My five favorite theories

 The Social exchange theory is the theory that people stick with relationships only if the benefits outweigh the costs (Thibaut & Kelley, 1959). If there is more love, consolation or even more sexual satisfaction that creates a better relationship that will in short last longer (Thibaut & Kelley, 1959). If the relationship has more fights and takes lots of work to maintain this will make the relationship unhappy and end (Thibaut & Kelley, 1959).  I personally like this theory because it shows that the happier the relationship the longer it will last, while yes that is just common sense this theory proves that if you are not getting anything from the relationship it is ok to leave. I always think about woman that stay in their relationship because their significant other does SOME nice things, but if the costs outweigh the benefits, then it's completely normal to leave. 

The Social identity theory is a theory that people favor their own group in order to enhance or self-esteem (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). An example could be that woman think they are better than men, or a certain race thinks they are better than other, or to be less controversial coke drinkers think they are better than Pepsi drinkers. Someone could be randomly sampled into a group, and they will still find their group better than the others (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). I like this theory because I experienced this effect so many times. In middle school I was very tom-boyish and very aggressive. I would often participate in many group events and create a rivalry. (I know what this sounds like, no I was not a bully lol) This theory helps my mind relax because I was always worried, I was too aggressive with the other groups.

Terror Managment theory is in order for people to cope with the thought of death we construct our own views to have self-preservation (Greenberg et al., 1997). We are terrified about the thought of death or the afterlife, so people in order for us to find peace some people find religion or have explanations for our purpose in life (Greenberg et al., 1997). Whatever the case may-be it is nice to see that everyone has the same fear and it's cute that people try to find a way to calm down. Growing up I have always wondered what happens after death, I have been obsessed with ghosts and reading into every religion and there is still not a definitive answer. This theory as I said earlier lets me know that everyone is just like me and no one has an answer.

The Sociometer theory is our way of reading others during interactions in order to see if the way we act, or look is acceptable (Leary, 2012). With the monitoring of other people's expressions this mechanism is able to help grow our self-esteem but there are risks of diminishing our self-esteem (Leary, 2012). I like this theory because it is kind of like being able to read people lying, which is my hidden talent. I also like it because I feel that this is one of the reasons kids should not be sheltered. Without having social interaction, they will never learn what is good in public and what is bad. My little cousins are homeschooled, and they think everyone in life is Christian, but when she met the other side of my family who is atheist, she almost had a heart attack, and she started preaching. There is nothing wrong with believing in what you want to believe but not being able to read the room and forcing on others is not the way to go. Being able to switch to professionalism is the key to reach a lot of things in life.

Lastly the Equity theory is the thought that your partners benefits and contributions toward the relationship should equal your benefits and contribution (Zelditch et al., 1981). If your significant other contributes less towards the relationship but you contribute so much to the relationship, your significant other gets tons of benefits with no work towards the relationship the relationship will be unhappy which can lead to ending it (Zelditch et al., 1981). It's almost like working lots of hours and doing more than you should, but your co-worker gets a promotion, and you get nothing. I like this theory because it just proves to people that there are two people in a relationship and things HAVE to be 50/50. If both are working BOTH need to do house chores. If one is working the other one is taking care of the house. 

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Citations:

Thibaut, H. W., & Kelley, R. H. (1959). The social psychology of groups. J. Wiley & Sons.

Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. (1986). Social Identity and Intergroup Relations. Contemporary Sociology, 14(4), 520.

Greenberg, J., Solomon, S., & Pyszczynski, T. (1997). Terror management theory of self-esteem and cultural worldviews: Empirical assessments and conceptual refinements. In M. P. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, Vol. 29, pp. 61–139).

Leary, M. R. (2012). Sociometer Theory. Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology, 2, 141–159.

Zelditch, M., Berkowitz, L., Walster, E., Walster, E., Walster, G. W., & Berscheid, E. (1981). Extending Equity Theory. Contemporary Sociology, 10(1), 30

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Sirena Sauceda