Social Exchange Theory Analysis

Interaction: My ex boyfriend and I was together for three years. I met him a year prior to joining the Army. He knew I was going to be stationed in South Korea and said it wasn't a problem for him. He said it wasn't a problem for him since his last relationship was long distance. His ex girlfriend was in the Navy and she was stationed in Japan majority of their relationship. While stationed in South Korea, our relationship was prefect. Communication was great, he always called me when I would leave work, he sent gifts. Everything was fine until I got stationed in Germany.
The first month of me being stationed in Germany, everything was fine. It wasn't until my third month when he began acting as if he didn't trust me. He stated that he didn't
Like what we study in Social Exchange Theory, the interaction described above can be explained with this theory very well. All relationships have give and take, with the balance of this exchange not equal always, is what the theory suggests. I would always question myself with “ Is this relationship really worth it?” numerous amount of times. I felt as though, the relationship was hindering me from going out and having fun with my friends. I also felt like the costs of this relationship was relatively high. He had trust issues so he was very controlling, he did not like for me to go out with my guy friends. I felt as though he was causing me a loss of freedom and a denigration of my self- esteem. I sometimes felt as though I was wasting my time so I chose to get stationed in Germany. At the end of it all, I felt like it was the best decision. I'm young and I wasn't going to continue missing out on traveling and having fun when I was the one putting in more of an effort than he was. Him not being able to trust me around the opposite sex also pushed me
I had doubts that our relationship would work due to problems that had occurred. I believe I was more realistic than he was. I was stationed overseas from the beginning to end of our relationship. He told me that me being stationed in Korea and Germany wasn't an issue. However, I knew it was the main cause of our problems we were facing. I knew he had doubts because of his trust issues. It was a problem for me to be around the opposite sex, even when I was with my female friends. I had recently told him that my next assignment was going to be Hawaii, we were both hoping for San Antonio, Texas. His trust issues and the long distance was pulling us in opposite directions.

SOCIAL PENETRATION THEORY – THEORY THAT SAYS MOVEMENT TOWARDS INTIMACY IS CONNECTED TO THE BREADTH OF SELF-DISCLOSURE.

This theory explains the interaction well. Social Penetration Theory suggests that people will stay in a relationship as long as the partner equitably contributes. Regardless of the distance, I believe I would have stayed in a relationship with him if he were willing to give as much as I was giving and if he wasn't as