# Inequity Aversion **Domain:** Comparative Cognition / Fairness / Behavioral Economics **Doc Type:** Canonical concept node **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition Inequity aversion is a negative response to unequal outcomes, especially when individuals perform comparable tasks or observe unequal rewards within a social exchange. ## Mechanism and Significance Comparative information changes the perceived value of a reward. Reactions to unequal treatment can affect cooperation, participation, protest, and willingness to continue an exchange. ## Evidence Boundary Comparative animal experiments do not establish that human justice is a simple instinct or that every pay difference is unfair. Institutions, norms, bargaining power, and reasons for allocation remain material. ## Relationships [[wiki/Reciprocity|Reciprocity]] · [[wiki/Social Capital|Social Capital]] · [[wiki/Primate Politics|Primate Politics]] · [[wiki/Behavioral Pricing|Behavioral Pricing]] ## Related Articles and Collections - [[collections/Simple Reminders|Simple Reminders]] - [[articles/The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley|The Evolutionary Roots of Silicon Valley]] - [[articles/Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution|Digital Darwinism and the Invisible World of Machine Evolution]] ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > “The sense of fairness runs deep in social animals. In a famous experiment by primatologists Sarah Brosnan and Frans de Waal, capuchin monkeys happily traded tokens for cucumber until they saw a partner receive grapes for the same work, and then many refused the cucumber. A person who feels underpaid is responding to an ancient instinct, and asking for fair pay honors it.” > **— Bryant McGill**, *Craft, Value, and the Recovery of Fair Compensation, Part 1 - Livestream (Nov 2016)* [[reminders/Behavioral Pricing/Fair Compensation Answers an Ancient Sense of Inequity by Bryant McGill|Fair Compensation Answers an Ancient Sense of Inequity by Bryant McGill]]