Title: 5. Equity Theory - PSYCH 484: Work Attitudes and Job Motivation - Confluence
Headings: Equity Theory Overview
Equity Theory Overview
Key Terms
Equity Theory can be broken down into four basic propositions (Huseman, Hatfield, & Miles, 1987).
Ways to Reduce Inequity
Employee Behavioral Processes to Restore Equity
Employee Cognitive Processes to Restore Equity
Employer Processes to Restore Equity
Theories That Assist Equity Theory
Equity Theory Components
Equity Sensitivity
Where does Perceived Inequity Come From?
Comparison Other
Examples of Inequity
Overpayment Inequity: Positive Inequity
Research on Equity Theory
1967: Effects of Inequity on Work Output and Quality by Underpayment
1988: Equity and Workplace Status: A Field Experiment
1990: Employee Theft as a Reaction to Underpayment Inequity: The Hidden Cost of Pay Cuts
1993: The Equity Sensitive Construct
2000: Effort-Reward Imbalance and Burnout Among Nurses
2005: Wage Comparisons with Similar and Dissimilar Others
Study 2
2006: Work Motivation on an Assembly Line
2009: Dishonesty in the Name of Equity
2013: The mediating effect of supervisor conflict on procedural injustice–job strain relations: The function of power distance.
The Future of Equity Research
Strengths and Weaknesses of Equity Theory
Strengths
Weaknesses
Procedural and Distributive Justice
Fairness Heuristic Theory in Equity Theory
Global Application of Equity Theory
Equity vs. Equality
Individualism vs. Collectivism
The Culturally-Sensitive Equity Model
Workplace Considerations
References

Content: Distributive Justice
Outcomes are spread evenly and fairly throughout an organization (Stecher and Rosse, 2007). Sweeney and McFarlin (1997) found that this type of justice was more important for men than women. Procedural Justice
Determines if the process of allocating outcomes/rewards is fair by making the procedures fully transparent (Redmond, 2010). Sweeney and McFarlin (1997) found this type of justice to be more important for women than for men. Underpayment Inequity
Also known as negative inequity. This occurs when the ratio of one's own inputs and outcomes is greater than or less than favorable than the ratio of a comparison other, creating a sense of unfairness. ( Redmond, 2010). Overpayment Inequity
Also known as positive inequity. This occurs when the ratio of one's own inputs and outcomes is lower than or more favorable than the ratio of a comparison other, causing a person to feel overcompensated. ( Redmond, 2010).