Margaux Tavernier Dr.

Corinne Weisgerber COMM 2312 11/13/2012

Application Paper: Social Exchange Theory over the Friendship Relationship With Benefits (FWB)

Social Theory: claims that you develop relationship that will enable you to maximize your profits. It a theory based on an economic model of profits and losses. It begins with the following equation: Profits = Rewards + Costs. This theory claims that you seek to develop the friendship and romantic relationship that will give you the greatest profits: that is, relationship in which the rewards are greater than the costs. The academic journal that I have founded coming form the Western Communication Journal called What's Love Got To Do with It? Exploring the Impact of Maintenance Rules, Love Attitudes, and Network explaining the social theory based on the Friendship With Benefits Relationships. First I am going to explain what FWBR means, according to the academic journal; A Friendship with Benefits Relationship are defined as relationship between cross sex friends in which the friends engage in sexual activity but not do not define their relationship as romantic. It is a sample survey that communication wanted to understand the application of social exchange theory over a Friendship with Benefits Relationships. Communication wanted to know what kind of rules they were behind the FWBR. To understand this, they did a sample survey to have a better understanding based on three Research Questions such as: RQl: What types of rules do people describe for maintaining FWBRs? ; RQ2a How attitudes towards love

influence the motivations FWBR? ; RQ2b How attitudes towards love influence the maintaining FWBRs? RQ2c How does attitudes towards love influence the overcomes FWBRs? RQ3a: How do people describe their communication with their same-sex friend- ship network regarding their FWBRs? RQ3b: How do people describe the perceived support of their same-sex friendship network for their FWBRs? And here the hypotheses they have come up with: HI: A positive relationship exists between perceived same-sex network support for FWBRs and the continuation of the FWBRs. To verify their hypotheses, they organize a sample survey at a largely Midwest university. Participants were given extra credit for their participation. The participants were mostly white and female. Participants has to fill out an 11 pages length survey with multiple of open ended questions describing their Friendship with Benefits Relationship. To participants, FWBR was an opposite sex friend you have sexual activity with, but in any case it was their boyfriends or girlfriends. Participants were providing to ask three rules for maintaining their FWBR. Rules such as Negotiate rules, Sex rule, Communication rule, Secrecy rule, Permanence rule, Emotional rule and Friendship rule. Their motivation for maintaining their FWBR was asked under an open- ended question. The data revealed six categories of FWBR such as Relationship avoidance, Sex Relationship simplicity, Emotional connection and Wanted FWBR. The Participants were lastly asked on their love assistance. Communication wanted to know more about how the participants same sex friends respond to the friendship with benefits relationship. Did they approve or disapprove? Are they surprise? Did they have no feedback from their friend at all? Or admit it and shared their own experiences? Whereas some participants, decided not to share or tell their FWBR experiences for several reasons. Some said it was

for relevance reasons, some said it was for secrecy reasons or for embarrassment reasons. Others were just disagreeing to do it because of the fear that they look down on them. The results of their survey is that the most common rule for maintaining a Friendship with Benefits Relationship are emotional rules with 56%. The chi square tests were same sex friends to FWBRs and the frequency data revealed that 37.5% of the responses were approval. Fifteen of the participants responded that they wouldnt tell their same sex friends about their FWBRs. 46.7% of their answers fit the relevance category. They have noticed that their participants will still be involved in their FWBRs relationship and moving forward as long as their same sex friends were supportive and if the friend has had shared a FWBRs. If not, then the FWBR will be over or it will be worse if it does continue so. On the discussion part they affirmed that the research didnt show the FWBRs rules differences between men and women. They suggest more questions that include routine behavior that might occur within the FBWRs. They said that Friendship With Benefits Relationship was only for sexual needs but not in order to make a romantic relationship or be friend with their FWBRs partner. Researchers said that it would be good to have a search on how stable can a FWBRs relationship can be. They also have noticed several limitations on this research such as the specific audience they have chosen (mostly female and Caucasian undergraduate college students), which reduce the general findings. The research was mostly to describe and understand the FWBR phenomena but they discussed that it should also be focusing on the rules negotiations as well as others factors that imply to maintain a FWBR relationship like their costs and benefits. It also focuses not only on the same sex friendship communication and support

