Communal and exchange orientation describes two ways of running a relationship, first drawn out by social psychologists Margaret Clark and Judson Mills. In a communal relationship you give and respond to the other person's needs out of care, without keeping track of who owes what; in an exchange relationship benefits are recorded and expected to be repaid in kind, like a fair trade. This self-identification places you along that continuum in your close relationships — from strongly communal, giving freely, to strongly exchange, valuing clear reciprocity. Most people are communal with loved ones and exchange-minded with colleagues or strangers, so where you sit by default reveals how you give care and weigh fairness.
Communal and exchange relationships were distinguished by Clark and Mills (1979); the Communal Orientation Scale (Clark, Ouellette, Powell & Milberg, 1987) measures the disposition at the individual level. The two are relationship norms rather than better-or-worse types — close ties usually run on communal rules, market and work ties on exchange rules. (Clark & Mills — communal vs exchange relationships)