Abstract
This article describes an activity suitable for either high-school or university-level communication courses. Combining outside online research, small group discussion, and class interaction, this exercise uses Social Exchange Theory, applied to examples of celebrity relationships generated by students and discussed in groups, to illustrate the process by which individuals decide whether or not to initiate and sustain interpersonal relationships. Although students should be reminded that the reasons relationships do or do not survive are difficult enough to understand when we are involved in them, let alone when we view them from an outside perspective, the activity proves intriguing and involving for students and serves as a good starting point for a more in-depth discussion of their own relationship challenges and choices.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Rahoi-Gilchrest, R. L.
(2015).
TomKat!: Linking Theory and Practice in Communication Studies Course Through the Introduction and Application of Social Exchange Theory.
Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal, 34(1).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.56816/2471-0032.1008
Included in
Higher Education Commons, Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons, Secondary Education and Teaching Commons
