Final answer:
The correct statement about reciprocal gift exchanges is that participants agree to receive a gift and repay it with another, known as balanced reciprocity. This practice varies in form from generalized, often altruistic sharing within close-knit groups, to more calculated and equivalent exchanges among wider social circles or in institutional settings.
Step-by-step explanation:
The true statement about reciprocal gift exchanges in all societies is: a) Participants in a gift exchange agree to receive a gift and repay it with another. This is known as balanced reciprocity, and is present in a variety of forms across different societies, whether in familial settings or among acquaintances and neighbors.
Generalized reciprocity, often practiced among family members and very close friends, involves sharing with little concern for the value of the goods or immediate compensation. However, balanced reciprocity involves some expectation of a return gift of similar value, though not necessarily with an explicit discussion on the economic values involved. This is observed in various horticultural and agricultural societies, as well as within more casual friend and neighbor interactions.
In more formalized or institutional contexts, such as international diplomacy, the principle of reciprocity is also upheld as a guiding norm. While in market-based economies, the more impersonal market exchange dominates, where goods and services are traded with a more immediate settlement and less of an ongoing relational commitment.