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Social exchange theory peter george
Social exchange theory peter george
Social exchange theory
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The social exchange theory is prevalent within the three main characters in the novel Road Ends by Mary Lawon. The exchange theory is the idea that an individual makes a choice by weighing out the costs and benefits of a situation (Families in Canada, 2007. Pg. 42). Megan, Edward, and Tom all find themselves in very troubling situations, where they must examine what they have to offer and make a decision according to the costs and benefits. Megan often finds herself putting the benefits of others above what is best for her. Edward, her father, tries to shelter others from himself, but he only ends up hurting them more, instead of contributing all of his affection to them. Tom holds a more selfish view on the world, which impacts his ability to properly examine all the factors that affect his situation. …show more content…
Megan’s complicated life applies to the social exchange theory because she puts a lot of thought into leaving home. When she first made the decision, her mother had just given birth to Adam, so Megan decided that it was in the best interest of her mother to wait until everything was settled before she would leave. “‘That was a year and a half ago’ Megan said, flipping the pastry pastry over and rolling it out again. ‘I had to put it off because after Adam was born you weren’t well. And then Adam got whooping cough, so I put it off again. The Peter and Corey got flu. Then you got flu…’” (Lawson, 2013. pg 12). Megan is aware that leaving home would have a significant impact on her family, however, she figured that if she left at the right time, she would be able to reap the most benefits, with potentially less of a cost. She knew that leaving was the best course of action for her to develop into an adult. Another time that the Exchange theory is evident in Megan's life, is when she decides to leave Lansdown Terrace. She was grateful for being allowed to reside there, especially as she did not
The Other Side of the Bridge by Mary Lawson is a book that depicts two different people, that mainly focuses on jealousy, rivalry and the power of obsession over half a century. There are many characters in the novel and they build relationships with one another that eventually become intertwined. The relationships that are built end up having an effect on the character, and contributes something different to his understanding of himself and the decisions he makes. Ian in the novel is an example of that, where the relationships he builds with the others, helps him find who he is as a person and affects the decisions he makes. Specifically through the relationships with Pete, his father, and Jake, he gains something different from each character which proves to be vital to who he is. Without these characters, Ian would be very different, as each character contributed something to Ian’s ultimate understanding of himself.
On July 20, 1958, a doctor by the name of Artemio Bracho contemplated the idea of a World Friendship Day. The World Friendship is a foundation that honors friendship and fellowship among all human beings, regardless of race, color or religion. This day has been recognized in several countries and is used today. Friendship is established on loyalty and being there for your friend in their time of need. In Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson, the protagonist, Isabel, created several relationships with other characters that were constructed on loyalty.
McGuire, Danielle L. At the Dark End of the Street: Black Women, Rape, and Resistance- A New History of the Civil Rights Movement from Rosa Parks to the Rise of Black Power. New York, New York: Vintage Books. 2011.
In I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak, the main character Ed is a nineteen-year-old cab driver in Australia who has never amounted to anything. One day, while with his three best friends, an event occurs that forever changes his life. While in a bank, they are held up at gunpoint. Ed ends up stopping the criminal and saving the day. Days later, as the bank robber’s trial is ending, he tells Ed that he is “a dead man… [And to] [r]emember it every day when [he] look[s] in the mirror” (Zusak 38). This overlooked statement by the reader comes back in the end of the novel to reveal an important message that “everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of” (535). Before attending the trial though, Ed begins to receive playing cards with addresses, names, times, and movie titles on them that require him to complete tasks, which challenge him in more ways than he could ever imagine. In the short story “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, the two characters, Lane and Sheri, are faced with a situation that changes their lives as well; Sheri is pregnant with Lane’s baby. Even though Lane’s and Sheri’s situation is a little different than that of Ed’s, they relate greatly as all the characters are forced to make decisions that can alter the rest of their lives. In the novel, morality is used to accomplish self-discovery and growth of Ed’s personality by pushing his boundaries, and in the short story “Good People” by David Foster Wallace, morality is used to accomplish growth and the realization of consequences of one’s actions by placing the young couple in a faith questioning situation no adolescent wants to face.
Jean Anyon’s “Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work” claims that students from different social classes are treated differently in schools. Anyon’s article is about a study she conducted to show how fifth graders from the working, middle, and upper class are taught differently. In Anyon’s article, she provides information to support the claim that children from different social classes are not given the same opportunities in education. It is clear that students with different socio-economic statuses are treated differently in academic settings. The curriculum in most schools is based on the social class that the students belong to. The work is laid out based on academic professionals’ assumptions of students’ knowledge. Teachers and educational professionals assume a student’s knowledge based on their socio-economic status.
