Equity Theory

• Equity Theory


  economic theory which suggests partners are concerned about fairness in relationships.

  fairness is achieved when people feel they get what they deserve from relationships
• Role of Equity


  equity = fairness

  both partners level of profit are roughly the same.

  lack of equity -> one partner over benefits and other under benefits - can cause dissatisfaction and unhappiness.

  under benefitted partner who will feel greater dissatisfaction.

  over benefitted partners will feel guilt and shame.
• Equity and Equality


  balance between rewards and costs

  For example, one partner has a disability preventing them doing domestic chores.

  equal distribution of these tasks wouldn't be seen as fair.

  equity may come from compensation the disabled partner could offer in other areas, or satisfaction active partner gains.
• Consequences of inequity


  partners who's subject of inequity will become distressed and dissatisfied with relationship

  greater perceived inequity, greater the dissatisfaction
• Changes in Perceived Equity

  - what makes us most unahppy is a change in level of perceived equity as time goes on.

  e.g. perfectly normal for people to put in more than they receive in beginning, but if it carries on it will lead to dissatisfaction.
• Dealing with Inequity


  under benefitted partner will work hard to make relationships more fair as long as they believe it's possible to do so and relationship is salvageable.

  More unfair relationship feels, harder they will work to restore equity.

  Partners will revise their ideas of rewards and costs so relationship continues.
• Walster et al


  saw equity based on 4 principles

  1. Profit

  2. Distribution

  3. Dissatisfaction

  4. Realignment
• Weakness - Equity Theory may not be valid in all cultures

  assumes need to equity is a universal feature.

  Aumer-Ryan et al found there are cultural differences between equity and satisfaction.

  Researcher compared couples in collectivist culture and individualist culture.

  Couples from individualist culture consider their relationship most satisfying when relationship was equitable, whereas in collectivist culture were most satisfied when they were over benefitting.

  Weakness - highlight culture bias and suggest the theory is limited in its ability to account for all romantic relationships
• Strength - Supporting evidence for Equity Theory

  Utne et al used self-report scale to measure equity and satisfaction in 118 recently married couples.

  Husbands and Wives were aged between 16-45yrs and been together more than 2yrs before marrying.

  Results shows newly-weds who considered their relationship equitable were more satisfied than those who considered themselves as over or under benefitting.

  Strength - supports the central prediction of equity theory supporting its validity as an explanation of romantic relationships.
• Weakness - Contradictory evidence against Equity Theory

  Berg and McQuinn conducted a longitudinal study on 38 dating couples, Didn't find any increase in equity over time, but discovered a high level of self-disclosure and perceived equity in beginning of relationships was strong predictor that a couple would stay in their relationship and low equity in beginning was a reliable predictor of a break-up.

  Weakness - findings oppose the central claim of the theory, and contradict idea that equity increases over time, after the initiation of a romantic relationship
• Weakness - equity theory may not apply to all relationships

  Clark and Mills suggested equity theory may be a better or more valid explanation for friendship and business/non-personal relationships, as opposed to simply romantic relationships.

  Researchers emphasised it's important to draw distinctions between different types of relationships.

  Weakness - results show there's limited support for equity theory. may be better to study romantic relationships using an idiographic approach which focuses on qualitative experiences of individuals rather than employing a nomothetic approach.
• Weakness- important gender differences in perception of relationship fairness that equity theory ignores

  Researchers like Sprecher found women tend to be more disturbed when under benefitting, and feel more guilt when over benefitting, while DeMaris et al suggest women are more focused on relationships and so more sensitive to injustices.

  Weakness - indicate clear gender differences between males and females and highlight importance of conducting research into males and females separately, to avoid gender bias. May then result in an alpha bias and exaggerate differences between males and females that don't actually exist.