The basic premise of social interdependence theory is that the way in which goals are structured determines how individuals interact, i.e. the types of relations between them. The theory posits two different types of social interdependence, positive and negative, positive interdependence exists when there is a positive correlation among individuals’ goal attainments; individuals perceive that they can attain their goals if and only if the other individuals with whom they are cooperatively linked attain their goals. Negative interdependence exists when there is a negative correlation among individuals’ goal achievements; individuals perceive that they can obtain their goals if and only if the other individual with whom they are competitively linked fail to obtain their goals.
