EQUITY THEORY

Walser et al.

- People are concerned about fairness in a relationship, and that is achieved when people feel they get approximately what they deserve for a relationship

- One partners benefits - their costs should equal the other partners benefits - their costs

~EQUITY VS EQUALITY~

- It is not the amount or size of rewards and costs that is important, it is the perceived ratio of costs and rewards

- For example, if one partner feels as though they are putting more into the relationship but at the same time feels as though they are getting more out of it, it will still be considered equitable

~CONSEQUENCES OF INEQUALITY~

- An inequitable relationship means one partner’s perceived level of profit outweighs the other partner’s perceived level of profit

- This means that one partner is under-benefitted while the other partner is over-benefitted

  • Under-benefitted: experience anger, hostility, resentment and humiliation

  • Over-benefitted: experience guilt, discomfort and shame

- Inequitable relationships lead to dissatisfaction and may break down

~PERCEIVED EQUITY~

- Perception of equity changes over time. For example, it is normal for many people to put in more than they receive at the beginning of a relationship, but if this continues for too long, it will lead to dissatisfaction.

~DEALING WITH INEQUALITY~

Behavioural Outcomes:

  • Under-benefitted partner is motivated to make the relationship more equitable as long as they believe it is possible

  • The more unfair the relationship feels, the harder they will work to restore equity

Cognitive Outcomes:

  • Under-benefitted may revise their perceptions of rewards and costs so that the relationship feels more equitable to them, even if nothing changes

  • What was once considered a cost (e.g. untidiness or actual abuse) is now accepted as the norm

EVALUATION

Research Support

→ PRESENCE OF SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

  • One strength of equity theory is that there is supporting evidence from real-world couples.

  • Psychologists carried out a survey of 118 married couples. These couples had been in a relationship for more than 2 years before getting married. Equity in these relationships was added using self-report scales.

  • The study found that couples who perceived their relationship as equitable were significantly more satisfied than those who felt they were either over-benefitting or under-benefitting.

  • This supports equity theory as it highlights the link between relationship satisfaction and perceived fairness which is a more valid explanation than Social Exchange Theory (SET).

Conflicting Evidence:

→ CULTURALLY-BIASED

  • One limitation of equity theory is that it may not apply to all cultures.

  • Psychologists found cultural differences in the relationship between equity and satisfaction. They found that couples from individualistic cultures were most satisfied when their relationships were equitable. However, in collectivist cultures, partners were most satisfied when they were over-benefitting their partner.

  • This suggests that the importance of equity varies across cultures, challenging the idea that equity is a universal requirement for relationship satisfaction.

  • Therefore equity theory may be culturally biased as it fails to account for how cultural norms influence relationships, limiting its generalisability to non-Western societies.

→ DOES NOT ACCOUNT FOR INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES

  • Another limitation of equity theory is that it does not account individual differences in how much partners value equity in their relationships.

  • Psychologists suggested that not everyone is equally concerned with achieving equity.

  • They identified two types of people: ’benevolents’ who are willing to contribute more to the relationship than they receive, and ‘entitleds’ who feel they deserve to be over-benefitted and accept it without feeling guilt.

  • This shows that some individuals are less sensitive to issues of fairness, which challenges the assumption that equity is essential for all relationship partners.

→ GENDER-BIASED

  • A further limitation of equity theory is that it may be gender-biased as there is evidence suggesting gender differences in the importance of equity within relationships.

  • Psychologists conducted a study with 1500 couples to explore whether marital inequity was linked to later marital disruption. They found that the only form of inequity significantly associated with marital breakdown was a woman’s sense of being under-benefitted.

  • This suggests that women may be more sensitive to inequity due to their stronger focus on relationship dynamics, making them more likely to react negatively to perceived injustice.

  • Therefore, equity theory may fail to explain relationship behaviour equally for both men and women.