The document discusses the concept of social reciprocity. It defines reciprocity as the mutual exchange of resources or feelings between individuals, groups, or organizations. It explores reciprocity through various academic lenses such as political science, economics, neurology, psychology, and philosophy. It also provides examples of how understanding reciprocity can help with fundraising, organizing, leadership, and advocacy. The overall message is that reciprocity serves both individual and social functions, and that it has the potential for positive social change when approached with an ideal of mutual benefit.

1. Social Reciprocity
Fruition Academy of
Social Imagination and Action
October 19, 2012

2. Welcome
 Agenda
 Define and explore reciprocity
 Introduce Ideal Reciprocity
 Practical application in organizations

3. Goals
 Understand how and why we engage in
reciprocal relationships and the purpose this
serves for us individually and collectively
 Identify factors that influence reciprocity
 Discuss the outcomes of reciprocity
 Discover how reciprocity influences
fundraising, community organizing,
leadership, and advocacy
 What are your goals?

4. Defining Reciprocity
 “the practice of exchanging things with others for
mutual benefit” Oxford English Dictionary
 “behaviour in which two people or groups of
people give each other help and advantages”
Cambridge Dictionary
 “means of social exchange that uses economic
and/or symbolic currency to maintain social
equilibrium” (Dreistadt, 2012, p. 2)
 “where altruistic and egotistical needs combine”
(Kets de Vries, 2011, p. 268)

5. Defining Reciprocity
 What: resources, feelings
 When: spontaneous or intentional
 Who: individuals, groups, organizations,
communities, countries
 Why:
 Equilibrium (Leifer, 1988)
 Social capital (Glanville & Bienenstock, 2009)
 Meet needs: individual, interpersonal, communal
 Social change (Dreistadt, 2012; Shuman, 2000)

6. “Every action has an equal
and opposite reaction”
Newton’s Third Law of Physics

7. Karmic Yoga
(Madhu & Krishnan, 2005)

8. Comparison
Newtonian Physics Karmic Yoga
Scientific Spiritual
Control Freedom
Transactional Transformational
Function Purpose
 There is order to the universe
 We can influence outcomes through our
actions

9. Multidisciplinary Perspectives

10. Political Science and Economics
 Opportunities and choices influence
decisions (Binmore, 2004)
 Game theory (Befu, 1977; Dubreuil, 2008;
Keysar, Converse, Wang, & Epley, 2008;
Leon, 2012)

11. Psychology and Neurology
 Decision making
(Emerson, 1976;
Engelsen, 2008)
 Emotions (Engelsen, 2008)
 Empathy (Piliavan &
Charng, 1990)
 Mirror neurons (Adenzato &
Garbarini, 2006;
Casile, Caggiano, &
Ferrari, 2011; Decety, 2010;
Gallesse, 2006; Hollan, 2012;
LaFasto & Larson, 2012;
Shmuelof & Zohary, 2007;
Vivona, 2009)
 Mind-Emotion-World
connections (Adenzato &
Garbarini, 2006;
Neiworth, 2009)

12. Philosophy and Sociology/Anthropology
 Social norms (Engelsen, 2008; Ghezzi &
Mingione, 2007)
 Duty (Engelsen, 2008; Quong, 2007)
 Culture (Befu, 1977; Hollan, 2012)
 Political and economic structure (Hollan,
2012)
 Social status (Hollan, 2012)
 Neighborhood (Phan, Blumer, & Demaiter,
2009; Segall, 2005)

13. Giving
 Why do we give?
 Self-image
 Positive emotions
 Anticipated return
(Bekkers, & Wiepking, 2011; DiDomenico, Tracey, &
Hough, 2009)

14. Receiving
“One has to help people to be more
generous. By receiving from others, by
letting them help you, you really aid them to
become bigger, more generous, more
magnanimous. You do them a service.”
Henry Miller in The Diary of Anais Nin, vol. 3

15. Sharing

16. Social Reciprocity
A+B=A+B+C
Zero Sum Positive Sum
Cynicism or Realism Idealism
Commensal symbiosis Mutual symbiosis
Paternalism or dependency Generative creativity
Individual or competitive Prosocial
Social maintenance Social change
Self-preservation or advancement Personal and communal
advancement
Hierarchical, dyadic, exchange, Egalitarian relationships, creative
expectations generation, becoming

17. Social Reciprocity
 Communal social reciprocity
 Self-understanding: collective or cosmos
 Goal: Transcendence
 Social norms and intentions externally
defined
 Existential social reciprocity
 Self-understanding: Intersubjective
 Goal: Becoming
 Social norms and intentions co-created
(Bianchin, 2003)

18. Doing Reciprocity: Fundraising
(Andreoni, 1990; Bekkers & Wiepking, 2011; Michalski, 2003; Moody, 2006; Piliavan & Charng, 1990; Segall, 2005; Sobel, 2005; Van Slyke & Brooks, 2005)

19. Doing Reciprocity: Organizing
(Michalski, 2003; Quong, 2007)

20. Doing Reciprocity: Leadership
(Glanville & Bienenstock, 2009)

21. Doing Reciprocity: Advocacy
(Andreoni, Harbaugh, & Vesterlund, 2003; Parks & Rumble, 2001)

22. Robert’s Story

23. Gail’s Story

24. A Model of Social Reciprocity
1. Piliavan & Charng, 1990; 2. Engelsen, 2008; 3. Sobel, 2005; 4. Glanville & Bienenstock, 2009; 5. Binmore, 2004; 6. Michalski, 2003; 7. Engelsen, 2008; 8.
Bichierei, Xiao, & Muldoon, 2011; Eckstein, 2001; 9. Glanville & Bienenstock, 2009; 10. Engelen, 2008; 11. Leifer, 1988; 12. Dreistadt, 2012; Shuman, 2000)

25. Social Capital and Sharing

26. Summary
 Reciprocity serves individual, relational, and
social functions
 Reciprocity can be understood through the
lens of political science, economics,
neurology, psychology, sociology,
anthropology, and philosophy
 Understanding reciprocity can help us be
more effective fundraisers, leaders,
organizers, and advocates
 Reciprocity can have a generative impact

27. Next Steps…