Outline one theory of the maintenance of relationships. The social exchange theory (Thibaut and Kelley) revolves around profit and loss within relationships.

Evaluate two theories of the maintenance of romantic relationships (16 marks)

Many of the studies associated with the social exchange theories have been characterized by other contrived methodologies, which lack in ecological validity. Ragsdale and Brandau-Brown (2007) reject the claim that equity is the key factor of relationship satisfaction. They believe that this claim does not reflect the ways that partners, in a long-term relationship behave with respect to each other. For example, Feeney et al. (1994) found that equity theory failed to predict relationship satisfaction because it fails to take into account the variance in the contexts of modern-day relationships.

A lack of consistent empirical support is evident as Clark and Mills (1979) identified two different styles of couples: the ‘communal couple’ and the ‘exchange couple’. In the communal couple, concern and positive regard for the other motivates giving; only in the exchange couple is there kind of ‘score-keeping’ that is predicted by exchange theory. People in communal relationships do have some concern over equity, but they are more relaxed over what it compromises. They tend to think that in a relationship, rewards and costs eventually balance out and equity is achieved.

There also seem to be gender differences as Prins et al. (1993) found that among Dutch couples, inequity in a relationship had different consequences for males and females. Males who perceived inequity in their relationship did not express the desire to have an affair nor did they report they had done so. Women, however, were more likely to respond to perceived inequity in their relationships by considering an extra-marital affair and more reported they had done so for just this reason. Other research (e.g. Kahn et al. (1980) has found that men are more likely to focus on the norm of equity in relationships, i.e. what you get out of a relationship should be more or less equal to what you put in. Women, on the other hand, were more likely to focus on the norm of equality (i.e. both partners should receive equal amounts of benefits regardless of how much they put into the relationship.)

Culture differences also seem to be evident. Work carried out in societies other than North America tends to give little support for the equity theory. Lujansky and Mikula (1983) found no equity effects on romantic relationships in Austria. Gergen et al. identified that whereas American students preferred equity (a constant ratio of rewards to inputs). European students preferred equality. Moghaddam et al argued that the emphasis on exchange and equality is a reflection of the dominant values of North America, where these theories of social relationships were developed.

Rasbult’s investment model has been supported by numerous studies. The Meta –analysis by Le and Agnew (2003) found that external influences, such as alternatives and investments (anything put into a relationship) are individually less predictive of commitment to a relationship than internal factors, such as satisfaction (rewards minus costs). The meta-analysis also highlighted its relevance for participants from different ethnic groups and both homosexual and heterosexual relationships. Strength of using a meta-analysis is that the reliance on single studies is reduced by combining the results of several studies investigating similar research hypotheses; it allows researchers to gain an important overview of research in a specific area. By using a meta-analysis increases the reliability of a study. This is because the researcher is simply repeating a previous study using the same methods but with different subjects and experimenters. A weakness of using a meta-analysis is that it relies on published studies, which, given the publication bias towards publishing only studies that show positive results, may show an overall effect that is not really indicative of relationships in real life.

Rusbult and Martz (1995) applied the investment model to abusive relationships. They found women did not leave when the abuse began as they felt the greatest commitment to their relationship when their economic alternatives (money) were poor and their investment was great.

This is at best a partial account. There are no account for biology, genes and neurotransmitters or learned behaviours.