How can social exchange and dialectical theory be combined to predict the future of a

Question

relationship?

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

This question can be answered a number of ways, but an answer should reflect not only
an understanding of both theories but how they can be used together to understand how decisions
to initiate, continue, or discontinue a relationship are made. Some students may argue that
neither theory is adequate for predicting the outcome of a relationship but that combined they
seem to tell a more complete story.
* Social exchange theory argues that people weigh the costs and rewards of a relationship to
make decisions about the future of a relationship. But what do they weigh? One explanation
could be that the dialectical tensions are the sources from which costs and rewards stem. For
example, each tension will be different for every person, but each person will weigh the benefits
of connectedness versus the cost to autonomy for any relationship they engage in.
* The same argument could be made in the other direction using dialectical theory as the
foundation for the combination of the two theories. For example, the evaluation of the value of a
relationship might be based on how the costs and rewards between the three tensions balance out.