Reciprocity In All Its Forms (So/An 128)

Reciprocity is symbolic of creating, maintaining, or strengthening social relationships as well as satisfying the material needs and wants of someone in need. It refers to the exchange of objects without the use of money or other media of exchange. It can take the form of sharing, hospitality, gifts, or bartering. Anthropologists identify three forms of reciprocity.

One form is generalized reciprocity, which is the giving of goods without expectation of a return of equal value at any definite future time. Generalized reciprocity occurs mainly between individuals who are emotionally attached to one another and have a responsibility to help one another on the basis of need. In the United States, parents who provide their children with shelter, food, vehicles, college educations, and interest-free loans are practicing generalized reciprocity. Giving without the expectation of a quick and equivalent return should also occur between certain other kinds of social relations, such as wives and husbands, siblings, and sometimes close friends. Among certain groups of people more goods are exchanged using this form than any other. For example, most members of small hunting and gathering groups are expected to share food and be generous with their possessions. Generalized reciprocity happens in all human populations and is the dominant mode of exchange in very small groups in which all or most members are relatives.

Another form is balanced reciprocity, in which the products exchanged are expected to have roughly equal value. Moreover, another characteristic is that there is no bargaining between the parties. The return may be expected immediately, or whenever the giver demands it, or by some specified time in the future. If the receiver does not reciprocate within the agreed upon time period then the giver doesn't continue to transfer products. As a result, the giver may be angry, may complain or gossip to others, may try to force reciprocation, or may end all relations until products of equal value are returned. Likewise, the receiver may feel embarrassed for not being able to return a product of equal value to the giver. An example of balanced reciprocity in the United States is gift giving. In political situations, cross-culturally, gift-giving ceremonies frequently are part of diplomacy and peacemaking between formerly hostile groups. The gifts exchanged represent the beginning of a new period of peaceful co-existence. Political lobbyists and sales representatives, on the other hand, sometimes use gift giving to create social bonds and to obligate people from whom the giver wants something. Since gift giving makes someone indebted it can be used to create an obligation to return a favor. In personal lives as well, the exchange of tangible objects among close kin often symbolize feelings about a relationship, sometimes better than words do. For instance, on a friend's birthday, buying a DVD in exchange for a gift of about equal value that you received from that friend on your birthday. Another example of balanced reciprocity is when someone buys a round of drinks for himself and a friend and then the friend offers to buy the next round of drinks. The failure to present objects of appropriate value on certain occasions also symbolizes one's personal feelings, although in a hostile way. Overall, balanced reciprocity is usually motivated by social purposes.

The last form is negative reciprocity, which occurs when both parties attempt to gain all they can from the exchange while giving up as little as possible. Negative reciprocity usually is motivated by the desire to obtain material goods at minimal costs. An extreme example of negative reciprocity in the United States is theft, because the thief is obtaining wealth at very little cost to himself or herself (unless he or she is caught). Negative reciprocity is like market exchange, however, its main difference is that no money is exchanged between participants. In economies that use money to purchase goods and services, like in the United States, market exchange partly or largely replaces negative reciprocity. However, in economies with no money, negative reciprocity is the only way for individuals to acquire products that they do not produce themselves. For example in the United States, volcanic glass, used to make stone tools occurred in only a few areas, therefore, other people acquired it through trade. Thus, negative reciprocity often takes the form of barter. For example, if a population does not produce some foods they like to eat, have access to some materials they need, or don't have the skills to produce some of the objects they use then they acquire these products through exchange.

Each of the three forms of reciprocity tends to be associated with certain kinds of social relationships. The type of reciprocity that occurs between individuals or groups depends on social distance between them. Social distance refers to the degree with which cultural norms specify how intimate or emotionally attached one should be with another. This is evident in North American cultural norms of reciprocity. Americans expect an individual to practice generalized reciprocity with his or her children and possibly siblings and elderly parents. Those who do not are considered to be uncaring or selfish. However, if a person repeatedly gives money to a cousin or puts a nephew through college, he or she is likely to be regarded as unusually generous or foolish because he or she has extended generalized reciprocity beyond the range of what is culturally considered appropriate.

As one's social relations with other people change, so does the type of reciprocity that one practices with them. For example, as people grow up their independence from their parents increases and this changes the way they exchange goods with them. They go from being the receivers of generalized reciprocity to more of a balanced reciprocity as they become more independent, and finally to being the provider of generalized reciprocity.

As for negative reciprocity, in modern societies like the United States, it has largely been replaced by market transactions, which is typically associated with exchange form and social relationships. In market exchange, looking out for one's own interest and trying to get the most for one's money is regarded as smart shopping. This is true with transactions between strangers in a store or car lot. However, when the seller and buyer are friends or are related, it is difficult for them to separate their economic transaction with their personal feelings for one another. Kinship and friendship bonds cannot be easily mixed with market exchange, because kinship and friendship have an element of unselfishness, whereas economic transactions are assumed to have selfish motives. Therefore, in order for market transactions to be successful there needs to be more social distance between the seller and the buyer.