Discuss Equity Theory.

AO1

• an economic model, partners seek high-reward/ low-cost relationships, minimax principle

• it is the ratio of rewards and costs for each partner that must be equivalent, not the amount of each item itself

• for example, one partner may do the cleaning, while the other does the cooking, though not an equal division of chores, this is fair and equitable as each is putting in the same effort, experiencing an equivalent cost

• inequity leads to dissatisfaction

  • the over benefitted feels guilty

  • while the under benefitted feels resentful and bitter

• perceiving inequity leads to…

  • a deliberate restoration effort - the greater the inequity, the greater the effort to restore

  • cognitive adaptations - a partner will re-evaluate the rewards and costs to make it feel more equitable even though nothing changes, e.g. accept what was previously seen as a cost to be a norm

AO3

• Mary Utne (1984), 118 recently-married couples took questionnaires measuring their perception of equity in the partnership and their satisfaction, greater sense of equity was correlated with greater satisfaction, confirms central prediction

• cultural differences, a 2007 study showed that in collectivist cultures the partner is most satisfied when over-benefitting, which does not conform to the theory’s prediction that equity is necessary for satisfaction, cannot account for cultural differences

• individual differences, ‘entitled’s and ‘benevolent’s, some are more or less sensitive to equity than others, equity not necessarily a global feature of romantic relationships

• McQuinn (1986) found in a longitudinal study that equity was not the determining factor in the success of relationships, could not differentiate between those who stayed together vs broke up, concept of self-disclosure was far more important

• mixed evidence surrounding equity in romantic relationships, idea is more confirmed to be necessary in other types of relationships - friends, colleagues etc.