Social Exchange Theory Application to Advance Nursing2 Essay

Social Exchange Theory: Application to Advance Nursing Anita Thigpen Perry School of Nursing Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Social Exchange Theory: Application to Advance Nursing Both sociology and psychology try to explain why human beings do what they do, and act in the manner in which they do. Social Exchange theory attempts to explain how we interact with one another and what we get from those interactions. The purpose of this paper is to look at how Social Exchange theory relates to advance practice nursing. I will discuss George C. Homans social exchange theory (Homans, 1958, p. 597) and how it applies to small groups. I will also discuss the theorist’s background, the studies and articles that led to his†¦show more content†¦It is assumed that most socially significant behavior will not be repeated unless it is reinforced by being rewarded in some way. Then in 1964 Peter Blau published his book titled â€Å"Exchange and Power in Social Life† (Blau, 1964). Peter Blau put more emphasis on technical economic analysis. â€Å"Groups are held together by exchange of benefits in a manner analogous to that in which an economy is held together by mutual advantage in exchange† (Spread, 1984, p. 157). George Homans theory focused upon the psychology of behavior. Before going off to war Mr. Homans began to work on a classification system of naming the variables of his model. â€Å"My first sketch of my three-fold classification first appeared in the last chapter of my English Villagers of the Thirteenth Century(1941), where it was wholly out of place†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Homans, 1983, p. 16). He continued to work on this while in the Navy and during a lull in activity wrote them out â€Å"†¦interaction, sentiment, and activity. An intellectual boundary might be drawn around any social system such as a group. Within this boundary the three classes of variables were mutually dependent on one another in the behavior of the members†(Homans, 1983, p. 17). After the war Mr. Homans returned to Harvard, being offered an Associate Professorship prior to his leaving the service. He