Social exchange theory 339 and they constitute three analytical elements in a single empirical systeman exchange relation. Social exchange theory iowa state university digital repository. Homans devised a framework built on a combination of behaviorism and basic economics. Much of social life involves interactions between individuals or corporate actors in dyads, groups, organizations or networks that can be viewed as social exchanges. Social exchange theory is linked to rational choice theory and structuralism, and features many of their main assumptions. Homans believed that actions and behaviors are only enacted when there is a definite motive. Background social exchange theory was introduced in 1958 by the sociologist george homans with the publication of his work social behavior as exchange. Homans is best known for his research in social behavior and his works.
This theory, born from concepts of economics and exchange, tells us how social interaction happens, and shows which are the key factors motivating us to engage. Homans 1950, 1958, 1961 proposed examining such an interaction as an exchange following certain basic economic principles revolving. Social exchange theory in psychology verywell mind. Social exchange theory states that people participate in behaviors that they find to be rewarding and they terminate behaviors that they find to be too costly appelrouth and edles, p. The social exchange framework was formally advanced in the late 1950s and early 1960s in the work of the sociologists george homans 1961 and peter blau 1964 and the work of social psychologists john thibaut and harold kelley 1959. Homans developed this idea based off of skinners pigeon experiments and then applied it to humans. Two of his many books, the human group and social behaviour. Less valuable actions by an individual member lead to. George casper homans august 11, 1910 may 29, 1989 was an american sociologist, founder of behavioral sociology and a major contributor to the social exchange theory. Social behavior as exchange career account web service. Social exchange theory by george homans essay 1699 words.
A woman could be happy in her job, yet leave for a new position which offers even higher pay, better working conditions, or a more interesting assignment. Social exchange theory of george homans and peter blau. The purpose of this exchange is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. George homans in 1958, created the social exchange theory. The methodological challenges of studying social exchange in the laboratory and in the world outside the lab are addressed as well as links between exchange theory and topics under study by economic sociologists and network scholars more broadly, including internetmediated exchanges and their growing significance. Homans 1950, 1958, 1961 drew from a variety of theories and fields in developing his.
Homansenter paper title find, read and cite all the research you need on researchgate. It was developed by the us sociologist george caspar homans 191089 and expounded in his books the human group 1950 and social behavior. Definition social exchange theory is a social psychological and sociological perspective that explains social change and stability as a process of negotiated exchanges between parties. The impact of exchange modes on interemployee knowledge sharing pdf. Interestingly, in his early writings, homans, never uses the phrase social exchange theory. Its elementary forms are considered worldclassics in sociology.
This is what the social exchange theory says, and psychologenie explains this with some of its realworld examples. Social exchange theory 3 social exchange theory is a broad conceptual paradigm that spans a number of social scientific disciplines, such as management, social psychology, and anthropology. George caspar homans 19101989 is widely regarded as the father of social exchange theory. Homans social exchange theory examines behavioral modification through the means of costs and rewards. Social exchange theory views social interaction as based on the mutual flow of resources or behaviors of value over time. Homans, the human group and elementary social behaviour. Emerson and those whose work subsequently built on their. Cl,r, doesnt speak to the issue of attraction or satisfaction. Homans interaction is an exchange of goods material and nonmaterial. George homans was an american sociologist that founded the exchange theory. Therefore, any theory of social exchange cannot be derived from animal behavior. He defined social exchange as the exchange of activity, tangible or intangible and more or less rewarding or costly, between at least two people.
Homans, blau, and emerson were the key theorists who developed the original theories of social exchange. Social exchange theory an overview sciencedirect topics. Exchange is a common theme among his and other exchange theorists work for the reason that it is likened to human interaction, that social interaction is a sort of. This reading is likely the single most famous synopsis of exchange theory. This chapter presents an overview of the main theories of social exchange focusing on the key contributors in sociology, including george homans, peter blau, richard m. Homans, blau, and emerson were the key theorists who developed the. After homans developed the theory, two other theorists. Hier gehen soziologische theoretiker etwa homans oder blau davon aus, dass immer. Pdf on nov 12, 2012, jacek tittenbrun and others published the the theory of social exchange of g. Exchange ideology also strengthens the effects of equal opportunity and attitudes i. Social exchange theory in relation to family social exchange theory can be used to explain why couples marry and divorce, have children, make major purchase decisions houseand vehicles, or relocate the family to a new city. In examining social behavior as exchange, homans 1961 drew. Homans, who introduced the social exchange theory, belonged to a family that produced 2 us presidents john adams and john quincy adams. For homans 1961 the dominant emphasis was the individual behavior of actors in interac tion with one another.
