Justice of give-and-take in the intimate relationship: When one partner of a couple is diagnosed with cancer

This study examined to what extent couples facing cancer (N = 55) and healthy couples (N = 74) perceived various distributions of give-and-take to be just or fair when occurring within a relationship of a cancer patient and his or her partner. Participants read one of three versions of a bogus interview with a couple facing cancer. In these scenarios, both partners were either equally well-off in terms of give-and-take or one partner was better off than the other. In general, participants judged the equitable situation to be the fairest. Thus, even in a situation in which one partner of a couple has cancer, people generally judge a relationship in which both partners mutually support each other to be the fairest. Only in extreme situations (i.e., if the patient were in a bad condition) did participants regard a distribution according to need fairer than a distribution according to equity. Couples facing cancer and healthy couples did not differ in their judgments. In addition, emotional responses to the scenarios were studied. Consistent with equity theory, participants expected to feel most guilty in an overbenefited situation. In contrast with equity theory, however, participants did not expect to feel especially angry or sad in an underbenefited situation.