an affect theory of social exchange - digitalcommons@ilr.pdf

Cornell University ILR School DigitalCommons@ILR Articles and Chapters ILR Collection 9-2001 A n Affect Theory of Social Exchange Edward J. Lawler Cornell University, ejl3@ Follow this and additional works at : /articles Part of the Labor Relations Commons, Organizational Behavior and Theory Commons, Social Psychology and Interaction Commons, and the ork, Economy and Organizations Commons Thank you for downloading an article from DigitalCommons@ILR . Support this valuable resource today ! This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the ILR Collection at DigitalCommons@ILR . It has been accepted for inclusion in Articles and Chapters by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@ILR . For more information, please contact hlmdigital@. A n Affect Theory of Social Exchange Abstract This article develops a theory that explains how and when emotions, produced by social exchange, generate stronger or weaker ties to relations, groups, or networks. It is argued that social exchange produces positive or negative global feelings, which are internally rewarding or punishing. The theory indicates that social units (relations, groups, networks) are perceived as a source of these feelings, contingent on the degree of jointness in the exchange task. The jointness of the task is greatest if (1) actors find it difficult to distinguish their individual effects on or contributions to solving the exchange task (nonseparability ) and (2) actors perceive a shared resp onsibility for success or failure at the exchange task. The theory explicates the effects of different exchange structures on these conditions and, in turn, on cohesion and solidarity. Implications are developed for network-to-group tran