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PSY424: - L3

Jan 23, 2023, 10 min read

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Interdependency: which exists when we need others and they need us in order to obtain valuable interpersonal rewards.

  • Social Exchange
    • Interdependence theory offers an economic view of relationships that involves social exchange in which partners provide each other desirable rewards.
    • Rewards and Costs:
      • Rewards are gratifying and costs are punishing. The net profit or loss from an interaction is its outcome.
    • What Do We Expect from Our Relationships:
      • People have comparison levels that reflect their expectations for their interactions with others. When the outcomes they receive exceed their CLs, they’re satisfied, but if their outcomes fall below their CLs, they’re discontent.
    • How Well Could We Do Elsewhere:
      • People also judge the outcomes available elsewhere using a comparison level for alternatives . When the outcomes they receive exceed their CL_alt, they can’t do better elsewhere, and they’re dependent on their current partners.
    • Four Types of Relationships:
      • Comparing people’s s and s with their outcomes yields four different relationship states: happy and stable; happy and unstable; unhappy and stable; and unhappy and unstable.
    • and as Time Goes By:
      • People adapt to the outcomes they receive, and relationships can become less satisfying as the partners’ CLs rise. Cultural influences shape both our expectations and our CLalt s.
  • The Economies of Relationships
    • Counting up the rewards and costs of a relationship provides extraordinary information about its current state and likely future.
    • Rewards and Costs Are Different:
      • An approach motivation leads us to seek rewards, an avoidance motivation leads us to avoid costs, and the extent to which each is fulfilled defines different relationship states.
    • Rewards and Costs as Time Goes By:
      • A relational turbulence model suggests that new relationships usually encounter a lull when partners adjust to their new status as an established couple. Thereafter, marital satisfaction usually decreases over the first years of marriage. This may be due to the partners’ lack of effort and to the manner in which interdependency magnifies small irritations, and to other routine influences such as unwelcome surprises and unrealistic expectations. Insight may forestall or prevent these problems.
  • Are We Really This Greedy?
    • Both the quality of outcomes one receives and underbenefit, when it occurs, determine how happy and stable a relationship will be.
    • The Nature of Interdependency:
      • Interdependent partners have a stake in keeping each other happy. As a result, generosity toward one’s partner is often beneficial to oneself.
    • Exchange versus Communal Relationships:
      • Exchange relationships are governed by a desire for immediate repayment of favors
      • Communal relationships involve more selfless concern for another’s needs.
    • Equitable Relationships:
      • Equity occurs when both partners gain benefits from a relationship that are proportional to their contributions to it.
      • According to equity theory, people dislike inequity. However, overbenefit is not always associated with reduced satisfaction with a relationship—but underbenefit is.
    • Some People Are Greedier Than Others:
      • Maximizers seek to optimize their outcomes; they remain attentive to their alternative options and so are routinely less committed to their current partners than satisficers are.
  • The Nature of Commitment
    • Commitment is a desire to continue a relationship, and the willingness to maintain it. When people are high in commitment readiness, they commit more completely. The investment model asserts that satisfaction, the quality of one’s alternatives, and the size of one’s investments influence commitment. However, there may be three kinds of commitment: personal, constraint, and moral.
    • The Consequences of Commitment:
      • Committed people take action to protect and maintain their relationships, being accommodating, making sacrifices willingly, and derogating others who might lure them away from their relationships.