but also on the cross sex and how different it might be. To conclude, the study has help to have a better acknowledge of the Friendship With Benefits Relationship. People tend to reveals their FWBR to their same sex friends and get supportive reactions from them for most of them. The study shows that love attitudes been observed but it was only on the motivation and outcome of the FWBR. FWBR is lacking at commitment and Romance that is the reason why love attitude are very poor. Unfortunately I dont have any experiences in my surrounding on the subject of this article which are the friendship with benefits relationship but I can say that I am mostly agree on what the study has bringing up to overall. I do agree with all the findings overall. As I was reading the discussion part of the first academic journal that I found on how FWBR works in terms of maintaining their relationships, how it can also differs from an opposite sex relationship maintenance. I have found an other academic journal that has studied more in depth this case. Their research was actually based on two studies. It also proved that Friends With Benefits are using less relational maintenance behaviors as opposite sex do. Indeed Friendship With Benefits Relationship is mostly based on sexual activity only. They also have the same argument based on the fact that the most common rule is the emotional ones. Friendship with benefits relationship are avoiding to falling in love and minimizing the jealousy because FWBR has a lack in romance, the sexual activity itself must be the only maintenance relationship behavior they have. They tend to say that sexual activity is more important than actual communication and relational maintenance.

I also agreed with the first academic journal on the significant positive support of same sex friends concerning a FWBR. In fact I think it is important to have a support from their surrounding. Indeed a positive support help getting through a relationship that isnt really usual. It is true that a positive support are helping the FWBR going forward whereas a negative support from your surrounding will quickly end up or having a worse FWBR. I do also agree on an important amount of college student being involved in FWB relationship. In fact according to my second academic journal that I have founded, the participants being involved in such a relationship like that keep growing. In this specific academic journal, 44% of their participants were involved in a FWBR compared to only 20% of non-FWBR participants. This academic study was also very interesting because it make a gender difference on the FWBR. According to this, women were more likely to report that they would never get involved in a FWBR (42%) comparing to men who are likely report (20%). I think it is very interesting because in the discussion part of the academic journal called What's Love Got To Do with It? Exploring the Impact of Maintenance Rules, Love Attitudes, and Network, they were complaining that study were only reported on female. I also do agree on the uncertainty of FWB relationship can be. In fact those relationship only respond to a certain need and desire but should not be on the long term, it shouldnt have any commitments or any actual communications. Most of the participants in this study respond that they did not have any talk concerning the future of their relationship.

Those academics journal help me understand to have a better understanding of what a Friendship with benefits relationship can be. How much it can refers to a social theory. Friendship with benefits isnt a relationship like any others because it only provides need and desires. Not strong feelings for the other partner just have a sexual activity. There are in any case having any commitments or actual talks concerning their maintenance of their relationship. They only get an emotional rule when it comes to the attractiveness of the other at the beginning. FWBR tend to have effective success since lots of undergraduate college students seemed to be involved in. The support of their surroundings seems to be important in order to get the FWBR moving forward. It helping understand how much a relationship can differs from one to another.

Work Cited: Mikayla Hughes, Kelly Morrison, & Kelli Jean K. Asada- What's Love Got To Do with It? Exploring the Impact of Maintenance Rules, Love Attitudes, and Network Support on Friends with Benefits Relationships- western - Journal of Communication Vol. 69, No. 1, January 2005, pp. 49-66 http://onlineacademics.org/CA104/private/WhatsLove.pdf Merriam-Pigg -Lydia Kathleen - Lovers and Friends: Understanding Friends with Benefits Relationships and those Involved- San Jose Sate University SJSU ScholarworksMay 2012. Web http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=7683&context=etd_theses&seiredir=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2Furl%3Fsa%3Dt%26rct%3Dj% 26q%3Dfriendship%2520with%2520benefits%2520relationship%2520support%2520rea ctions%2520academic%2520journal%26source%3Dweb%26cd%3D4%26ved%3D0CD8 QFjAD%26url%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fscholarworks.sjsu.edu%252Fcgi%252Fvie wcontent.cgi%253Farticle%253D7683%2526context%253Detd_theses%26ei%3D6gmiU O_DI8G3rQHI6IDQDA%26usg%3DAFQjCNExYGbssVvHzvYJ_pmOGxpXdAfwhw#s earch=%22friendship%20benefits%20relationship%20support%20reactions%20 Shaffer- Hand Laura , Wyndol- Furman- Rewards and Costs in Adolescent Other-sex Friendships: Comparisons to Same-sex Friendships and Romantic RelationshipsUniversity of Denver- May 2009, Vol. 18 Issue 2, p270-287, 18p, 5 Charts- Web

http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=d6f17a78-dbe4-4dbf-b6af5357fc7ab121%40sessionmgr111&vid=10&hid=121

Bisson -Melissa A. Levine- Timothy R. Negotiating a Friends with Benefits Relationship

- Received: 8 May 2006 / Revised: 11 January 2007 / Accepted: 18 March

2007 / Published online: 13 September 2007 Springer Science Business Media, LLC 2007- Academic Journal/Web https://www.msu.edu/~levinet/Bisson%26Levine_2009_FWB.pdf