ABSTRACT
Many of our social interactions are characterized by the exchange of resources or services and behaviors of mutual value. Social exchange theory provides an analytical approach towards understanding how such interactions emerge, change, and alter the groups and networks in which they are embedded. It also addresses how these micro-level processes form the basis for the social structures they entail and the pressures they create for social change that often result from power inequalities. In this chapter, we give a brief overview of the classical and current perspectives on social exchange theory and its developments since the mid-twentieth century, and some of the key topics various theorists have examined including power dynamics, collective action, social cohesion, and micro-social order, among others. We also point the way to new forms of data collection, as exchanges become increasingly digitally mediated in ways that are changing the global order and that create challenges and opportunities for many societies.
