Equity Theory Flashcards
What is the Equity Theory?
Claims that people are most comfortable when what they get out of a relationship is roughy equal to what they put in.
What do Over Benefited people feel?
- pity
- guilt
- shame
What do Under Benefited people feel?
- anger
- sadness
- resentment
What did Schafer and Keith do?
- surveyed hundreds of married couples of all ages to discover more about the Equity Theory.
What did Schafer and Keith find?
- during child rearing years, wives often felt under benefited and husbands over benefited.
- once children had left, couples were more likely to experience equity and feel satisfied with their marriages.
What did Hatfield and Rapson suggest about the Equity Theory?
- suggested equality in the early stages of a relationship.
- once couples become deeply committed to each other they become les concerned about day to day rewards and equity.
Evaluating: What did Stafford and Canary do?
- 200 married couples completed measure of equity and relationship satisfaction.
- each partner asked about relationship maintenance strategies they used e.g. assurances, sharing tasks, positivity.
Evaluating: What did Stafford and Canary find?
- satisfaction was highest for partners who saw their relationship as equitable.
- under benefited husbands used less maintenance strategies.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EQUITY AND MARTIAL HAPPINESS SEEMED TO BE COMPLIMENTARY.
Evaluating: What did Aumer-Ryan find?
All cultures viewed an equitable relationship as important.
Evaluating: Explain Gender Differences in Equity Theory.
- women feel more under benefited than men.
- women feel more guilt when being over benefited.
Evaluating: Explain the problem of Causality.
Research has established that both equity and satisfaction are linked but does not provide a cause for this link.
