ICPR Abstracts: Session 14

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Session 14: Symposium

Interpersonal Resource Exchange in Personal 
Relationships: Conceptual and Empirical Advances

Positive Instrumentality, Positive Expressivity, and 
Gender-Role Compliance as Predictors of Resource 
Exchange among Brother- Sister Pairs

Stanley O. Gaines, Jr., Pomona College
Marlana A. Rugg, Nova Southeastern University
Sarah E. Zemore, Pomona College
Janeen L. Armm, Vassar College
Nancy Yum and Andy Law, Pomona College
John M. Underhill and Karen Feldman, 
Harvey Mudd College

Recent research on patterns of interpersonal resource 
exchange has focused on reciprocity of affection and 
respect among a variety of male-female personal 
relationships (i.e., between-gender friendships, 
heterosexual dating relationships, and engaged/marital 
relationships).  However, male-female sibling 
relationships rarely have been examined within the 
context of resource exchange theory. In the present study, 
we attempted to determine whether affection- related 
and/or respect-related behaviors tend to be reciprocated 
significantly among brother-sister pairs.  In addition, we 
attempted to determine whether positive instrumentality, 
positive expressivity, and/or gender-role compliance are 
reflected in siblings' patterns of interpersonal resource 
exchange.       A total of 63 brother-sister pairs 
participated in the present study.  A multivariate multiple 
regression analysis of predictors of brothers' affectionate 
and respectful behaviors indicated that (a) sisters' 
affectionate behavior was a positive, significant predictor 
of brothers' affectionate behavior and that (b) sisters' 
respectful behavior was a positive, significant predictor of 
brothers' respectful behavior; but (c) brothers' positive 
instrumentality, positive expressivity, and gender-role 
compliance all were nonsignificant as predictors of 
brothers' affectionate and respectful behaviors.  
Subsequently, a multivariate multiple regression analysis 
of sisters' affectionate and respectful behaviors indicated 
that (a) brothers' affectionate behavior was a positive, 
significant predictor of sisters' affectionate behavior; (b) 
sisters' positive instrumentality was a negative, marginally 
significant predictor of sisters' affectionate behavior; (c) 
brothers' respectful behavior was a positive, significant 
predictor of sisters' respectful behavior; and (d) sisters' 
positive expressivity was a positive, marginally significant 
predictor of sisters' respectful behavior; but (e) sisters' 
gender-role compliance was nonsignificant as a predictor 
of sisters' affectionate and respectful behaviors. 
        Overall, results indicated that brothers and 
sisters reciprocate affectionate and respectful behaviors to 
a significant degree.  However, the impact of siblings' 
positive instrumentality, positive expressivity, and gender-
role compliance upon their own displays of affection and 
respect appeared to be moderated by gender. 


Social Exchange and Psychological 
Well-Being in Late Life

Rosemary Blieszner and Paula M. Usita
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Scholars have noted the value of social activity for 
maintaining morale throughout adulthood, but 
gerontologists, in particular, have found that measuring 
simply the amount of social activity does not explain how 
social participation contributes to psychological well-
being.  Therefore, the present study was designed to 
provide detailed information about patterns of interaction 
in friendships at multiple levels of closeness and to 
investigate the connection between friendship interaction 
patterns and psychological well- being in old age.  
Respondents reported on two relationships at each of three 
levels of closeness (very close, casual, acquaintances).  
Included in the assessment of interaction patterns were 
indicators of social exchange as measured by shared 
instrumental and leisure activities, the provision and 
receipt of resource exemplars as defined by Foa and Foa's 
theory of resource exchange, and expectations for the 
provision and receipt of such resources.  The marker of 
psychological well-being was the Life Satisfaction Index. 
        The sample comprised 192 women and 42 men 
aged 55 years and older.  All were community residents; 
the sample was representative of the population of older 
adults in terms of education, income, and health.  
Participants completed paper-and-pencil questionnaires in 
group settings such as senior centers and apartment 
lounges. 
        The first set of hypotheses predicted that the 
most frequent interactions and the most intense feelings 
would be associated with the closest persons, with the 
ratings consistently declining for the other two levels of 
closeness.  Repeated measures analysis of variance 
confirmed that the interaction indicators discriminated 
among the closest relationships and the other two types.  
The second set of hypotheses predicted that relationships 
with very close persons would account for more of the 
variance in psychological well-being than would 
relationships with persons who were less close.  
Correlation and stepwise regression results confirmed 
these hypotheses.  Interaction with the closest persons 
resulted in the greatest number of variables significantly 
contributing to psychological well-being, whereas 
interaction with casual friends and acquaintances 
contributed less to the outcome variable.  Details on the 
results for exchange of each class of resources and on 
gender and age group comparisons are also presented. 


