george c. homans, who died in 1982, developed one of the earliest versions of social exchange theory.
who that died in 1982 developed one of the earliest versions of social exchange theory?
george c. homans
during the beginning of this theory, the most comprehensive social exchange theories are those of the american social psychologists john w. thibaut (1917–1986) and harold h. kelley (1921–2003), the american sociologists george c. homans (1910–1989), peter m. blau (1918–2002), richard marc emerson (d. 1982), and claude lévi-strauss (1908–2009). he defined social exchange as the exchange of activity, tangible or intangible, and more or less rewarding or costing between at least two persons. after homans founded the theory, other theorists continued to write about it, particularly peter m. blau and richard m. emerson, who in addition to homans are generally thought of as the major developers of the exchange perspective within sociology. homans' work emphasized the individual behavior of actors in interaction with one another. although there are various modes of exchange, homans centered his studies on dyadic exchange. john thibaut and harold kelley are recognized for focusing their studies within the theory on the psychological concepts, the dyad and small group. lévi-strauss is recognized for contributing to the emergence of this theoretical perspective from his work on anthropology focused on systems of generalized exchange, such as kinship systems and gift exchange.
social exchange theory
social exchange theory views exchange as a social behavior that may result both in economic and social outcomes. social exchange theory has been generally analyzed by comparing human interactions with the marketplace. the study of the theory from the microeconomics perspective is attributed to blau. under his perspective every individual is trying to maximize his wins. blau stated that once this concept is understood, it is possible to observe social exchanges everywhere, not only in market relations, but also in other social relations like friendship. social exchange process brings satisfaction when people receive fair returns for their expenditures. the major difference between social and economic exchange is the nature of the exchange between parties. neoclassic economic theory views the actor as dealing not with another actor but with a market and environmental parameters, such as market price. unlike economic exchange, the elements of social exchange are quite varied and cannot be reduced to a single quantitative exchange rate. according to stafford, social exchanges involve a connection with another person; involve trust and not legal obligations; are more flexible; and rarely involve explicit bargaining.
social exchange theory