THE EQUITY THEORY

THEORIES OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS

what does equity mean

• equity means there is fairness

why was the equity theory developed

• it was developed in response to criticism of the social exchange theory

why is equity in a relationship different to equality of a relationship

• equality of a relationship means that both partners have to give and receive exactly the same as each other

• whereas equity means that both patterners will give and receive different things in the relationship in a way that is fair to them

what does inequity cause

• inequity leads to one partner under benefitting from the relationship and the other over benefitting

• over benefiters will feel they are getting to much out of the relationship at the expense of the other partner so will feel guilty

• and under benefiters will feel annoyed at the unfairness

how does equity work in a relationship

• there is a trade off of profits and costs between partners so that they are split into the correct ratios that work for the partners in that relationship

what are the maintenance strategies for keeping relationships in equity

• work hard to restore equity in the relationship by one person putting more in or the other person putting less in

• revise the perceptions of rewards of costs and accept some costs as norms and accepting some rewards that are lacking need to be forgotten

explain the supporting evidence evaluation point for this topic

• supporting evidence includes studies of real life relationships that confirm equity theory as a more valid explanation than SET

• Utne et al (1984) carried out a survey of 118 recently married couples and used two self report measuring scales

• these couples had been together for at least two years before they got married and were aged between 16 and 45 years old

• they found that partners who considered their relationship to be equitable were more satisfied than those who saw themselves as over or under benefiting

• this suggests the equity theory has credibility and is right to assume equity results in a positive relationship for both partners

explain the cultural differences evaluation point for this topic

• equity theory assumes the need for equity in a relationship is universal because its fundamental in human behaviour

• Aumer Ryan et al (2007) found cultural variation in the link between equity and satisfaction

• researchers compared couples in collectivist and individualist cultures

• they found couples in individualist cultures found relationships most satisfying when they were equitable

• whereas couples from collectivist cultures found relationships most satisfying when they were over benefiting in the relationship

• this was the same for both men and women

• therefore this suggests that the equity theories explanation of the feelings of over and under benefiting maybe limited to specific cultures

explain the individual differences evaluation point for this topic

• not all partners are concerned about achieving equity

• Huseman et al (1987) suggest that some people are less sensitive to equity than others

• some people are described as benevolent who are happy to put more into a relationship than thy get out and others are entitleds who believe they deserve to be over benefited and accept it without feeling distressed or guilty

• this shows there are individual differences about the need for equity in a relationship as it varies from person to person