A-Level Psychology (AQA): Relationships - Equity Theory

Equity Theory

• Equity theory is an extension of social exchange theory

• People are content in their relationships if the benefits are roughly equal to the costs

• Relationships lacking equity are more likely to result in dissatisfaction

"Relationships that lack equity are more likely to be associated with dissatisfaction."

Winning formula of relationships

• The winning formula to maintain a happy relationship according to Equity Theory is that both partners' benefits minus their costs should be equal to one another

• It doesn't matter if both partners put in the same effort and receive the same benefits as long as both their levels of profit are roughly the same

• With Equity Theory, it is not important the size or the amount of rewards and costs that matters, but instead, it is the ratio of the two that is important

"Partners’ benefits minus their costs should be equal to another partners’ benefits minus their costs."

Factors in achieving equity

• Equity in relationships does not imply that each partner's costs and rewards have to be precisely the same

• Each partner should feel that they get the rewards that they deserve and each partner should receive what they put in

• According to Equity Theory, fairness is achieved when people feel they get approximately what they deserve

• The amount of profit left over after costs should be roughly the same in both individuals

• The concept of costs and rewards are very subjective to each partner

"Now as I said earlier, it's not about cutting in and getting out exactly the same as your partner."

Over-benefit and under-benefit

• Inequity arises when one partner over-benefits while the other under-benefits

• Over-benefiting leading to guilt and shame while under-benefiting leading to anger, resentment, and humiliation

• The longer those feelings continue, the longer inequity continues propagating, leading to dissatisfaction and unhappiness for both partners

• There is not just an increase in dissatisfaction with inequity, but also with changes in its level over time

"If inequity occurs and it doesn't lead to a relationship breakdown, there are several ways in which partners can deal with the inequity." (327)

Ways of dealing with Inequity

Cognitive Level

• Dealing with inequity at the cognitive level involves changing the perception of costs and rewards

• One way of achieving this is by changing the standard of comparison or perception of fairness

• Another way is to reframe the contribution of a partner and see it in a more positive light

Behavioral Level

• Dealing with inequity at the behavioral level involves changing behavior and adjusting the level of the cost of investments

• Less investment from a partner could balance the inequity

• The partner who is under-benefiting could work even harder, making the relationship more equitable as long as they believe

Equity Theory

• People will work to restore equity in their relationships if they perceive them to be unfair

• They'll put more effort to make the relationship more equitable

• They'll start to revise their perceptions of rewarding cost, tricking themselves into feeling that their relationship is more equitable than it actually is

• If nothing actually changes, they'll start to accept things as the norm and feel less like a cost

"Even if nothing actually changes, they'll start to accept things as the norm and feel less like a cost."

Contradictory Research

• Longitudinal study on 38 18 couples

• No increase in equity over time but high level of self-disclosure and perceived equity at the beginning of the relationships was a strong predictor of relationship continuation, and vice versa

• Perceived fairness is either present or not in relationships from the very beginning, which opposes the central claim of equity theory

• Suggests that other factors such as self-disclosure may play a more important role in relationships than equity

"Perceived fairness is either present or not in relationships from the very beginning, which opposes the central claim of equity theory."

Individual Differences

• People have different levels of sensitivity to inequity: benevolent or entitled

• Equity is not a global feature of all romantic relationships as it is dependent on someone's personality and individual differences

Equity Theory and Romantic Relationships

• Equity Theory proposes that people are content in their relationships if the benefits equal the costs.

• However, according to Mills and Clark, it's not possible to assess equity in loving relationships as a lot of the input is emotional and unquantifiable.

• Thus, there might be a better way to study romantic relationships that use a qualitative experience approach focusing on the individual instead of a normal thick approach, looking at generating universal laws for human relationships.

"Equity theory proposes a universal theory of romantic relationships and that theory suggests that people are content in their relationships if the benefits equal the costs."

"It's not possible to assess equity in terms of loving relationships as a lot of the input is emotional and very unquantifiable. So consequently, it's probably better to study romantic relationships using an idiosyncratic approach which focuses on qualitative experiences of an individual rather than employing a nomothetic approach which looks at generating universal laws for human relationships."

Nomothetic vs Idiosyncratic Approach

• Equity Theory uses nomothetic research to generate universal laws that apply to everybody using scientific methods.

• However, given the unquantifiable nature of what is being assessed, it might be more useful to use qualitative research and an idiosyncratic approach focusing on the individual's experiences.

"Research into Equity Theory uses nomothetic research, so it aims to generate universal laws that apply to everybody using scientific methods. However, given the unquantifiable nature of what it is that we're trying to assess, that might not work. It might be more useful from an individual point of view and use qualitative research and an idiographic approach which focuses more on the experience of the individual." (800)

Evaluation Points

• Four evaluation points are provided in the video, which are the supporting research, contradictory research, and the issues and debates point.

• These evaluation points can be used as PEEL paragraphs to analyze the topic and provide critical thinking.