It's not who you know, it's how you know them:: Who exchanges what with whom?

Reciprocity - doing for others if they have done for you - is a key way people mobilize resources to deal with daily life and seize opportunities. In principle, reciprocity (the Golden Rule) is a universal norm. In practice, it is variable. Personal networks rarely operate as solidarities and as such, people cannot count on all the members of their networks to provide help all the time. Rather, social support comes uncertainly from a variety of ties in networks. This paper uses survey research to understand the variable and contingent nature of reciprocity and inquires about the kinds of resources exchanged between people. We investigate the extent to which interpersonal ties, network characteristics, and people's personal characteristics (e.g., gender) affect the nature of reciprocal relationships. The evidence is extraordinarily clear on one subject - giving Support is strongly associated with getting it. Analyses show that getting support from network members is the key to East Yorkers reciprocating - usually in kind but sometimes with other forms of support. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.