OUTLINE AND EVALUATE ONE THEORY OF THE MAINTENANCE OF ROMANTIC
RELATIONSHIPS
One theory of the maintenance of romantic relationships is equity theory which was
proposed my Walster. It suggests people want fairness in relationships and any kind of
inequality causes distress on either side. The greater the perceived inequality, the greater
the dissatisfaction and the greater the levels of distress which can lead to pressures on the
relationship that affect the maintenance of it. For a relationship to be successful, it must be
a balance of giving and receiving where each party can weigh up their costs and benefits and
feel satisfied that it’s equitable. If this is not the case, then the individuals can be either;
motivated to restore balance for a more positive relationship or decide the cost is too high
and call off the relationship.
Evidence to support equity theory comes from Stafford who found in married couples’
satisfaction is highest for those perceiving equity and lowest for under-benefited partners.
This suggests that mutually satisfying relationships are equitable which supports the notions
that equity is the foundation for a successful relationship. However, it ignores different
types of relationships because in exchange relationships, rewards and costs are kept track of
but in communal relationships people are governed by the desire to fulfil others needs. This
suggests that equity is not the most important factor in relationships.
Further evidence to support equity theory comes from DeMaris who found that the only
measure of inequity that is associated with disruption is the woman’s sense of being under-
benefited. This suggests that inequity can lead to relationship breakdown and so these
findings further suggest that there are gender differences in the perception of equity, where
it may matter more to women than men. However, research like this makes equity theory
appear to lack validity as it has gender bias as women may be socialised into focusing on
their husbands and putting a greater emphasis on the needs and achievements of others
rather than themselves, which is largely ignored by this theory.
A final piece of evidence to support this theory is that it raised awareness to struggling
couples which highlighted the reasons for their issues and so prompted the formation of
Integrated Behavioural Couples Therapy (IBCT), where the aim is to increase the proportion
of positive exchanges to repair the damage done by continued inequality giving the theory
real life application. However, the theory has been criticized for being reductionist as it fails
to explain more complex behaviour about relationships like why people stay in abusive
relationships. This means that equity theory is too simplistic to be a full explanation of
maintenance in relationships.
RELATIONSHIPS
One theory of the maintenance of romantic relationships is equity theory which was
proposed my Walster. It suggests people want fairness in relationships and any kind of
inequality causes distress on either side. The greater the perceived inequality, the greater
the dissatisfaction and the greater the levels of distress which can lead to pressures on the
relationship that affect the maintenance of it. For a relationship to be successful, it must be
a balance of giving and receiving where each party can weigh up their costs and benefits and
feel satisfied that it’s equitable. If this is not the case, then the individuals can be either;
motivated to restore balance for a more positive relationship or decide the cost is too high
and call off the relationship.
Evidence to support equity theory comes from Stafford who found in married couples’
satisfaction is highest for those perceiving equity and lowest for under-benefited partners.
This suggests that mutually satisfying relationships are equitable which supports the notions
that equity is the foundation for a successful relationship. However, it ignores different
types of relationships because in exchange relationships, rewards and costs are kept track of
but in communal relationships people are governed by the desire to fulfil others needs. This
suggests that equity is not the most important factor in relationships.
Further evidence to support equity theory comes from DeMaris who found that the only
measure of inequity that is associated with disruption is the woman’s sense of being under-
benefited. This suggests that inequity can lead to relationship breakdown and so these
findings further suggest that there are gender differences in the perception of equity, where
it may matter more to women than men. However, research like this makes equity theory
appear to lack validity as it has gender bias as women may be socialised into focusing on
their husbands and putting a greater emphasis on the needs and achievements of others
rather than themselves, which is largely ignored by this theory.
A final piece of evidence to support this theory is that it raised awareness to struggling
couples which highlighted the reasons for their issues and so prompted the formation of
Integrated Behavioural Couples Therapy (IBCT), where the aim is to increase the proportion
of positive exchanges to repair the damage done by continued inequality giving the theory
real life application. However, the theory has been criticized for being reductionist as it fails
to explain more complex behaviour about relationships like why people stay in abusive
relationships. This means that equity theory is too simplistic to be a full explanation of
maintenance in relationships.