Do Imbalanced Supportive Relationships of Older 
Adults Continue?

Karen Klein Ikkink and Theo van Tilburg
Vrije University

Exchange theory assumes that people will strive towards a 
balance within their personal relationships.  In this study, 
the question is whether the balance is restored within 
imbalanced relationships in which older adults receive 
more instrumental support than they give.  There are 
relationships which will continue despite their imbalance 
for four reasons:  (1) When older adults have poor health, 
they are unable to return the support received, and the 
caregiver will continue to give support.  (2) Primary 
support givers such as offspring will continue to give 
support.  (3) A lack of reciprocity within the domain of 
instrumental support can be compensated by giving more 
emotional support.  (4) When there are only a few 
alternative supporters, the caregiver will find it hard to 
stop giving instrumental support. 
        Data are reported from a longitudinal study of 
413 older adults and 2,039 of their network members, 
selected on the basis of their contact frequency.  The 
interval examined was approximately one year.  At Time 
1, the older adults received more support than they gave in 
approximately 15% of their relationships.  The 
instrumental support balance within these relationships 
other than with the partner (N = 263) at Time 2 was 
assessed.  A logistic regression was conducted to examine 
for which characteristics of the older adult, the network 
member, the relationship, and the network the balance was 
restored. 
        Results indicated that network members 
continued to give support to older adults with poor health.  
Children, children-in- law, and friends continued to give 
support, whereas neighbor relationships returned to 
balance.  Lack of instrumental reciprocity was not 
compensated by giving more emotional support by the 
elderly.  When networks were small, it was likely that 
imbalance would endure.  However, balance was restored 
within networks in which offspring were available as 
support givers.


Resource Theory and Relational Models Theory: 
A Comparison

Nick Haslam
The New School for Social Research

This paper reviews points of connection and departure 
between resource theory and relational models theory, two 
prominent "grand theories" of social relations.  Both 
theories aspire to account for a broad span of social 
behavior, cognition, and organization; but their respective 
relational taxonomies have yet to be compared. 
Comparisons will have three foci:  (1) The assumptions 
underlying each theory's taxonomy; (2) the empirical 
associations between the two taxonomies; and (3) the 
success of the taxonomies in predicting performance of 
social-cognitive tasks. 
        1.  I argue that as the resource classes represent 
contents of exchange, they concern a more superficial level 
of relational description than the implicit rules and 
principles embodied in the relational models.  This 
disparity reflects the behavioral versus Chomskyan 
provenances of the respective theories.  Although the 
explicitness of the resource taxonomy has practical 
advantages, the resource classes are redundant with one 
another;  their interrelations do not straightforwardly 
conform to the proposed circumplex ordering; it is unclear 
in what sense they are psychologically real; and they fail to 
capture the dimension of authority or power. 
        2.  Several studies reveal substantial 
associations between the two taxonomies.  Although each 
resource can in principle be exchanged according to each 
of the relational models, many resources are strongly 
associated with particular models, and vice versa.  I argue 
that some resource classes represent prototypic domains of 
operation for relational models, although these linkages 
are governed by cultural norms rather than intrinsic.  Both 
theories need accounts of why certain kinds of rules 
govern the exchange of certain kinds of contents. 
        3.  Finally, I review a series of social-cognitive 
studies comparing the two theories.  Generally, the two 
taxonomies predict performance on social-cognitive tasks 
with similar power, although the relational models tend to 
excel where differences occur.  In view of the empirical 
associations between the two taxonomies, further work is 
needed to disentangle the contributions of the contents and 
rules of exchange to relational cognition.

Discussant
Val Derlega
Old Dominion University