John Stacey Adams, workplace and behavioural psychologist, put forward his
Equity Theory on job motivation in 1963. There are similarities with Charles
Handy's extension and interpretation of previous simpler theories of Maslow,
Herzberg and other pioneers of workplace psychology, in that the theory
acknowledges that subtle and variable factors affect each individual's assessment
and perception of their relationship with their work, and thereby their employer.
Awareness and cognizance feature more strongly than in earlier models, as does
the influence of colleagues and friends, etc, in forming cognizance, and in this
particular model, 'a sense of what is fair and reasonable'.