NCJ Number
148630
Journal
Social Justice Research Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Dated: (March 1994) Pages: 5-28
Date Published
1994
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This paper identifies and discusses various personal and societal views about justice and responsibility associated with an incident in which a person experiences harm or loss.
Abstract
Whether victims or observers perceive harm and loss as unjust must be inferred from responses to misfortune, and these responses vary widely. Responses to harm and loss may include bringing a case to trial in civil or criminal court; blaming those perceived as responsible; emotional responses such as resentment, anger, or hate; ruminations to answer the question, "Why me?;" and techniques of coping that may include efforts to reduce feelings of having been treated unjustly. The latter response may include self-blame, minimization of the incident, or constructing a rationalization that gives personal meaning to the harm or loss. Perceptions of injustice involve views about moral or legal norms, associated entitlements, and judgments about responsibility for harm and loss. Research has not yet established the factors that influence how a person will respond to personal harm or loss. Behavioral scientists do not yet know how to predict whether particular individuals who experience harm or loss will claim the status of a victim or deny it. 57 references