This article consists of four sections: The first section elucidates a general theory of social behavior-equity theory. Equity theory consists of four propositions designed to predict when individuals will perceive that they are justly treated and how they will react when they find themselves enmeshed in unjust relationships. The second section summarizes the extensive research that has been conducted to lest equity theory. The third section points out the ways in which equity theory interlocks with other major social psychological theories. The final section hints at some ways in which equity theory can be applied to understanding social problems.
This experiment tested the proposition that the worse the consequences of an accidental occurrence, the greater the tendency of Ss to assign responsibility for the catastrophe to some appropriate person. The experiment also tested the specific proposition that an accident victim would be assigned increasing responsibility for his accident as its severity increased. Data supported these hypotheses. There seemed to be 2 ways of judging the same behavior as more responsible for the accident when accidental consequences were severe: (a) Ss could perceive the responsible person as more careless when accidental consequences were severe; (b) Ss could perceive the responsible person's behavior correctly, but apply stricter moral standards in judging the behavior when accidental consequences were severe. Data indicated that only the 2nd method of assigning responsibility was utilized by Ss.
It was proposed that an individual would most often expect to date, would try to date, and would like a partner of approximately his own social desirability. In brief, we attempted to apply level of aspiration theory to choice of social goals. A field study was conducted in which individuals were randomly paired with one another at a "Computer Dance." Level of aspiration hypotheses were not confirmed. Regardless of S's own attractiveness, by far the largest determinant of how much his partner was liked, how much he wanted to date the partner again, and how often he actually asked the partner out was simply how attractive the partner was. Personality measures such as the MMPI, the Minnesota Counseling Inventory, and Berger's Scale of Self-Acceptance and intellectual measures such as the Minnesota Scholastic Aptitude Test, and high school percentile rank did not predict couple compatability. The only important determinant of S's liking for his date was the date's physical attractiveness.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.