Content area
Full Text
ABSTRACT. Social interdependence theory is a classic example of the interaction of theory, research, and practice. The premise of the theory is the way that goals are structured determines how individuals interact, which in turn creates outcomes. Since its formulation nearly 60 years ago, social interdependence theory has been modified, extended, and refined on the basis of the increasing knowledge about, and application of, the theory. Researchers have conducted over 750 research studies on the relative merits of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic efforts and the conditions under which each is appropriate. Social interdependence theory has been widely applied, especially in education and business. These applications have resulted in revisions of the theory and the generation of considerable new research. The authors critically analyze the new developments resulting from extensive research on, and wide-scale applications of, social interdependence theory.
Key words: competition, cooperation, social interdependence
THIS REVIEW PROVIDES A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF SOCIAL interdependence theory, tracing its development from its original formulation in 1949 to the present day. In section one, we summarize social interdependence theory and place it into a historical perspective. We discuss the dynamic nature of the theory, as research and application have extended and modified the theory throughout the past six decades. In section two, we give an overall review of the research. The breadth of the research and the variety of dependent variables studied have both extended and refined the theory, while also inspiring new studies and areas of interest. In section three, we will discuss two of the major applications of the theory, in education and in business. In such areas, the theory has been used to derive operational procedures for practitioners. In section four, we focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the theory. In addition, throughout the article, we point out aspects of the theory that are new, revised, or modified on the basis of the research and practices. Social interdependence theory has had a consistent influence on research and practice since Deutsch introduced it in 1949. It has unusual longevity, scope, and application. This is reflected in:
1. The quality of the theory. Since Morton Deutsch (1949a) introduced the basic theory of social interdependence (building on the work of Kurt Koffka [1935] and Kurt Lewin [1935]),...