Negative inputs cause problems for the equity formula proposed by Adams (1965). Walster, Berscheid, and Walster (1973) have suggested revising the model to accomodate negative inputs. But the nature of negative inputs has not been explicitly defined, and no strategy for measuring negative inputs currently exists. The possibility of negative inputs is discussed here by considering two examples from other theoretical discussions. It is argued that this construct is not needed to understand social exchange relationships in which a person exhibits behaviors that are considered to be contributions to the exchange but are assigned a negative value.
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