Social Exchange Theory

Book Title

Essays in Developmental Psychology

Author(s)

William Goulart, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Lisa K. Lashley, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow
Charles J. Golden, Nova Southeastern UniversityFollow

Document Type

Essay

Publication Date

2020

Editors

Randall Summers, Charles Golden, Lisa Lashley, & Erica Ailes

Keywords

human interactions, rewards and exchanges, social exchange theory, social psychology, sociology

Description

Excerpt

Exchange theory originated in the field of sociology in the 1920s. However, since the late 1950s and early 1960s, social exchange theory has been a major school of thought in the field of both social psychology and sociology. This is largely due to the work of George Homans, John Thibaut, Harold Kelley, and Peter Blau. Social exchange theory describes all human interactions as a series of trades or exchanges of rewards between actors.

Additional Information

This is one in a collection of essays as part of a project that began as an encyclopedia of developmental psychology coordinated by Dr. Randall Summers. However, for unforeseen reasons, the publisher was no longer in a position to publish the encyclopedia. This project was undertaken so that thousands of hours of work by psychologists would not go wasted. Enjoy these essays and feel free to cite them using the proper format.

Submit suggestions for corrections and topics to goldench@nova.edu.

Disciplines

Psychology

NSUWorks Citation

Goulart, W., Lashley, L. K., Golden, C. J. (2020). Social Exchange Theory. Essays in Developmental Psychology.
Available at: https://nsuworks.nova.edu/cps_facbooks/744

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