Social Exchange Theory
From a theoretical perspective, the issue of medical errors has a significant relationship with
nursing knowledge and the social aspect of nurses. This implies that exchange of social resources
within the clinical setting can address the problem of medical errors; primarily in nursing
practice where nurses’ interactions and collaboration with other healthcare providers underpins
delivery of evidence based nursing care. Therefore, it is apparent that the social exchange theory
is appropriate for solving medical errors.
In principle, social exchange theory presents a sociological approach to negotiated exchanges
involved in social change and stability. This theory shares a close relationship to structuralism
and rational choice theory. The basic concepts of the social exchange theory revolve around cost
and rewards. According to Lambe, Wittmann and Spekman (2001), exchange, as conceptualized
in the social exchange theory, is a social behavior that exhibits social and economic outcomes.
As such, it is presumed that social exchange generates satisfaction in situations where costs are
covered by fair returns. In this case, relationship decisions are based on costs and rewards. As
explained by the social exchange theory, costs can be defined as elements of rational life with
undesirable consequences to an individual, whereas rewards are the positive returns from a
relationship. Overall, this theory has several assumptions related to human nature and
relationship. One of these assumptions is that humans are rational beings. The second
assumption is that humans avoid punishments and seek rewards. Third, it is assumed that humans
use diverse standards in evaluating rewards and costs. Finally, it is postulated that rational life
occurs as a process and that relationships are interdependent (West & Turner, 2007).
Additionally, there are several theoretical prepositions that structure human behaviors in the
context of rewards and costs. The first preposition holds that behaviors that generate appreciable
outcomes tend to be repeated. Second, it is stated that rewarding an individual’s behavior
promotes its execution. Third, it is postulated that the value of reward diminishes upon
subsequent repetition (Cook & Rice, 2013). Concisely, the social exchange theory holds that
individuals minimize costs by pursuing rewards.
