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The theory of equity is based on the processes of social comparison and the motivating force of Festinger's cognitive dissonance. Theory that defends that motivation is essentially a process of social comparison in which effort and the results or rewards received by it are taken into account and compared with the results and efforts made by others. Adams (1965) offered a more elaborate formulation within a work and organizational context. It points out 5 relevant points in its theoretical formulation.
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Key points A
Individuals in work situations distinguish between contributions they make and compensation obtained in return and establish a ratio between the inputs or contributions and the compensation received. B. There is a process of social comparison.
The subject compares the reason for his attributions-compensation with those he perceives in other people. This process results in a perception of equity if the individual considers that the 2 reasons are equal or of lack of equity if the 2 reasons are perceived as clearly different.
The consequences of inequity is an induced tension that prompts the person to try to reduce this inequality, in a similar way as they would in a situation of cognitive dissonance.
It assumes that this tension will be greater the greater the perceived inequality.
It indicates the main behavioral reactions that the person can have to reduce that tension. It can distort the perception of compensation or contributions by one of the parties by altering the ratio between them to reduce or eliminate inequalities. You can influence the other party to change their contributions or compensation by changing the reason between the two.
You can modify your own contributions or compensation, you can change your comparison reference, comparing yourself with other people, or abandon those exchange relationships. What you will most often do is maximize positive rewards or minimize contributions, and you will resist cognitive and behavioral changes in contributions and rewards that are more central to your self-esteem or self-concept. The person will be more resistant to altering cognitions about his own contributions or results than to altering those of others who serve as a reference.
The research focuses on the study of situations of overpayment or underpayment of work performed compared to the pay offered to others. If it is a situation of excessive pay the individual can increase the quantity of work or the quality of the work performed. Predictions supported by some papers, however, equity theory is stronger when it predicts the effects of less than expected compensation compared to that received by others.
When you receive little in return for your work, you can restore equity by producing less or by reducing your contributions or contributions in any way. You could leave your job and find a more equitable one. Consequences that are the ones that are usually found most frequently.
Main problems
We know little about how people select the referent for their comparisons.
It is difficult to adequately summarize and quantify contributions and compensation in complex situations.
It is difficult to know how and when these factors change over time. The way of solving these problems of the theoretical framework of equity theory seems to require a broader theoretical framework that addresses the study of social comparison processes in all their complexity.
Reinforcement theory
Behavior modification, based on operant conditioning, has been applied to the industrial and organizational context. Theory that differs from those presented because it defends that most of the behavior is environmentally determined and not based on the cognitive and motivational processes inside the body. The central factor in controlling behavior is reinforcement.
A reinforcement is any consequence that, when immediately following a response, increases the likelihood that that response will be repeated later. Few studies have systematically examined operant conditioning theses in this context. The studies have been directed in 2 directions: some introduce some type of procedure described as reinforcing and compare the behavior of the subjects under reinforcement conditions with that of others who are not in those conditions.
Studies such as those by Adams (1975) and Komaki et al. (1977) point out that reinforcement increases performance; other studies try to determine the differential efficacy of the different reinforcement programs. Fixed ratio reinforcements, variable ratio reinforcements and continuous ones are studied. The results of these studies are contradictory and it seems that there is little difference in the employment of one or the other in terms of performance in the organization. The problem in investigating operant conditioning in organizational contexts is conceptual and methodological. In many cases the definition of reinforcement programs are inconsistent and do not conform to the original definitions provided by Skinner.
Regarding the methodological aspect, it is difficult to prove the effects of reinforcement on behavior since its use tends to introduce the use of other factors that could be responsible for the results obtained. Locke (1977) points out that the existence of a large number of different factors of reinforcement that can explain the results obtained in investigations where the intention is to test the effects of reinforcement on behavior.
He argues that reinforcement affects action through goals, expectations, and other cognitive processes. The conceptual difficulty of delimiting the concept of reinforcement, response and reinforcement programs and the methodological difficulty that prevents isolating the effects of reinforcement from others that are usually linked in behavior modification programs, this is a procedure used in organizations, published research papers are relatively few and generally inconclusive.
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