Psychology Proposed by the American psychologist Harold H Kelley (1921– ) and John W Thibaut (1917–).
The basic principle states that much social interaction involves reciprocal exchange of material things, of ideas, of emotions and of behaviour. This theory expresses the reciprocal rule that one individual gives and another returns, in some measure, what is given. Status or resource differences between donors and recipients ensure the continuity of the reciprocal relationship by causing an imbalance and placing one or other in debt. See EQUIFY THEORY.
J W Thibaut and HH Kelley, The Social Psychology of Groups (New York, 1959)
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