The purpose of this paper is to describe an intuitively appealing continuum along which motives relevant to situations of social interdependence may be located. Aditionally, it is argued that individuals differ in terms of their positions on this continuum, and that such differences are important to a general theory of bargaining. The argument is…

The explanatory cornerstone of most currently viable social theories is a strict cost-gain assumption. The clearest formal explication of this view is contained in subjective expected utility models (SEU), in which individuals are assumed to scale their subjective likelihood estimates of decisional consequences and the personalistic worth or…

Three variables, derived from Blau's (1955) analysis of consultation networks among federal agents and Homans' (1961) social exchange analysis, were manipulated to observe their effects on help seeking. Subjects were presented with a hypothetical situation where help was needed. Subjects indicated that they would be more likely to seek help from a…

Social exchange theory was employed to predict instigative helping behavior as a function of two types of resources available to the recipient for reciprocation (social and non-social). The possibility of influencing reciprocation of both types of resources produced significant increases in subjects' helping. (Author)

This paper discusses the conceptualization of interpersonal power and offers a relational definition and measure of power. A distinction is made between "power attempts" (domineering message behavior) and "power" (transactional patterns of dominance). To test this distinction, 45 husband/wife dyads were randomly sampled from a…

The interactional aspects of support within social networks of the elderly were investigated with a particular focus on the role which reciprocal exchanges play in defining the nature of the support channeled along the links in the network. The sample consisted of 50 adults, 55-83 years of age, living in an urbanized region of North Carolina.…

The construct Interpersonal Orientation (IO) refers to the degree to which a person is responsive to the interpersonal aspects of his relationships with other people. A self-report measure of IO was devised whose construct validity was supported by correlational data. Two experiments were conducted to assess the potential usefulness of IO in…