange theory is evident as both partners have expectations from the other party. For this reason, most people become angry when they sacrifice more in the relationships than their partners. When pursuing a new relationship, most people weigh the pros (rewards) and cons (costs) of the relationship. In case, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages, most people are unlikely to continue the relationship (Redmond, 2015).
Psychology Experiment
The study will involve thirty participants and the location will be Central Park in New York. The aim of the study is to investigate the difference between how people relate with strangers. The control group will be participants’ employers. There will be ten employers and a similar number of employees and strangers. The experiment will be conducted on a Sunday afternoon. The structure of the experiment will involve each employee sitting on a bench then a stranger will join them for ten minutes. The stranger will then leave the seat and the employers will sit next to the individual for ten minutes.
My team will observe how every employee relates to the stranger and their boss. The data collected will include the duration of time that the employees seek to every party (employer and stranger). The results will be presented in the form of a table with three columns namely: employee’s serial number, conversation length with the stranger and conversation length with the employer. If the results indicate that the employees spoke to the two parties for a similar or a longer duration than the employers, the social exchange theory will be disproved. However, if the results indicate that most of the employees spoke to their bosses for a longer time, the experiment will indicate the application of the social exchange theory in real life situations. The results of the study are important to society as they help in attaining a better understanding of human relationships. Currently, there are many arguments (especially among couples) that arise from lack of understanding of the expectations of the parties in a relationship.
Conclusion
The social exchange theory states that human relationships are based on rewards. Some applications of the theory are religion, social media marketing, the relationship between tourists and the host community as well as romantic relationships. The goal of my experiment is to test the social exchange theory by determining whether people engage in conversations with strangers. The location will be Central Park and there will be thirty participants. The control group is comprised of the individuals’ employers. If the results show that people are more likely to talk to their bosses than strangers, the social exchange theory will be confirmed.
References
Accolades. (2014). Social Exchange Theory. Retrieved from https://accolades1.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/social-exchange-theory-power-point-pdf.pdf
Corcoran, K. E. (2013). Divine Exchanges: Applying Social Exchange Theory to Religious Behavior. Rationality and Society, 25(3), 335–369.
Nunkoo, R. (2016). Toward a More Comprehensive Use of Social Exchange Theory to Study Residents’ Attitudes to Tourism. Procedia Economics and Finance, 588 – 596.
Redmond, M. V. (2015). Social Exchange Theory. Iowa State University.
