PSY 3102 Chapter 6: Fairness and Equity
5 Mar 2017
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Document Summary
Social exchange theory: all human resources are based on an exchange of costs and bene ts humans are always looking to maximize their bene ts and minimize their costs. Compelling theory because of the simplicity of assumptions. Controversial because it suggests that there is little difference in how we conduct relationships with close people, strangers, and others. Resources exchanged: people can exchange a wide variety of resources that fall into six categories; love, status, information, money, goods, services. Equity theory: proposes that people scrutinize their outcomes relative to their inputs and then compare the result to their partner"s inputs and outcomes by applying the following formula. Ia and ib represent the respective perceptions of the inputs for person a and person b. oa and. In principle, if the relationship is considered equitable, the ratio of inputs will be equal between a and b. It may be next to impossible to determine equality in a situational rather than theoretical context.
