Outline and Evaluate two theories on the formation of relationships.

The stages of relationships goes from Attraction then leading to formation then leading to maintenance and breakdown/dissolution.

One theory being the Reinforcement affect theory states it is a behavioural method of learning. It states operant conditioning where people weigh up rewards directly like psychological needs and hence explained BY operating conditioning. People who are rewarding are liked usually more than the ones who do not reward regularly and normally chosen as potential partners for relationships because they are associated with feeling good rather than the not so rewarding person who could be associated with an unhappy event, they would not be very desirable at all. If the person in question was met ‘in a good mood’ at the time then this is highly more appealing then when met in a bad mood and then is associated with our own good mood and hence more likely to be willing for a formation of a relationship, this is known as ‘the affect’. An indirect reward associated with pleasant circumstances could be explained by classical conditioning as well. Finally reinforcement such as a person could be associated with reinforcement for example providing it; these particular people are liked more and again more likely to enter into a relationship. There are certain human needs which affect social behaviour. Some of these are self-esteem (being valued by others), affiliation (seeking approval) and dominancy (decision making for others). There are also limitations to this model. One being in non-western cultures reinforcement doesn’t seem to appear to play any significant role in relationship building. A good example is Hill found kinship bonds are a lot more important than any satisfaction of one’s individual needs. So this theory mainly only applies for western cultures where ‘goods’ and physical possessions are important.

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A second model could be the social exchange theory. It suggests relations are developed on the basis of subjective cost - benefit analysis. People exchange resources with the expectation that the ‘reward’ will excel over the cost. The reward from a relationship could include sex and being cared for. A cost could be for example effort or a financial investment or a ‘missed’ opportunity with others. This theory says a relationship produces a profit, and is calculated with rewards minus costs and should produce a positive outcome. The social exchange theory predicts any commitment to the relationship is dependent on the profitability of the outcome. There is a comparison level (CL) that we presumably use where it helps us judge a new relationship and weather its likely to be worthwhile. The CL is a product of our own experiences brought together from other relationships and shows the potential profit in a new relationship and if it exceeds our own CL, then it is seen as a worthwhile action. There is a comparison level for alternatives (CLa) where a person may weigh up any potential increase in rewards for different partners and less costs associated with ending current relationship. If the profit is then significantly higher in a new relationship then could end up ending it for the new one with higher profit involved.

Finally there are stages in relationship, the first being sampling, where a person considers cost and rewards of a new relationship and compares this to others. The second is bargaining, this is where partners give and receive rewards which test weather a more long term relationship could possibly be worthwhile. The third is commitment where partners know how to elicit rewards from each other and the costs are then lowered. The final stage is institutionalisation where norms are developed which then establish a pattern of cost and rewards.

With this model come limitations which include such as this theory sees people as only being interested or motivated by their own selfish concerns and therefore may only apply to a relationship in an individualist society and not collectivist ones. The research suggested that people are more motivated by the need for a balance of cost and reward then simply trying to fully obtain as much profit as possible. This social exchange theory has been used to explain why some women or even men stay in abusive relationships because they simply balance up leaving there abusive partner as being more costly than staying with them. Rusbult and Martz (1995) augured that if investments are high for example young children and alternatives are low like a divorce would lead to a poorer living condition then at present; this makes it less profitable and therefore stay in the relationship.

However a strength of this theory could be this theory does explain individual differences in the way people respond to relationships. A study of student friendships found that as much value to rewarding others was as much as to giving. A key factor could be there needs to be a stable equality with giving AND receiving. This could mean equality is more important than wanting to maximise personal benefits. There may be gender differences that could affect the validity of this model. Men might be as attentive as women but in a different way, for example dealing with everyone’s feelings minus their own.

Aaron Chamberlain