In 2012, there were an estimated 14,827 murders and non-negligent manslaughter crimes reported by all agencies in the United States according to the Uniform Crime Report at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Murder and non-negligent manslaughter are defined “as the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another.” A 1.1 percent increase occurred from 2011 to 2012. But it should be noted, this is a 9.9 percent drop from the figure for 2008 and a 10.3 percent decrease from the number of murders recorded in 2003. Of the murders that occurred in 2012, it is estimated that 43.6 percent were reported in the south, 21.0 percent were from the Midwest, 21.0 percent were accounted from the west, and 14.2 percent were from the northeast of the United States. There were 4.7 murders for every 100,000 people in 2012. The murder rate went up 0.4 percent from 2011 to 2012. It went down in 2008 by 12.8 percent and dropped 16.9 percent from 2003. The majority of offenders were over the age of eighteen and they accounted for 9,096 of offenders in 2012. According to the Uniform Crime Report, the number of offenders who murdered in 2012 totaled 14,581. The majority of these offenders were male, totaling 9,425. Female offenders totaled 1,098, and 4,058 were unknown offenders. Black males topped the list as far as race was concerned with 5,531 committing murder. White males followed with 4,582 offenders. There were 4,228 classified as race unknown regarding offenders who murdered in 2012. The victim data reported was 9,917 male victims and 2,834 female victims. Of those victims, 11,549 were over the age of eighteen.
Although in society humans are ranked based on social statuses, by the end of the day everyone is in the same boat. As human nature, people have a tendency of categorizing others and themselves as a way to distinguish separate classes when in reality there really is no difference. The author uses this idea as a way of showing the differences between social classes and how they are perceived to be. Throughout the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, the author shows how completely different people’s lives are, yet they always seem to find that one similarity where the boundary line between them does not exist. This creates the idea that everyone ends up seeing the same sunset no matter who they are and what rank they may have in society. As the
Organisms differ in their anatomical structures, environments, habits and qualities. But a commonality that all living organisms share is the desire to survive. Survival is necessary for the continuation of any species and obviously, necessary for life. “Survival of the fittest” is a theory that was introduced by Charles Darwin, but many American novels have proven that being the “fittest” is not the only component to survival. In novels, such as The Road by Cormac McCarthy and The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, one very important factor involved with survival is the bonds between people. William Glasser, an American psychiatrist that developed reality therapy and choice theory, stated that, “We are driven by five genetic needs: survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun.” But the two novels create a bridge between survival and “love and belonging”, expressing the extent to which family and friendship inspire one’s urge to survive as well as the actions and emotions that ensue as one struggles to live.
Throughout The Road by Cormac McCarthy the father insists that the journey along the road is one he and his son must make alone, for trusting strangers is too risky when they have no way of knowing the good people from the bad. In my essay I will discuss if it is worth risking everything for a chance to make their lives better. I will determine this by examining the kinds of risks taken (and not taken) throughout the book, and by looking at what influenced the decision to take or not take those risks. I will conclude that the father and son must risk contact with others because it is their only hope for changing their current doomed fate.
In the Chapter 3 of “The Reality of Social Construction”, Dave Elder-Vass examines the academic views about culture and rules. He calls cultural realism the view according to which culture and rules exist independently of people. In this chapter, the author explains the reason why he does not agree with the academic view of culture.
Why do others get to decide the titles of those different than them? Judith Butler the writer of “Beside Oneself: On the Limits of Sexual Autonomy” makes great points about ethics and the definition of many beliefs that are changed when needed. Butler points out that humans are depended on each other and are often each other’s undoing. The first step to be taken is learning how to treat each other with respect. Humans need to work on learning that if something is not endangering them they should leave it alone. Even though America may not want to deal with people who are different, it is easy to agree with Judith Butler because the definition of a human is often changeable and The LGBTQ community carries the same emotions as anyone else.
Many talk about the road less traveled; however, words mean nothing without the follow through of commitment. The rare person who is able to follow their true calling in life, must be totally focused on their goal and objectives without distraction, walks alone.
To think of pulling the plug on a loved one’s life can be without a doubt unthinkable. To be denied the right to end one’s own life or be granted to live longer creates a dilemma. By just reading the title “The Promise” you’d believe this poem would be about an ordinary promise made, yet this promise shares a scary depth to it. This poem is an intriguing poem for the words, ideas, and images that are not usually talked about by people can be appreciated by many. Its meanings layered upon each other to depict deep emotions people are discussing in today’s world. The hard choice to make of ending life when it has no meaning left would be daunting. In the poem “The Promise” by Sharon Olds, this is what is asked of her, and not only of her but
...eir relationships. This theory has predictive power in that it predicts that when outcomes are perceived to be greater individuals self-disclose more. It is amazing to me that since learning about the social exchange theory I can now see that it can be applied to almost any situation. People act with other people in fully realizing that their acts will be noticed and in some way shared. After doing this research I can fully say that social exchange theory was my favorite to learn about. The main point that I take away from social exchange theory is I think that one of the strengths is that it does very closely describe and give us an idea of one of the foundations of a relationship. I think that the reward part of the relationship and cost is one of the reasons relationships are started or stopped. The social exchange theory does a good job of explaining that.
Harrington described social theories as analytical frameworks or models used to examine different social phenomena. The term ‘social theory’ includes ideas about ‘how societies change and develop, about methods of explaining social behaviour, about power and social structure, gender and ethnicity, modernity and ‘civilisation’, revolutions and utopias’ (Harrington 2005,) When looking at social theory today, certain central themes take precedence over others, themes such as the nature of social life, the relationship between self and society, the structure of social institutions, the role and possibility of social transformation, as well as themes such as gender, race and class (Elliot, 2008)