Social Exchange Networks Research Articles

Household Production and Symptoms of Stress in Post‐Soviet Russian Villages1

Abstract This paper examines the impact of human capital (the number of working age household members), social capital (social exchange helping networks and community integration), technological capital (use of mechanical agricultural tools), and village of residence on stratification of Russian peasant households in the post‐Soviet era. Findings from a 1995 survey of households in three Russian villages show that the number of working age adults in the household has the strongest influence on household agricultural production. Social capital and technological capital also are associated with differences in the amount of sales obtained from household production. One village, which is located in an oblast (province) which has a program to assist peasant households had substantially higher agricultural production than did the other two villages which are located in oblasti without such programs. The number of working age adults in the household, social exchange networks, and community attachment are negatively associated with symptoms of stress, while higher village levels of production are associated with higher average levels of symptoms of stress in the village. The implications of the findings for the future of Russian agriculture and Russian rural village life are discussed.

Sociological Perspectives on Social Psychology.

I. THE PERSON AND SOCIAL INTERACTION. 1. Building Blocks and the Quadrant of Action, Gary Alan Fine. 2. Biology and Social Psychology: Beyond Nature vs. Nurture, Jane A. Pillavin and Paul C. LePore. 3. Self and Identity, Viktor Gecas & Peter J. Burke. 4. Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviors, Howard Schuman. 5. Social Cognition, Judith A. Howard. 6. The Sociology of Affect and Emotion, Lynn Smith-Lovin. 7. Language, Action, and Social Interaction, Douglas W. Maynard & Marilyn R. Whalen. 8. Social Interaction: Continuities and Complexities in the Study of Non-Intimate Sociality, Lyn H. Lofland. II. SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND GROUP PROCESSES. 1. Introduction to Section II: Social Interaction and Social Structure, Karen S. Cook. 2. Social Exchange and Exchange Networks, Linda D. Molm & Karen S. Cook. 3. Bargaining and Influence in Conflict, Edward J. Lawler & Rebecca Ford. 4. Justice and Injustice, Karen A. Hegtvedt & Barry Markovsky. 5. Status Structures, Cecilia L. Ridgeway & Henry A. Walker. 6. Social Dilemmas, Toshio Yamagishi. 7. Group Decision Making, H. Andrew Michener & Michelle P. Wasserman. 8. Sex Category and Gender in Social Psychology, Mary Glenn Wiley. III. SOCIAL STRUCTURES, SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS, AND THE INDIVIDUAL. 1. Introduction to Part III: Social Structure and Personality: Past, Present, and Future, James S. House. 2. Comparative Social Psychology: Cross-Cultural and Cross-National, Karen Miller-Loessi. 3. The Development and Socialization of Children and Adolescents, William A. Corsaro & Donna Eder. 4. Adult Lives in a Changing Society, Glen H. Elder, Jr., & Angela M. O'Rand. 5. Social Stratification and Mobility Processes: The Interaction between Individuals and Social Structures, Alan C. Kerckhoff. 6. The Social Psychology of Work, Jeylan T. Mortimer & John Lorence. 7. The Social Psychology of Deviance and Law, V. Lee Hamilton & David Rauma. 8. Social Psychology and Health, Ronald C. Kessler, James S. House, Renee Anspach, & David R. Williams. 9. Social Movements and Collective Behavior: Social Psychological Dimensions and Considerations, David A. Snow and Pamela E. Oliver. IV. METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES. 1. Introduction to Part IV: Invitation to Methodology, Gary Alan Fine. 2. Dimensions of Qualitative Research, Spencer Cahill, Gary Alan Fine, & Linda Grant. 3. Experimentation in Sociological Social Psychology, Barbara Foley Meeker & Robert K. Leik. 4. Theoretical Quantitative Analysis in Social Psychology, Duane Alwin.

Negotiated Exchanges in Social Networks

Network exchange theory predicts relative profits from negotiations among actors in social exchange networks (Markovsky et al. 1993; Markovsky, Willer & Patton 1988). Here we extend the theory to allow exact predictions, rather than merely ordinal, for actors' exchange profits. This is accomplished by integrating two important factors. First, a resistance model predicts bilateral negotiation outcomes within a given set of network constraints. It does so by weighing actors' interests in gaining the best possible exchanges against their desires to avoid the worst. Second, the resistance model predictions are modified by actors' profit expectations. In particular, we incorporate two factors that affect such expectations, both common features of ongoing exchange relations: the number of other actors to whom one is directly connected in the network, and the likelihood of one's completing exchanges with them. We derive hypotheses from the theory and test them in two very different experimental settings. We find that the theory's predictions are more accurate than those of previous versions of the theory and those offive alternative theories. Social exchange theory grew from the application of the economic theory of exchange to social relationships. Sociology focuses on a problematic area for economic theory: the exchange of valued objects in relatively small groups, where actors seek to settle on one optimal outcome out of a range of possibilities. How can we predict that outcome? And how are such outcomes affected by social structure? Homans (1958, 1974) suggested that principles of behaviorist psychology would help to answer these questions. Blau's (1964) approach used rational choice and utility theory. Theoretical work on the problem since then has largely developed from one or the other perspective, sometimes combining the two.

Social security and social networks among the urban poor in Pakistan

This paper is based on the urban case studies undertaken during a study of social safety nets and social networks and their role in poverty alleviation among low-income communities in Pakistan. A participatory assessment approach was adopted and findings reflect the perceptions of the urban poor themselves, disaggregated on the basis of age, gender and occupation. It was found that official safety net programmes fail to reach the poorest. Instead people rely on informal social networks of exchange and reciprocity during times of economic stress. However, the coping mechanisms of the poor do not always represent sustainable survival strategies. Some customary forms of obligations such as dowry, can constitute an obstacle to social development. Social networks are not always harmonious or undifferentiated, while some can be both oppressive and exploitative. It is argued, therefore, that to understand and build positively on the experience and life chances of the urban poor, the processes which undermine their ability to sustain or improve their circumstances and assure their long-term security must be addressed. It is suggested that the concept of social security provides the basis for a more flexible policy framework for responding to the particular characteristics of urban poverty than one which relies exclusively on the individual or collective coping strategies of the urban poor themselves, topped up with targeted social safety nets which often fail to hit the mark.

