The norm of reciprocity requires that people repay in kind what others have done for them. It can be understood as the expectation that people will respond to each other by returning benefits for benefits, and with either indifference or hostility to harms. The social norm of reciprocity may take different forms in different areas of social life, or in different societies. This is distinct from related ideas such as gratitude, the Golden Rule, or mutual goodwill. See reciprocity (social and political philosophy) for an analysis of the concepts involved.
The norm of reciprocity mirrors the concept of reciprocal altruism in evolutionary biology. However, evolutionary theory and therefore sociobiology was not well-received by mainstream psychologists. This led to reciprocal altruism being studied instead under a new social-psychological concept: the norm of reciprocity. Reciprocal altruism has been applied to various species, including humans, while mainstream psychologists use the norm of reciprocity only to explain humans.
A norm of reciprocity motivates, creates, sustains, and regulates the cooperative behavior required for self-sustaining social organizations. It limits the damage done by unscrupulous people, and contributes to social system stability. For more details, see the discussions in tit for tat and reciprocity (social psychology). The power and ubiquity of the norm of reciprocity can be used against the unwary, however, and is the basis for the success of many malicious confidence games, advertising and marketing campaigns, and varieties of propaganda in which a small gift of some kind is proffered with the expectation of producing in the recipient an eagerness to reciprocate (by purchasing a product, making a donation, or becoming more receptive to a line of argument).
For some legal scholars, reciprocity underpins international law "and the law of war specifically". Until well after World War II ended in 1945, the norm of reciprocity provided a justification for conduct in armed conflict. British jurist Hersch Lauterpacht noted in 1953 that "it is impossible to visualize the conduct of hostilities in which one side would be bound by rules of warfare without benefiting from them and the other side would benefit from rules of warfare without being bound by them."
Positive and negative The norm of reciprocity has positive and negative aspects.
Positive norm of reciprocity: "The embedded obligations created by exchanges of benefits or favours among individuals. The recipient feels indebted to the favour or benefit giver until he/she repays". The positive reciprocity norm is a common social expectation in which a person who helps another person can expect positive feedback whether in the form of a gift, a compliment, a loan, a job reference, etc. In social psychology, positive reciprocity refers to responding to a positive action with another positive action (rewarding kind actions). This norm is so powerful, it may allow the initial giver to ask for something in return for what was given rather than having to wait for a voluntary reciprocal act. In some cases a person does not have to ask, because an expectation to return the favor is already implied. Reciprocity also works at the level of liking; We like people who help us, and dislike those who ask for help but never return it. Such disapproval is often enough to make people comply with the norm of reciprocity.
Negative norm of reciprocity: "A negative norm of reciprocity represents the means by which individuals act against unfavourable treatments, and functions to keep balance in social systems". In contrast to the positive reciprocity norm, the negative reciprocity norm emphasizes the return of unfavourable treatment as an appropriate response to a misdeed. The principle of this norm serves as a powerful deterrent for violent or symbolic mistreatment. Harming others invites anger and revenge; people receiving negative treatment are likely to retaliate angrily. People with a propensity towards anger may more strongly endorse the negative reciprocity norm as a justification for consummating their hostility by punishing the instigator of mistreatment. In one study, most college students believed that criminal punishment should be determined by the seriousness of the crime rather than by punishment's effectiveness in preventing similar crimes.
There are contrasting ways to differentiate negative and positive norms of reciprocity. "In contrast to a positive norm of reciprocity Gouldner (1960) also suggested a negative norm of reciprocity or sentiments of retaliation where the emphasis is placed not on the return of benefits but on the return of injuries". So the norm may be characterized primarily in either a positive or negative way. However "both positive and negative norms or reciprocity serve as starting mechanisms as well as stabilizing functions in that they help initiate and maintain equitable interpersonal exchanges in human evolution".
Sustainable Healthy Relationships (R-Model)
The R-Model was developed by Andrew Boyton as a theory sustainable healthy relationships with reciprocal elements at its core. The theory explains the need for reciprocity is necessary for the relationship to be sustainable and health. Without reciprocity the relationship is considered less sustainable and less healthy. R-Model proposes the need for balance and alignment in a relationship, and with balance there can be even growth in the relationship. A previous R-Model collaborator with Boyton was Jericho McClellan.
Because reciprocation is essential for maintaining sustainable, healthy relationships, reciprocation means that both parties in the relationship are giving freely. The reciprocal elements that are given freely, are offered without the expectation of reciprocation.