Lecture

  • PDF:
  • Social Cognition
    • Textbook topics
      • First impressions
      • Impression management
      • How well we know our partners
    • Define social cognition.
      • Process of perception and judgment with which one make sense of the social world
    • What is the difference between two type of relationship beliefs (destiny vs growth)?
      • Destiny: no action needed, expect relationships just happens (dysfunctional and disadvantageous)
      • Growth: active action needed to built relationship (advantages, adaptive)
    • How is attachment relate to different relationship beliefs as Self-fulfilling prophecies?
    • How we explain behaviour/events (3 perspectives)
      • Attribution factors ^a01f82
        • Internal vs. External
          • Internal: focus causes of behaviour in personality traits
          • External: focus cause of behaviour on situational traits
        • Stable vs unstable
          • Stable: consistant behaviour
          • Unstable: inconsistant behaviour
        • Global vs Specific (controllable vs uncontrollable)
          • Global: same behaviour in all circumstance (same outcome in all situation)
          • Specific: different behaviour according to situations
      • Actor/Observer effect (Fundamental attribution error)
        • Own behaviour: external cause
        • Partner’s behaviour: internal cause
      • Self Enhancement Bias ^6a0606
        • False uniqueness bias (its’ just me)
        • False consensus (共识) bias: (everyone else does it)
    • ★ Draw attribution diagram for happy/unhappy relationship ^58de14
  • Social exchange and interdependency
    • What is social exchange based on?
    • What did social exchange theory propose?
      • All participants in social interactions pursue self-interest by exchanging social goods
      • Assume rational decision on always maximizing reward and minimizing cost
      • Assume choice is made in ones’ own interest (self-centred)
    • What is Interdependence theory about?
      • Interdependence as the defining feature of any relationship
      • The extent to which the behaviours of each partner affect the outcomes of the other
    • What is Interdependence theory and its 3 key components?
      1. Reward, Cost and the resultant outcome
        • Reward (emotional, economic, psychological reward)
        • Cost (emotional, economic, opportunity punishment)
        • What are some complexities in the calculation of outcome
          • Rewards/cost are not equal, research suggest that the ratio is closer to (5 rewards for 1 cost)
      2. Comparison level
      3. Comparison level for alternatives
        • Higher dependency --> lower power
      • What is the key difference between and ?
        • : focus on satisfaction (more emotional, psychological determined, happy or not)
        • : focus on dependency (leave or stay)
      • Why is hard to calculate in real world?
        • increase with desirability and availability of alternative partners OR solitude
        • Barriers (factors outside of a relationship that act to keep partners together ex. culture belief)
        • Amount of investment (Investment Model of Commitment)
          • Money, emotions, asset (children)
    • What are the 4 types of relationships by the Interdependence theory model
    • What are some complexities?
      • : fluctuate with time, experience, and socioeconomic influences
        • Initial level will habituate, expectation change
      • : fluctuate with cultural changes and experience
        • Love is a recent culture value, social media increase alternative comparison levels
        • More likely to notice alternatives if currently unhappy about relationship status
      • Costs
        • Intimate relationship seems to involve more costs
          • Closer the relationship --> higher chance of notice
        • Undesirable events more noticeable and influential than equivalent desirable events
          • Negative bias
        • What intimate partners communicate during disagreements
          • Higher knowledge --> greater chance for emotional/psychological damage
        • Disagreement between partners about meaning and value of rewards
          • Closer relationship --> greater impact with disagreements
        • Rewards and costs have different, separate effects on relationship well-being
          • See appraoch vs avoidance motive
    • What is the difference between approach and avoidance motives ^6d8718
      • Appraoch: obtain positive outcome (reflect rewards)
        • Fulfillment: passionate, invigorating
        • Absence: dull, stagnant
      • Avoidance: avoid negative outcome (reflect cost)
        • Fulfillment: safe, secure
        • Absence: dangerous, threatening
      • Can co-exist
      • Different people have different levels of approach motivation vs avoidance motivation
    • How does rewards & Costs change over time?
      • Satisfaction increase <===> level of involvement increase (beginning)
      • Satisfaction decrease during transition from causal to series involvement
        • Model of Relational Turbulence (Knobloch & Solomon, 2004) proposed period of adjustment
          • Adjust to changes in autonomy
          • Doubts and uncertainties diminish
          • Friends/family adjust
        • Every time changes occur, adjustment period comes in
      • Honey moon effect
        • Satisfaction may be high at the beginning but then it decreases over time
          • Regression to the mean
        • Costs: amount does increase, rather existing cost pronounced
        • Reward: number of reward decrease (Habituation)
  • Mutual influence
    • Define mutual influence and difference with exchange theory
      • We are not only interested in obtaining the best possible outcomes for ourselves, We are also invested in making sure our partner also obtains the best outcomes
    • What are the two types of normal are relationships governed by?
      • Exchange norms
        • Expects immediate repayment of benefits
        • Keep track of personal contributions
        • Concerned for others’ needs only when they can return the favour
      • Communal norms
        • Expect mutual responsiveness to each other’s needs
        • Don’t keep track of personal contributions
        • Concerned for others’ needs only when they can return the favor
      • Can operate within same relationship
    • Define equitable relationships
      • Proportional justice: Each partner gains benefits from the relationship that are proportional to his or her contributions

