Coercion and Exchange

Coercion and Exchange
One person or group forcing its will is called coercion. To a large extent all forms of coercion rest on the threat of the use of physical force or violence. But coercion is usually much more subtle than the open use of threat or violence. Love of parent, respect for one s national flag, and fear of loneliness can all be used weapons of coercion too.
Like conflict, coercion is viewed negatively and associated with slavery. But coercion also has positive social functions. The threat of coercion often underlies the teaching of social values, what is right and what is wrong.
A person acting in a certain way towards another for the purpose of receiving a reward or return is engaged, in an exchange relationships. Most employer-employee relationships are of this type. The employee behaves according to the wishes of the employer and is rewarded with salary.
The rewards do not have to be monetary or material. Subjective emotional rewards form the basis for many social exchange relationships for example, when a person acts for receiving grati¬tude. As sociologists such as George Holmes and Peter Blau have pointed out, exchange relationships based on gratitude is very sig¬nificant in people s lives. Underlying many actions (such as mak¬ing change for a stranger, helping an old person across the street, or sending a small gift to a friend who is ill) is an expected return of love and gratitude.

The exchange relationship is also important in more intimate types of interaction. One person s love for another is not based solely on an expected return of that love, but it will not survive if the person never receives any love in exchange.