Whilst balance is required for health and sustainability, the R-Model theory proposes the need for "connected autonomy" and a focus on health, an example of how the R-Model could be used is to understand the nature of "tit for tat" games, and use the R-Model to break the cycle of "tit for tat" which requires conscious effort, self-awareness, and a commitment to improving the quality of your relationships. It often involves choosing compassion, consideration, and co-constructive communication over reactive and retaliatory behaviour.
When used as a diagnostic tool, the R-Model offers a profound awareness of how withholding reciprocity as a form of punishment within a relationship can be inherently destructive. In the intricate web of human relationships, reciprocity plays a fundamental role in nurturing trust and maintaining equilibrium. When one party chooses to withhold reciprocity in response to perceived slights or transgressions, it sets off a chain reaction of negativity, eroding the very foundations (Vital-Base) of the relationship. This withholding not only perpetuates a cycle of resentment (Victim) and retaliation (Viciousness) but also obstructs Vitality being channelled into the co-constructive communication necessary for resolving conflicts and fostering growth. By highlighting the destructive nature of this behaviour, the R-Model underscores the importance of Communication, Compassion, and Cooperation as constructive responses as alternatives to the detrimental path of negative reciprocity. It encourages individuals to recognise that withholding reciprocity often exacts a heavy toll on the well-being of a relationship, ultimately hindering its potential for mutual growth and connection.
The R-Model is a biopsychosocial model, a class of trans-disciplinary models which look at the interconnection between biology, psychology, and socio-environmental factors. It was first developed to understand the nature of relationship in the environment and discipline of group therapy. The initial model was influenced by works from Eric Berne, John Bowlby and George Kohlrieser.
Private and public Private reciprocation The norm of reciprocity is usually internalised. In addition, all major ethical and religious traditions include reciprocity as a rule of moral behaviour—from Jesus (“As you would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” to Confucius (“What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.”). The moral character of the norm may encourage the sense that following it is an imperative rather than a choice, and failing to reciprocate should create feelings of self-reproach and guilt.
Public reciprocation Another way to understand how the norm of reciprocity works is to understand that the initial favour and the following repayment unfold in a public way. The social rewards of sticking to the norm and the costs of breaching it are profound. People deny continued group membership to others who breach the norm.
The norm of reciprocity stipulates that the amount of the return to a favour is “roughly the same” as what had been received. Such idea of equivalence takes two forms; Heteromorphic reciprocity Things exchanged can be totally different, but they are equal in value, as defined by the stakeholders in the situation. Homeomorphic reciprocity Exchanges are identical in form, either with regard to the things exchanged or to the situations under which they are exchanged. Historically, the most significant expression of homeomorphic reciprocity is in the negative reciprocity norms; in retaliation, the focus is not on the return of benefits, but on the return of injuries.
However, Mark A. Whatley and colleagues found that people will give more favors, like a higher donation, if .
Significance to social system stability Favours given are not immediately repaid; returning of favours may take a long time. The intervening time period is governed by the norm of reciprocity in two manners. The stakeholder is assembling, mobilizing, or liquidating resources or assets so as to make a suitable repayment. It is a time period in which the relevant party should not do harm to people who have given them benefits; such people are morally constrained to demonstrate gratitude towards or maintain peace with their benefactors. As such, outstanding obligations can thus contribute to the stabilising of social systems by encouraging mutually beneficial exchange and cooperative behaviours.
The merely "rough equivalence" of repayment suggests an important system-stabilising function. It introduces an element of ambiguity as to whether the indebtedness has been repaid fully, thus creating uncertainty about who the indebted parties are. The comparative indeterminacy then serves as a type of all-purpose moral cement; it keeps us mindful of our behaviours and induces cooperative action.
The norm of reciprocity also contributes to social stability even when there is a well-developed system of specific status duties. Status duties shape behavior as the status occupant believes them to be binding; they are expected to faithfully fulfill their responsibilities. Nonetheless, the general norm of reciprocity offers another source of motivation and moral sanction for conforming with specific status obligations. If other people have been fulfilling their status responsibilities to you, you then have a second-order obligation to fulfill your status responsibilities to them as well. The feeling of gratitude reinforces that of rectitude and contributes to conformity, thus social stability.
In organizational research Perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived psychological contract violation (PPCV) are the two most common measures of the reciprocity norm in organizational research.
POS is the degree to which employees’ believe that their organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being. It is the organization’s contribution to a positive reciprocity dynamic with employees, as employees tend to perform better as a way to pay back POS.