John stacey adams equity theory biography

This distinction highlights how equity is rarely considered in isolation. Importantly, it is the perception of an individual’s and another person’s inputs and outcomes that matter, rather than actual inputs and outcomes. 1 Influenced by Festinger, inequity was deemed to exist when someone’s perceived job inputs and/or outcomes were opposite to what they perceived another’s inputs and/or outcomes to be. The role of relevance in perception is important when determining what is equitable: a salary increase may be inadequate if the employee wanted and had greater use for a formalized status bump.Īdams then addressed the need for a rigorous definition of inequity, as measured in his theory. If both parties recognize the relevance of an attribute, then it has potential to be an acceptable outcome. Similar to inputs, perceptions of outcomes are based on recognition and relevance. 1 Examples of outcomes include pay, intrinsic rewards, seniority benefits and job status, and outcomes tend to be correlated (i.e.

On the other hand, outcomes were defined as a worker’s compensation, whether monetary or intangible. 1 If perceived to be relevant and the contributor expects a fair return for it, but the other party does not consider it to be relevant, problems of inequity occur. Relevance: If the contributor recognizes the existence of an attribute, its potential to be an input is dependent on the contributor’s perception of its relevance to the exchange.However, if only the other party recognizes its existence, it is not considered an input. 1 As long as the contributor recognizes its existence, it has the potential to be an input. Recognition: Either the contributor or the other party of an exchange, or both, may recognize a certain attribute.Thus, there are two distinct characteristics of inputs: 1 He emphasized that inputs are perceived by their contributor, and they may be perceived differently by an employer. 2Īdams first distinguished between inputs, a worker’s contributions, and outcomes. Adams based his equity theory on Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance: humans are uncomfortable when presented with conflicting beliefs and information, so we avoid such dissonance by changing one of the inconsistent elements. People were beginning to realize that equity between employees and employers was more than just an economic matter, so Adams set out to understand workplace inequity. 1 At the time of its conception, inequity was a prevalent concern in the fields of labor and government, but it was not fully understood.

Equity theory was developed in 1963 by John Stacy Adams, an American workplace and behavioral psychologist.

John stacey adams equity theory biography