Unit 10: Social Exchange Theory

As we continue working through this class I find myself amazed at how all these moments in my life fall into "theories", but non has as hit more close to home as the social exchange theory. I truly believe that people choose and stay in relationships based on the rewards they are receiving from the relationship. the opposite is true as well, you leave relationships that are becoming to costly for the individual. I also believe that individuals will stay or leave a relationship based on their self-esteem or perception of themselves as an ideal partner. There is a particular movie that comes to mind when I think of this theory and that is Hitch with Will Smith. He is a self-proclaimed dating expert and helps men find their ideal partner with the use of high-risk initiation strategies. That article we read about the study done on individuals who viewed themselves as ideal partners said resulted in high risk for a higher reward. That is what Will Smith's character believed as well. He took men who did not consider themselves ideal partners and guided them into becoming ideal partners for he type of ideal partner they wanted. Ironically he could not ultimately guide his own love life. 

"The biggest risk is not taking any risk...In a world that is changing really quickly, the only strategy that is guaranteed to fail is not taking risk." -Mark Zuckerberg