Social Relationships Life places us in
a complex web of relationships with other people. Our humanness arises
out of these relationships in the course of social interaction. Moreover, our
humanness must be sustained through social interaction—and fairly constantly so.
When an association continues long enough for two people to become linked
together by a relatively stable set of expectations, it is called a
relationship. People are bound within relationships by two
types of bonds: expressive ties and instrumental ties. Expressive ties are
social links formed when we emotionally invest ourselves in and commit ourselves
to other people. Through association with people who are meaningful to us, we
achieve a sense of security, love, acceptance, companionship, and personal
worth. Instrumental ties are social links formed when we cooperate with other
people to achieve some goal. Occasionally, this may mean working with instead of
against competitors. More often, we simply cooperate with others to reach some
end without endowing the relationship with any larger significance. According to Paragraph 1, which of the following is true of a relationship（）
A. It should be studied in the course of a social interaction.
B. It is a structure of associations with many people.
C. It places great demands on people,
D. It develops gradually over time.