The value of the benefit and hence the debt is in proportion to and varies with - among other things - the intensity of the recipient's need at the time the benefit was bestowed ("a friend in need..."), the resources of the donor ("he gave although he could ill afford it..."), the motives imputed to the donor ("without thought of gain..."), and the nature of constraints which are perceived to exist or to be absent ("he gave of his own free will...") .
Gouldner A W. The norm of reciprocity: a preliminary statement. Amer. Sociol. Rev.
25:161-78, 1960. [Washington University, St. Louis, MO]
25:161-78, 1960. [Washington University, St. Louis, MO]