Parties must continue to provide value to those with which they associate. He defined social exchange as the exchange of activity, tangible or. Social exchange theory is a sociological and psychological theory that studies the social. Exchange theory hamlin university of minnesota duluth. The organismenvironment exchange involved here can be seen clearly in the ratio. The genesis of social exchange theory goes back to 1958, when american sociologist george homans published an article entitled social behavior as exchange.
Power may develop due to dependence or social obligations. Clearly this appears to be a statement directed towards homans and others. Drawing from social exchange theory and the relational approach to social exchange relationships, we examine liking and competence judgments as predictors of dyadic viability, a new, complementary. Discussion address the critique that homans social exchange theory reduces human interaction to a purely rational process that arises from economic theory. Homans that is highly significant to his social exchange theory is the behavioural psychology of b. The social exchange theory was established by george homans.
Through his understanding of behavioral psychology, homans draws some connections to the nature of decisionmaking in humans and the concept of exchange. Illuminating the principles of social exchange theory with. The key assumptions of exchange theory molm and cook 1995 include the following. The purpose of this paper is to suggest homans social exchange theory set, a management theory, as an explanation for some of the findings of some of the hawthorne experiments 19241933, which demonstrated how social situations play an important role in task performance and productivity and how social exchanges can facilitate it. In terms of social behavior, a sociologist is interested in what determines changes of the behavior of an individual. Behaviors that are rewarded will become persistent, whereas behaviors that result in a costs will end. Norms serve to limit or guide the use of powerandbehaviors acceptable in relationships. Also, the theory involves economic relationships, it occurs when. We shall return to this point below when we discuss and attempt to resolve the question of tautologies in social exchange theory.
Social exchange theory is one of the major theories of social interaction in the social sciences. Homans abst ract to consider social behavior as an exchange of goods may clarify the relations among four bodies of the ory. Homans 1958 advocated that scholars return to what he described as the oldest of theories of social behaviorsocial behavior as exchange p. To consider social behavior as an exchange of goods may clarify the. History of the theory social exchange theory was developed in the year 1958, by the sociologist george homans. The social exchange theory proposes that all relations we either form, maintain, or break is due to a costbenefit analysis. Social exchange theory is a theory associated with the work of george homans and peter blau and built on the assumption that all human relationships can be understood in terms of an exchange of roughly equivalent values. A theory of social interaction based on the proposition that people expect rewards and costs from social exchange to be equitable. This is a crucial text in the history of exchange theory. Social exchange theory proposes that social behavior is the result of an exchange process. Homans defined social exchange as the exchange of activity, tangible or intangible, and more or less rewarding or costing between at least two persons. At its most basic, social exchange theory may be viewed as providing an economic metaphor to social relationships. According to this theory, developed by sociologist george homans, people weigh the potential benefits and risks of social relationships.
Social behavior as exchange, american journal of sociology 63. Homans exchange theory is part of the andragogy video series and is available for free as an ibook for download on the ipad. One postcollege intellectual influence on george c. Social exchange theory is a sociological and psychological theory that studies the social behavior in the interaction of two parties that implement a costbenefit analysis to determine risks and benefits. Later, sociologists peter blau and richard emerson further developed the theory. The principles of homans social exchange theory enable. If you already know something about exchange theory then you wont learn much by reading it. Sociologist george homans 1961 and peter blau were the first to find out the theory of social exchange theory in the late 1950s and early 1960s. To consider social behavior as an exchange of goods may clarify the relations among four bodies of theory. Understanding the social exchange theory with realworld. There are basically two main fundamental properties the one is selfinterest and the other is interdependence. While social exchange theory is found in economics and psychology, it was first developed by the sociologist george homans, who wrote about it in a 1958 essay titled social behavior as exchange. Since its publication as social behavior as exchange, several other theorists like peter blau, richard emerson, john thibaut, and harold kelley have contributed to the theory.
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