The Social Exchange Theory

The Social Exchange Theory

Everyday interactions people are always looking to have a positive experience with those whom they interact with. According to Thibaut and Kelly, the Social Exchange Theory (SET) explains when and why individuals continue to develop some personal relationships while ending other (Dainton & Zelley, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to apply the Social Exchange Theory on how it can, did, or should be applied to a scenario at hand. In applying the SET to a function that it has in everyday life, I will look at a personal interaction that involves my wife and I. Like every relationship, there are times when problems arise and arguments are started over the smallest of issues. We have been having our share of ups and downs with work, and we both brought that negative home as we vented to one another of what was going on. This for some reason lead to us arguing and disagreeing on whose issue was greater. This continued on for a couple of days and one day it escalated to a blowout argument in which she was angry that I would not give her the support and be there for her. I personally had reached that point of being angry with her for being angry. All that I wanted was her support, and instead, all that I received was a guilt trip about how I was not there for her when she needed me. At the same time, my issues that I was having been swept under the rug, which added to my aggression as it turned into all about her. I was able to calm myself down and at the same time, get in a few sentences to tell her that we need to talk. After five minutes of talking or rather complaining about the situation, we both were able to agree to disagree. In an instance the two of us had the realization, as many couples do, that it just was not working and the negatives far outweighed the positives. There was no minimizing the negative outcomes because everything had a negative ending. We were able to learn from that moment that all we were doing was fighting...