      • Example

          ```ad-example
  | Relationship    | Partner Target      | Partner Compare     |
  |-----------------|---------------------|---------------------|
  | --              | outome/contribution | outome/contribution |
  | Equal           | $\frac{50}{25}$     | $\frac{100}{50}$    |
  | Underbenefiting | $\frac{60}{50}$     | $\frac{80}{50}$     |
  | Overbenefiting  | $\frac{80}{30}$     | $\frac{80}{50}$     |
  ```
    • What are some consequences of underbenefiting/overbenefiting relationships
      • Under benefiting
        • Partner feeling cheated and exploited
        • Anger & resentment
      • Over benefiting
        • Partner feeling guilty
    • What are some strategies to restore equity
      • Restoring actual equity (communication)
      • Restoring psychological equity (distoring reality)
      • Abandoning the relationship
  • Commitment
    • What are the three underlying themes of commitment?
      • Expectation that relationship will continue
      • See future that involves partner
      • Psychological attachment (happier when partner is happy too)
    • How Social Exchange Theory develop into investment model

Class Quiz

  • Who do you think will be most satisfied with their current relationship?
    • Answer
      • Carla who experiences better outcomes than she thinks she deserves.
    • Carrie who experiences more rewards than costs.
    • Carla who experiences better outcomes than she thinks she deserves.
    • Carmen who believes that she cannot experience better outcomes outside of her current relationship.
    • Camille who experiences worse outcomes than she thinks she deserves.
    • Colette who believes that she can experience better outcomes by being single.
  • According to social exchange theory, which of the following is most important for determining relationship satisfaction?
    • Comparison levels
  • Which of the following is LEAST likely to increase an individual’s comparison level for alternatives?
    • Answer
      • Having a history of rewarding relationships
    • Having a history of rewarding relationships
    • Having more options for working outside of the home
    • Having more opportunities for travel
    • More tolerant attitudes toward divorce
  • In communal relationships, partners keep close track of personal outcomes and contributions (TRUE or FALSE)?
    • FALSE
  • CJ’s current outcomes are higher than his comparison level. According to social exchange, which of the following is TRUE of CJ?
    • CJ is satisfied with his current relationship
  • Since beginning a new job in downtown Toronto, CJ (who has been in a relationship for 6 years) has started to think about the benefits of being single. Which of the following may explain why?
    • Although it started low, CJ’s comparison level for alternatives has now increased above her current outcomes.
  • Who has the highest commitment in a relationship
    • Outcome > CL | CL_ALT, and heavily invested

Active Studying

Summarize today’s lecture

What part I didn’t understand, next step actions?

  • For Self-fulfilling prophecies examples, is there a circle for dismissing attachment types? Since they also need intimacy, just been suppressed, how would this manifest in self-fulfilling prophecies
    • The pre-existing belief is not there for secure and dismissing attachments
    • Only fearful if not able to suppress the desires
  • Differentiate Social Exchange Theory vs Interdependence theory
    • Social exchange is a broader topic, lecture focus in interdependence theory

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