It is difficult for me to point out the greatest weakness of interpersonal communication. In this section, therefore, I will discuss what I consider to be the most questionable part of interpersonal communication: social exchange theory. (TOGETHER). I will begin with a brief summary of the theory, including some examples of its use in certain areas of research. Then I'll move on to why I consider this the most questionable part of interpersonal communication. I will end this section with a suggestion for future research.Summary of TheoryStafford (2008) attributes social exchange theory (SET) to famous psychologists Thibault and Kelley, as well as sociologists Homans and Blau. Having its roots in the field of economics, this theory views human interaction as a marketplace in which people exchange objects of value. At the heart of the theory are three key points: reward, cost and resources. Reward is any element of a relationship that has positive value, such as wealth, a promising career, emotional support, etc. Cost, on the other hand, is any element of a relationship that is negatively valued, such as time, effort, etc. Resources are anything that has value and can be exchanged, such as money, love, information, etc. The fundamental assumption of this theory is that humans are rational beings who want to avoid costs and seek reward. For example, according to this hypothesis, a young woman faced with a situation in which she must choose a man with whom she can marry will likely consider the man who has the most resources and who will demand the least cost from her in the relationship . . This hypothesis also includes the concept of self-interest. Personal interests, according to Stafford (2008), “drive individuals to the middle of paper ......rd'. Suggestions for Future Studies To address its testability, we first need more studies like Foa and Foa (1976) did. I suggest that carefully designed studies in diverse cultural contexts, with representative numbers of participants, would be needed to strengthen their work. Once this was done, a broadly acceptable distinction between costs and rewards could be constructed and would therefore provide a means of testing the theory. It may not be reasonable to expect studies to resolve the issue of individual differences, altruism, and agapic relationship type in the near future. because these questions would be difficult to resolve. Following Stafford (2008), I would argue that perhaps the most reasonable change that further research should make is to shift the focus from communication as a means of resource exchange to seeing it as the resource itself. -even..