Definition
A broad conceptual paradigm that aims to predict how social interactions and relationships are built, maintained, and ended
Introduction
Social exchange theory refers to a broad conceptual paradigm for understanding social interaction, which can be found in a number of social science disciplines including, for example, social psychology, anthropology, management, and sociology. It is therefore not a single theory of social exchange (Barbalet 2017) but can be better thought of as a family of conceptual models (Cropanzano et al. 2017; Cropanzano and Mitchell 2005). These conceptual models aim to predict how social interactions and relationships are built, maintained, and ended (Agnew and Lehmiller 2007). According to social exchange theories, social life involves a series of sequential interactions between two or more parties (individuals or institutions), in which resources, material and nonmaterial, are exchanged (Homans 1958). Over time, these interdependent, reciprocal...
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References
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Bosak, J. (2019). Social Exchange Theory. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1999-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1999-1
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