Final answer:
Cognitive Evaluation Theory is about intrinsic motivation and the impact of external rewards, rather than perceptions of reward fairness which is related to distributive justice.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Cognitive Evaluation Theory (CET) is concerned with intrinsic motivation and how extrinsic factors such as rewards may impact an individual's sense of autonomy and competence. This theory is not specifically about whether individuals perceive rewards as being distributed in a fair and equitable manner, which would be more related to theories of distributive justice or social democracy. Instead, CET focuses on the psychological impacts of extrinsic rewards on internal motivation. For instance, if students are given extrinsic rewards for learning, this may undermine their intrinsic motivation over time. Furthermore, in reference to the theoretical perspectives on social stratification, the Davis-Moore thesis suggests that inequality in reward distribution is based on the functional importance of different tasks in a society, while conflict theorists might argue that measures such as IQ tests can be biased because they do not account for different learning abilities.