Network exchange outcomes: limits of predictability

A new phase of research and theorizing about social exchange networks is now emerging: efforts are aimed at predicting exact exchange outcomes for different network positions. Two types of network exchange computer simulations and an analytic method were used to generate such predictions for the nine ‘common networks’. Conditions are provided under which these different sources of predictions for long-run exchange outcomes converge. After examining the process by which various combinations of exchange outcomes emerge, however, I argue that our ability to predict exact outcomes is probably very limited. As restrictions on exchange conditions, network sizes and time domains are relaxed, exchange outcomes are increasingly chaotic. For some networks we may be able to predict exact outcomes, for many more we can at best predict ranges of outcomes within which actual outcomes will vary.

An expected value model of social power: predictions for selected exchange networks

The paper carries forward a line of work on an expected value model of social power and illustrates the application of this model to selected networks of social exchange.

Beyond Process and Structure: Social Exchange Networks

(1987). Beyond Process and Structure: Social Exchange Networks. International Studies of Management & Organization: Vol. 17, Organizing: The Network Metaphor, pp. 3-23.

Stress, Burnout, and the Special Services Provider

Burnout is a particular response to stress involving psychological withdrawal. It is a costly coping mechanism that can adversely affect the motivation, performance, and personal wellbeing of special service providers. The burnout response develops when more direct and active problem-solving efforts are perceived as useless. Research on the causes of burnout suggests that factors in the work environment are relatively more important than characteristics of individuals. Lack of clarity, control, support, and feedback, as well as work overload, are particularly significant sources of burnout in special education. Various strategies for preventing burnout have been developed, and some have been evaluated to a limited extent. They include individual strategies such as exercise, progressive relaxation, cognitive restructuring, and social problem-solving skills training. Group strategies such as social support groups and resource exchange networks, and organizational strategies such as participative decision-ma...

Informal social networks: Possibilities and limitations for their usefulness in social policy

Limited support for public programs to meet social needs is an impetus for psychologists to consider new roles in facilitating informal social networks. The value of social networks is supported by empirical research, and a variety of interventions have already been tried. The theoretical underpinning of these interventions is social exchange theory, which emphasizes reciprocal exchange in interpersonal interactions. This theoretical base implies difficulty in addressing problems requiring redistribution of resources, since social exchange networks tend to perpetuate existing imbalances of wealth. Problems in using informal networks as instruments of social policy also arise from their inherent elements of social control. On the other hand, these informal systems are especially suited for dealing with problems requiring exchange of highly particularistic resources such as love or esteem. Social networks might serve a broader range of needs if conceptions of equitable exchange could be expanded.

Exchange Networks and Implementation

Implementation research utilising a ‘bottom-up’ approach has identified the presence of implementation structures. These structures are comprised of individual implementors from a variety of public and private organisations co-operating to administer policy. This paper suggests that in such cases implementors are involved in a process of resource exchange which results in a network of implementors being formed. Concepts drawn from social exchange theory and network analysis are then used to describe some of the means whereby implementation structures are developed, maintained and adapted. The second part of the paper explores three methods for remedying the possible dysfunctional effects of implementation behaviour dependent on a resource exchange network. We do not assume, however, that this behaviour is necessarily contrary to the aims and objectives of policy — networks may, in fact, prove to be a more efficient way of implementing policy than bureaucracies.

Power Structure and Personal Competence.

This study tested the following hypotheses: persons located in central exchange network positions will, through the bargaining process, come to perceive themselves to be (a) more powerful, and (b) more competent (capable) than will persons located in peripheral exchange network positions. A total of 76 Ss between the ages of 19-21 participated in this experiment. They were male students at a large, urban university in the northwestern United States. Approximately 80% of the Ss were white Anglo-Saxons and 20% were drawn from minority ethnic and racial groups. The Ss were randomly assigned to positions in 19 four-person social exchange networks, where they engaged in a 2 1/2 hour period of interpersonal bargaining. A manipulation of the centrality of the exchange network position occupied produced significant (<.01) differences in two semantic differential measures: (a) self-perceptions of power, and (b) self-perceptions of competence (capability).

Free Competition and the Optimal Amount of Fraud

THIS paper explores the reasons for and determinants of the provision by a firm of false information to a consumer so as to induce purchases which would not be made if the consumer possessed full information about the qualities of his purchase. Market responses to potential for fraud are analyzed in detail. It is shown that fraud and related practices follow from significant costs both in the determination of quality of a particular good or service and in the effective vertical integration of seller and buyer through some exchange of property rights. Much of our discussion focuses on the key problem of the joint provision of diagnosis and services-such as the choice and execution of an automobile repair or taxicab route--but the model developed will be seen to have general applicability whenever the seller provides information which influences purchases, as through advertising or salesmen's promises. In the context of the repair problem, we explore the reasons for and the determinants of the provision of repair services in amounts greater than would be economically efficient, given the price of the services and their marginal product in terms of the service flow from the repaired commodity.' The possibility of this situation is suggested by the observation that in a considerable number of cases involving medical, automotive, and other repair services, contrary to the basic assumption of conventional demand theory, the consumer is unaware of the ability of the repair service to satisfy a given want.2

Corporate Growth and Diversification

Corporate Growth and Diversification