Collaborative Research on the Affective Bases of Social Order

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This laboratory experiment project examines situations in which three or more individuals interact and exchange in pairs in order to determine when their social interactions give rise to stability and social order in the group. The project builds on an affect theory of social exchange that asserts that if social interaction produces positive emotions and feelings and individuals perceive these as emanating from their group affiliation, then a stable order develops based on these emotions. Two aspects of social structure are investigated: (i) the basic form of social exchange (contingencies between exchange behaviors), and (ii) different connections or contingencies among pairs of individuals (i.e., dyads). The intellectual merits of this research are (1) the comprehensive contrast of forms of exchange, and forms of connection among pairs of individuals, that have not been studied in a comparative way; (2) increased understanding of how emotions mediate the effect of social structure in producing micro social order; (3) knowledge of which forms of exchange or type of relational connection promote social order, and (4) the first test of a new affect theory of social exchange which has broad implications. In the experiments, three subjects will have the opportunity to exchange valued items with each other. The first experiment examines the impact of four basic forms of exchange identified by social exchange theorists: negotiated, reciprocal, productive, and generalized. The second experiment examines the three forms of connection between the people in exchanges when: (i) each must exchange with both of the others (inclusive), (ii) each can exchange with either or both of the others (null), and (iii) each can exchange only with one of the others (exclusive). The broader impacts of the project include the production and dissemination of standardized protocols and software for comprehensively comparing all four distinct forms of exchange, the enhancement of the PIs' teaching about how groups develop and come to function effectively (e.g., cohesion, teamwork, commitment, conflict management), and the training of undergraduate and graduate researchers.