theories of romantic relationships: equity theory Flashcards
what is equity theory?
an economic theory developed in response to critcism of SET that it fails t take into account the need most people have for balance rather than profit in a relationship
how is equity different from equality?
- equity means fariness
- costs and rewards don’t have to be the same for each partner
- satisfaction is about perceived fairness
- if one partner puts a lot into the relationship but also get a lot out of it, they are likely to feel satisfied
what matters most with equity?
- both partners’ level of profit, rewards minus cost, must be roughly the same (walster et al. 1978)
- ratio of rewards:costs to each other, not the size or amount of them
what happens when there is a lack of equity?
- one partner over benefits
- the other partner underbenefits
- this leads to dissatisfaction and unhappiness
what is the underbenefitted partner likely to feel? (4)
greatest dissatisfaction in the form of:
- anger
- hostility
- resentment
- humility
what is the overbenefitted partner likely to feel? (3)
- guilt
- discomfort
- shame
how can equity be ensured in relationships?
- making negotiations
- by distributing rewards fairly between the partners
- making trade-offs
what are the consequences of inequity?
- partner who perceives inquity will become distressed and dissatisfied with the relationship if this continues for long enough
- the greater the perceived inequity, the greater the dissatisfaction
- this applies to both the overbenefitted and underbenefitted partner to the extent they both perceive the inequity
what makes us most dissatisfied?
- changes in the level of perceived equity as time goes on
- at the start of a relationship, it may feel natural to contribute more than you recieve, but if the relationship develops in a way you continue to put more into the relationship and get less out of it, this will not feel as satisfying as it did earlier on
how do romantic partners behaviourally react to inequity?
- underbenefitted partner is usually motivated to make the relationship more equitable if they believe it is possible to do so and that the relationship is salvageable
- the more unfair the relationship feel, the harder they will work to restore equity
how do romantic partners cognitively react to inequity?
- revise their perceptions of rewards and costs so the relationship feels more equitable to them, even if nothing changes
- what was once seen as a cost earlier in the relationship (untidiness, thoughtlessness, actual abuse) is now accepted as the norm
evaluation: research support (utne et al. 1984)
- surveyed 118 recently-married couples, measuring equity with two self-report scales
- ps were 16-45 and had been together for more than 2 years before marrying
- couples who considered their relationship equitable were more satisfied than those who saw themselves overbenefitting or underbenefitting
- confirms that equity is a major concern of romantic couples and is linked with satisfaction
evaluation: equity does not play the predicted role in relationship (dis)satisfaction (berg and mcquinn 1986)
- equity did not increase over time, as would be predicted by the theory
- relationships which ended and those which continued did not differ in terms of equity
- other variables, eg. self-disclosure, were significantly more important
evaluation: cultural differences in the link between equity and satisfaction (aumer-ryan et al. 2007)
- couples from an individualist culture (US) considered their relationships to be most satisfying when it was equitable
- partners in a collectivist culture (jamaica) were most satisfied when they were overbenefitting
- this was true for both men and women, so cannot be explained by gender differences
evaluation: not all partners in romantic relationships are concerned about achieving equity (huseman et al. 1987)
- some people may be less concerned about equity than the ‘norm’
- desire for equity varies from one individual to another and is not a universal feature of romantic relationships
what are benevolents? (huseman et al. 1987)
partners who are prepared to contribute more to the relationship than they get out of it (underbenefit)
what are entitleds? (huseman et al. 1987)
partners who believe they deserve to overbenefit and accept it without feeling distressed or guilty
evaluation: direction of cause and effect of equity (grote and clark 2001)
- as soon as partners start monitoring each other’s contributions, this is a sign of dissatisfaction
- once dissatisfaction sets in, partners notice inequities and become even more dissatisfied in a ‘cycle of misery’
- lack of equity may not cause dissatisfaction; dissatisfaction may cause a lack of equity
