Social Exchange Theory

                                            When we start calculating the impact and outcome of a relationship and then act according to the result, is what Social Exchange Theory is all about. Social exchange theory was introduced in 1958 by the sociologist George Homans with the publication of his work "Social Behavior as Exchange". He defined social exchange as the exchange of activity, tangible or intangible, and more or less rewarding or costly, between at least two persons. Social exchange theory highly speaks that our social behavior is the result of an exchange process. And the real purpose of this exchange is to maximize benefits and minimize costs. Benefits are what we achieve out of the relationship, good things such as passion, love, friendship, social support, fun, care, return of the favor and etc, were as Costs is the negative response that we receive from the relationship such as loss of money, less or no return of same affection or favors, time consuming, one sided or meaningless. In deciding what is right, we often develop a comparison level against which we weigh the give and take ratio. This level will differ between relationships, with some being more giving and others where we get more from the relationship. They will also differ drastically in what is given and received.

                       According to this theory, people weigh the potential benefits and risks of social relationships. When the risks outweigh the rewards, people will terminate or walk out of that relationship.

Social exchange theory eventually suggests that we often take the benefits and minus the costs, in order to come to the conclusion of how much a relationship is worth. The relationships in which the benefits outweigh the costs are the Positive ones, were as the relationships in which the costs are greater than the benefits are the negative ones.