p.588 The definition of the situation becomes the central issue in the process of interaction... [Thomas and Znaniecki] Every concrete activity is the solution of a situation.

p.590-591 A second structural theory of interpersonal behavior has been presented by George Homans in his book, Social Behavior: Its Elementary Forms, (1961). The general framework of this approach is the process of exchange in interpersonal relations. Two or more individuals interacting are engaged in a socio-psychological transaction in which valuable commodities are exchanged. The exchange theory developed by Homans adopts and synthesizes certain concepts from micro-economics, reinforcement theory in psychology, and the theory of social control from anthropology and sociology.

p.591 The units of exchange in social interaction are those minute actions that, for one reason or another, individuals find rewarding. One could say that a reward is any unit of behavior that satisfies a need

p.591 Exchanges in human interaction are governed by certain controls which are the norms of behavior (Gouldner, 1960, pp.161-178). Norms, in effect, prescribe the permissible types of exchange, their quantities and relative net gains... Interpersonal conflicts, then, can be examined in terms of the various breakdowns in the exchange process [JLJ - when playing a game, one player develops an advantage over the other when the potential exchanges which one player offers to the other become imbalanced. In chess, for example, a balanced game sees each player exchanging equal-valued squares or features pieces which are equivalently "working". A player develops an advantage when the "foreseen" reciprocal exchanges tend to favor him.]

p.599 The condition of status incongruity acts as a potential source of imbalance in interpersonal settings and tends to invoke behavior to accommodate to or otherwise deal with the the imbalance. The incongruity, in other words, acts as a behavioral press, inducing action toward achieving some balance in the system.