Prohibited or censured thoughts, feelings and activities (of self or others) must be reported to superiors. Where people live and with whom they can live is highly significant, because members of destructive cults violate the human right of free association by ordering or shaming members into ostracizing, shunning or disconnecting from non-believers. Dillman, Smyth and Christian (2009) viewed survey response as a voluntary action within a context of reciprocal social obligations, and showed how survey procedures can build a positive social exchange with prospective survey participants. In addition, research that did not involve an elaboration likelihood explanation has been reinterpreted as revealing the role of this process.

Understanding the Equity Theory: A Comprehensive Guide

It was incorporated into Equity Theory based on earlier evidence which revealed that employees tend to perceive a distribution of rewards as unfair if they find that their contributions surpass those of their peers within the same organisational division. When employees perceive inequity in the distribution of rewards or recognition, it can lead to a decrease in morale and overall job satisfaction. Low morale can have cascading effects on the organization, including higher absenteeism, lower productivity, and a negative work culture. Organizations that prioritize equity and fairness in their policies and practices are more likely to have higher employee morale, leading to a more engaged and dedicated workforce.

The BITE Model as a guide to evaluating groups and situations

Because these behaviors are pro-attitudinal rather than counterattitudinal, the best way for achieving change is to arouse the dissonance-based motivational drive of hypocrisy. As we have seen in laboratory research, arousing dissonance via hypocrisy has led to increase condom intentions to protect against HIV/AIDS, greater use of sunscreen to protect against cancer and other prosocial behaviors including water conservation. There are two ways in which this elegantly straightforward experiment upended traditional thinking. Within social psychology, the study made clear that dissonance theory was not the same as previous balance theories. The fact that dissonance has a magnitude and the magnitude can predict different degrees of cognitive change was different from prior theorizing. Psychology was no longer limited to describing balanced and imbalanced states but could now operate with dynamic predictions about the magnitude of the imbalance and the degree to which people would be motivated to change their cognitions.

What is the equity theory of motivation?

21st century literature shows an accelerating number of practical procedures that are being used and assessed, particularly in the health improvement field. Based on cognitive dissonance theory, the Body Project was developed as an intervention to help people with faulty body images and eating disorders (Stice, Rohde & Shaw, 2013). Evaluation studies have shown this approach to have significant impact on eating disorders among women in a United States sample (Green et al., 2018) and body image satisfaction among men in the United Kingdom (Jankowski et al, 2017).

Rooted in decades of academic research, this theory explains how employees weigh their contributions against the rewards they receive, and how these perceptions influence their overall job satisfaction and productivity. Managers who make use of the insights offered by equity theory can create a more harmonious and effective work environment. By being aware of the individual needs and expectations of their team, they can create a work culture that not only values fairness but also promotes long-term engagement and success. Having focused on CBT models of OCD up to this point, we propose that cognitive dissonance theory, arguably the most highly researched theory in social psychology, has clear relevance to obsessive-compulsive phenomena. But even with substantial research in each area addressing similar theoretical constructs, these two lines of thought have not been synthesized in order to bring clarity to our understanding of OCD.

When the deception is perceived to be stronger they will report the review, and if the deception is perceived to be especially strong they may even stop buying anything from the company altogether (Román et al., 2019, pp. 141–166). People’s core social motive to hold a coherent, socially shared understanding has inspired theories that account for various social cognitive processes. Gestalt theories in social psychology emphasize harmonious fit among elements that constitute a coherent whole, hence their influence on consistency theories of attitudes and on schema theories of social perception (see Sect. 3.1).

10.3.2 Theories of Persuasion

In the workplace, employees tend to form judgments about the fairness of their treatment by drawing up a range of comparisons, often referred to as referent groups. As mentioned, Equity Theory is a construct that draws its foundational principles from three key theories within the realms of social science and psychology. When students perceive inequities in the distribution of resources, such as equal access to educational opportunities or fair grading systems, it can impact their motivation and academic performance. Ensuring equity in education is essential for promoting equal opportunities and creating an inclusive learning environment. We are committed to engaging with you and taking action based on your suggestions, complaints, and other feedback. However, new information such as “research has not proved definitely that smoking causes lung cancer” may reduce the dissonance.

The Psychological Perspective of Equity Theory

Group control is maintained through information about a member’s past, gained either through formal confessionals or through other members’ reports. This includes coached — and imaginary or exaggerated — confessions of childhood, “remembered” through highly-suggestive supposed counseling or group self-abasement (a central technique of Maoist thought reform). If a member shows signs of wishing to leave the group, they will be aware that the leadership has this information, and the threat of disclosure may be used to bring the member back into line or to keep them silent. The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

• There is a considerable literature and strong theoretical base underpinning the issue of incentives for survey participation (Dillman, Smyth & Christian, 2009; Sue & Ritter, 2007).
• In general, if our behavior leads to a consequence that we would rather not have brought about, it is considered aversive and leads to the possibility of dissonance arousal.
• Many decades ago, I argued that cognitive dissonance might be the underlying mechanism behind successful psychotherapy, regardless of the type of therapy being offered (Cooper, 1980).
• We tested the idea that participants in Rosenberg’s research had not been given a choice in whether to write their attitude-discrepant essay whereas Festinger & Carlsmith’s participants had volunteered to make their counterattitudinal statements.
• Dillman, Smyth and Christian (2009) viewed survey response as a voluntary action within a context of reciprocal social obligations, and showed how survey procedures can build a positive social exchange with prospective survey participants.
• Festinger proposed that people change their attitudes not only because of the legitimacy of the arguments they hear but also to satisfy a basic motivational drive.

In one classic example from his original work, he asked what people would feel if they were out in the rain but were not getting wet. In another, he wondered how people would feel if they noticed that their own behavior did not fit with social mores. In another, he wondered what people would experience if they found themselves cognitive dissonance and addiction behaving in ways that contradicted their own attitudes. Social comparison was an activity that people engaged in when they were confronted by a particular discrepancy in a particular circumstance.

What is the difference between cognitive dissonance theory and balance theory?

The specified person can even be oneself, which means that the person refers to their own experience in the past in terms of the rewards received for their contributions. Generalised comparison assumes comparing one’s input/output ratio against the commonly accepted standards or predefined social norms (Greenberg, 1987). In addition, specified or generalised others can be external (from different social groups) or internal (people within the same social group) (Scholl, Cooper & McKenna, 1987). The example of generalised internal standards is when employees use referent bonus targets set by the company to evaluate the fairness of bonus payments (Voußem, Kramer & Schäffer, 2016). Specified internal standards are salient for organisational leaders, who base their judgement about reward distribution on personal equity norms (Rus, van Knippenberg & Wisse, 2010).