Gifts Behind The Model Of Social Exchange

Gifts and its corresponding ritual acts, as a universal social fact, is one of the important issues of sociology and anthropology. In rural communities'life, behavior with the gift is the most frequently discussed topic. With the social development, cash gifts at the ceremonial occasions occupied the leading position. The flow of cash gifts made gift exchange much attention economic significance in the social behavior.In this paper, I draw on some scholars'theoretical results, and research the present situation in a rural of Shandong, exchange of basic local exchange gifts models, analysis of inter-family exchanges gifts, and depth dimension of social relations behind the gifts at all levels, try to exchange for gifts from the social facts with the interpretation of the micro to the macro. Since reform and opening, all levels of our society are undergoing far-reaching changes. Economic interests become the center of social values, material interests become an important driving force of action, and so complex relationships will be based on interest. Changed of social economic orientation arouse the people's pursuit of material desires and interests of people seeking and pragmatic spirit of rational calculation. The intent of this paper is trying to find out the deep reason that people fall into the gifs' vicious circle, explore the social exchange model of gifts exchange action in modern society, analyze the society relationship and get a road of light ceremony but full of feeling. This paper reviews the theory of social exchange and international research on gift giving, based on literature and field through the use of two research methods, specific research methods, including analysis of existing statistical data, such as semi-structured interviews, focuses gifts exchange on a village in Shandong and interviews to obtain data in order to explore the theoretical level.The core of paper is deep analysis of the two dimensions with the gift exchange model of social. The first dimension is the perspective from the surface of the flow of cash gifts. Firstly, I analyze the foreign gift exchange model of social, such as gift occasion and gift form, approach and appreciation gifts, the position between the recipient and the giver, ECT. Secondly, I illustrate the gift exchange model in our local community, from China's traditional culture, and then explore the research of the gift exchange model from contemporary scholars in different angles. Last, I compare the model of gift exchange between Western society and our society's. My empirical research starts in this chapter. I investigate the local gift exchange in the daily life of villagers. At this stage of ceremonial occasions, the flow of gift is by the cash form. From the following perspective: basic elements of gift exchange, how to determine the amount of money, the influence of cash gift in family life. Finally, I chose a representative of rural families as casework; analyze the scheme of cash gift intercourse. From the perspective of family "social life-cycle", I dissect the whole process that a family join into and quit the gift exchange circle. My purpose is to explore the influence of cash gift flowing from the last generation to the next. The second dimension is the social relationships behind the cash gift. In this paper, I expound three levels: the maintenance and expansion of people's social relation behind the cash gift, the social structure behind the gifts and the power during the cash gift exchange. Firstly, I explain the meaning of people social relation. Secondly, I explain social structure behind the gifts.In this part, I insert two charts in order to describe better. One is structure of the social relation in a family's ceremonial occasions. The other is the contact structure of a villager's include urban and rural. Rigidly, I discuss the imbalanced in the process of the cash gift flowing. The power brings the disequilibrium.Finally, I reach the conclusions that gifts flow into the widening circle in semi-mobile home and mobile family, and the instrumental role of significant gifts gets clearer. Modern "Structure of grade" is formed gradually, so the flow of cash gifts emerges new function Also, because the cash gifts instead of in-kind gifts, the market exchange gradually replace social exchange in the act with the ceremony, economic rational calculation falls into the most traditional social exchange and takes significant impacts. In further discussions, I summarize the profound motivation of villagers'gift giving behavior by favors, reciprocity and economic rational perspective, attempts to explore the path toward "Pure Gift". In the last article, I reflect on the harvest in the research process and shortcomings and the future direction.