Equity Theory proposes that employees derive job satisfaction based on comparing their efforts and compensation to others. It states that workers will feel equitable if their outcomes/inputs are equal to others, under-rewarded if less than others, and over-rewarded if greater than others. The theory was developed by John Adams in 1963 and suggests that inequitable employees will change their inputs, outcomes, perceptions, or choose a new comparison to restore a balanced feeling. It is criticized for oversimplifying individual variables and perceptions of fairness beyond specific inputs/outputs.