NCJ Number
140832
Journal
International Journal of Psychology Volume: 27 Issue: 2 Dated: (April 1992) Pages: 227-242
Date Published
1992
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the implications of procedural justice research for traditional exchange-theory concepts and for the distinction between collectivistic and individualistic cultures in cross-cultural psychology.
Abstract
A review of procedural justice research reveals serious shortcomings in the exchange theories that have traditionally dominated Western analyses of the social psychology of groups. Results of a number of studies conducted in the United States and Western Europe indicate that individualistic, self-interest-based models of human behavior are insufficient to explain the phenomena of procedural justice. Instead, procedural-justice effects often reveal strong group-oriented concerns and motivations even in cultural contexts generally thought to be characterized by individualistic orientations. The research literature also indicates that if a group's procedures are judged to be fair, people are more likely to show group- oriented behavior and to hold more favorable attitudes toward the group and its leaders. These findings have led to the development of a theory of justice judgments--the Lind and Tyler group-value theory--which is based on group norms and relations rather than on social-exchange theory. The authors describe a general model of social behavior that integrates group-oriented and individually oriented behavior, and they discuss the implications of the model for social and cross-cultural psychology. 1 figure, 3 tables, 39 references, and an article abstract in French