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Rewards and Costs in Relationships

Among general social-psychological theories that have been applied to social and personal relationship processes, reinforcement-based theories have been most explicit in addressing rewards and costs in relationships. Reinforcement-based theories owe a considerable debt to B. F. Skinner's operant reinforcement theory, which emphasizes the impact of the physical and social environments on individuals' behavior. Reinforcement-based theories can be classified into three major categories: (1) social exchange perspectives (George Homans's social exchange theory, Uriel and Edna Foa's Resource-Exchange Theory), (2) equity perspectives (J. Stacey Adams's Equity Theory, Elaine Hatfield and G. William Walster's Equity Theory), and (3) interdependence perspectives (John Thibaut and Harold Kelley's Interdependence Theory, Caryl Rusbult's Investment Model). This entry defines the concepts of rewards and costs, and it compares and contrasts theoretical perspectives on rewards and costs. Also, drawing on research by Constantine Sedikides, Mary Beth Oliver, and Keith Campbell, this entry provides a critique of reinforcement-based theories of rewards and costs.

Social Exchange Perspectives on Rewards and Costs

According to Homans's social exchange theory, a reward is anything that an individual considers agreeable, whereas a cost is anything that an individual considers disagreeable. For example, the receipt of money constitutes a reward for the individual, whereas the giving of money constitutes a cost for the individual. Likewise, the receipt of esteem constitutes a reward for the individual, whereas the giving of esteem constitutes a cost for the individual. In Homans's social exchange theory, principles of economic transactions govern social interactions in general (e.g., in order for one person to obtain a reward, another person must incur a cost). To the extent that an individual perceives a relationship as more rewarding than costly over time, the individual is likely to remain involved in that relationship.

Foa and Foa's Resource-Exchange Theory retains the concepts of rewards and costs as defined in Homans's social exchange theory. However, Foa and Foa's Resource-Exchange Theory builds on Homans's social exchange theory by defining a commodity or resource as anything that the individual perceives as rewarding when gained and costly when lost. Moreover, Foa and Foa's Resource-Exchange Theory not only distinguishes between social and personal relationships, but also distinguishes between tangible and intangible commodities or resources. Social and personal relationships alike are characterized by the give and take of tangible resources (e.g., money, information, services), but personal relationships are unique in that they also are characterized by the give and take of intangible resources (e.g., love, support, esteem). Unlike tangible resources, intangible resources may be given without necessarily entailing a loss for either partner (e.g., by giving love to her or his spouse, an individual may experience greater self-love).

Equity Perspectives on Rewards and Costs

In Adams's Equity Theory, rewards are renamed as positive outcomes, whereas costs are renamed as negative outcomes. However, the premise that rewards/positive outcomes can be distinguished from costs/negative outcomes on the basis of the individual's perception of social interactions as agreeable versus disagreeable remains unchanged. Adams's Equity Theory builds on Homans's original version of social exchange theory by making it clear that ongoing social and personal relationships are not necessarily based on equal investments by partners. In both Adams's Equity Theory and Homans's original version of social exchange theory, an investment is anything that individuals have put into the relationship that subsequently entitles them to rewards. In response to Adams's Equity Theory, Homans's revised version of social exchange theory likewise acknowledges that investments by partners need not be equal. According to Adams's Equity Theory and Homans's revised version of social exchange theory, as long as partners agree in advance regarding inequality of investments, both partners will be inclined to remain in their relationships to the extent that they receive a fair return on their investments.

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