Equity Theory

Question 1

Equity

Answer 1

• Walster et al. - An economic model of relationships based on the idea of fairness for each partner.
• Emphasises the need for each partner to experience a balance between their cost/effort and their benefit/reward.
• Assumes that most people try to achieve fairness in their relationships and feel distress if they perceive unfairness.
• It is inequity in relationships that is seen as having the potential to create dissatisfaction.

Question 2

Equality

Answer 2

Both people are being treated the exact same way.

Question 3

Distribution

Answer 3

Trade-offs and compensations are negotiated to achieve fairness in a relationship.

Question 4

Dissatisfaction

Answer 4

The greater the perceived inequity, the greater the dissatisfaction.

Question 5

Realignment

Answer 5

The more unfair the relationship feels, the harder the partner will work to restore equity. Or they may revise their perceptions of rewards and costs.

Question 6

+ P - Supportive evidence

Answer 6

E - Utne et al. did a survey of 118 recently married couples, measuring equity with two self-report scales. The husband and wives were aged between 16 and 45 years, and had been together for at least 2 years before marrying.
E - They found that couples who considered their relationship equitable were more satisfied than those who saw themselves as overbenefitting or underbenefitting.
L - This suggests that equity is more important than simply equality (SET). It is more valid and representative of real-life relationships than the social exchange theory.

Question 7

• P - Culturally biased

Answer 7

P - One limitation of the equity theory is that it is culturally biased.
E - Aumer-Ryan et al. found that there were cultural differences in the link between equity and satisfaction. They compared collectivist and individualist cultures and found that couples from individualist cultures.
E - They found that couples from an individualist culture considered their relationship to be most satisfying when the relationship was equitable, whereas collectivists were more satisfied when they were overbenefitting. This was true for both men and women.
L - This shows that the equity theory is not applicable across all relationships in all cultures.

Question 8

• P - Contradictory research

Answer 8

E - Berg and McQuinn - equity didn’t increase in their longitudinal study of dating couples.
E - The research fails to support the predictions made by the equity theory that states that satisfying romantic relationships should be more equitable over time.
L - This casts further doubt over the credibility of the equity theory.