According to Scott Fitzgerald, “There are all kinds of love in this world, but never the same love twice.” No matter how similar a relationship is, the relationship is still unique in its own way. However, the one thing that each relationship can all equally do is evaluate and assess their relationship according the social exchange theory. “The social exchange theory suggests that people evaluate their interpersonal relationships in terms of their value, which is created by the costs and rewards associated with their relationship” (Abigail & Cahn, 2014). Social exchange theory explains conflict on the basis of the nature of the relationship between the people involved in the relationship. The example of the married couple have a conflict …show more content…
Individuals find that they are in conflict when they believe that the rewards they are receiving are too little in comparison with the costs and efforts that they must pay in the relationship (Abigail & Cahn, 2014). The individual dealing with the martial conflict is finding that the conflict is a result of finding that the rewards in the relationship are a substantial deficient with always coming home to a messy house even with their spouse not working at all compared to the costs and efforts that they are putting into the relationship, like working two jobs just to get …show more content…
Social exchange theory notes that individuals pick their behaviors as a result of self-interest and a desire to maximize rewards while minimizing the cost (Abigail & Cahn, 2014). Nevertheless, it is clear that the example relationship is unsatisfied at this particular moment; however, if the individual that is assessing the relationship using social exchange theory believes that the relationship was good in the past and will satisfy them in the future then they will not immediately leave the relationship despite the present argument. The individual will benefit from discussing their relational dissatisfaction problems with their spouse. By addressing these dissatisfaction problems with their spouse they are participating in cooperative joint action, which is defined as, “both people agree together to making changes in the relationship” (Abigail & Cahn, 2014). The fate of the outcome lies between the couple and how the power is held between each person in the relationship. If this individual has the hopes of staying in the relationship then they will work to increase the rewards so they are relative to the costs. However, if the cost continues to rise without an increase in rewards for this individual