October 31st, Notes on Social Exchange Theory Article (In-Class) (N) People make decisions based on costs and rewards Ex: 2 points on exam if you dressed up for Halloween - Reward is the points, some may have found that more rewarding- Better grade costs getting up early, embarrassment, having to buy a costume- Is outcome more rewarding than costly for you? We think in terms of relationships Humans form interpersonal relationships with expectation of costs and benefits * people motivated by self-interest: we seek rewards, avoid punishment, make decision reward: pleasurable, want to experience more often; what’s rewarding varies person to person, and context of situation cost: something you don’t like or want to experience something you have to give up- ex: spanking, taking away TV for the night- can defer us from wanting to do an activity Individual is constrained by choices Seek to maximize rewards and minimize costs What we think will happen Humans are rational Ability to calculate rewards and costs Gain most reward and fewest costs Profit-rewards greater than costs, loss occurs when costs are greater Then consider alternatives, before acting and choosing- Ex: playing with dolls is not so enjoyable now but it was rewarding at age 10- I use to hate nap time, but now I love naps What is costly to us can vary over time* (ex: the naps) Social relationships characterized by interdependence Give rewards, they give you them Both providing things If you do not think you deserve that much, it might be more satisfying - Ex: abusive relationship- person over time thinks they are not deserving- Ex: people with high self-esteem know they deserve more Compare situations- Ex: everyone seems happier, maybe this isn’t right Alternative Relationships Reciprocity: expect this Seek someone who is similar Ex: romantic relationships (What do you want in a partner?)- Rewards: good heart, driven, caring, selfless, compassionate, giving, open, funny, trustworthy, supportive, family oriented, likes kids - Costs: stubborn, selfish, lying, messy, who pays for the dinner date?- *compability - mate selection and breaking up based on costs and rewards Compliment Sandwiches- Rewards: social approval, autonomy, ambiguity is costly, security is rewarding, money, values, opinions, beliefs, equality Pay off Higher Pay off LowerAlt. Relationship FEW Satisfy and Stable Unsatisfy and Stable Satisfy and Unstable Unsatisfy and Unstable Available (Stability)MANY Nov 5th Continued (O) Stress Definitions- Stressor: EVENT that cannot effectively be managed by the individual’s or family’s usual way of doing things Ex: when moving to another school, having to make new friends, learning new material and catching up Ex: having a child or loss of a family member Ex: having a short time illness or long term, make up work, getting behind, can turn into a pile up - Stress: RESPONSE of distress when our problems exceed our abilities to solve them - Crisis: CONSEQUENCE of not being able to adapt to stress Ex: if your having a divorce, some people cant cope with it well it may lead to depression Ex: having a panic attack, the feeling of not being able to breath Stress may never reach crisis if resources are effectively utilized to resist disruptive change Stressor (event) -> stress (response) -> Crisis (consequence) ABCX Model A (stressor) <-> B (existing resources) <-> C (Perception of A) <-> X (crisis) all three of these things interacting with one another impact the potential for a crisis to occur Family Stress Normal and inevitable Disrupts equilibrium of family functioning - Goes along with general systems theory Family try to cope by attempting to maintain equilibrium Each member has own perception of stressor - Ex: age can impact different stressors, money doesn’t mean the same thing toa 10 year old as a 36 year old does (TIES INTO THE CHRONOSYSTEM) Characteristics of Stressors (A) When there is a stressor, it can be something that originates within the individual (ex: acute illness, loss of job) on a family level (microsystem) (divorce,abuse, moving, having a child) and exosystem (ex: on a community level, a tornado affecting an entire community, wars, recession) Normative: involve developmental or universal challenges most families encounter- Ex: the birth of a child, sending your child to college Nonnormative: involve the idiosyncratic challenges and events not typically present in families - Ex: having a child who has a disability, death of a child, premature death of spouse, getting into a major car accident, substance abuse - Divorce is now becoming NORMATIVE Internal: originate within the family- Ex: abuse within the family, chronic gambling, inability to bear children, mental illness, substance abuse External: originate outside the family - Ex: discrimination, economic depression, natural disasters, robbery Volitional: something we choose and seek out (something we wanted to happen)- Ex: going to college, taking a job promotion, pregnancy Non-volitional: not chosen, not sought out- Ex: laid off of work, pregnancy (if you didn’t want the pregnancy to happen) Acute: last relatively short period of time- ex: natural disasters (tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, fires)- ex: illness (cold, brief illness)- miscarriages, a lot of people are able to move past that. The event is short, but the effects could be longer*** (depends on the nature of the event itself) Chronic: last a long time - Ex: illness (diabetes, cancer) - Ex: economic condition (poverty) - Ex: social conditions (discrimination) - Ex: living near constant danger (volcano) Isolated: single episode- Ex: loss of a job Cumulative: stressor pile-up- Ex: managing bills, looking for another job, decreased social activities More on stress Requires continuous recognition, adjustment, and adaptation Offers potential for both growth and loss Sometimes people can experience distress (negative outcomes) or eustress (positive outcomes) Continued Nov 7 (P) Perception of Stressors/Definition the Family Makes of The Event (C) Meaning or interpretation of the event and its accompanying hardships- Ex: pessimistic --------------- Optimistic Falls on a continuum, one person might have a pessimistic view on a
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