NCJ Number
189143
Journal
Social Justice Research Volume: 13 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2000 Pages: 339-360
Editor(s)
Leo Montada,
Ronald C. Dillehay
Date Published
December 2000
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This study explored the role of procedural justice (the fairness of the process by which outcomes are assigned) in the production of emotions and sought to replicate and extend previous findings for the emotions of happiness, anger, and guilt.
Abstract
Prior research implicated emotion in the experience of injustice. This study explored the implications of procedural justice for experienced emotion. Theoretical reasons were discussed as to why procedural justice should produce discrete emotional states. Then, an empirical investigation of these ideas was presented. Twenty-six primary emotions were assessed and four discrete emotions (anger, guilt, happiness, and pride), were targeted for analysis. Based upon the cognitive appraisal model of emotion, it was argued that the experience of procedural justice (or injustice) allowed individuals to derive meaning from favorable and unfavorable allocation decisions. Procedural justice worked with outcome favorability to produce a variety of emotional states. These ideas were tested in a laboratory experiment. Results predicted two happiness-related emotions (happiness and joy) and a sadness-related emotion (disappointment) showed only a main effect for outcome favorability. Two anger-related emotions (anger and frustration) were highest when an unfavorable outcome occurred due to an unfair procedure. Higher levels of guilt and anxiety were reported when an unfair procedure resulted in a favorable outcome. A third happiness-related emotion, pride, showed only a main effect for outcome favorability. The results strongly supported the cognitive appraisal approach to justice and emotion and supported the extension of this example to include procedural justice. Tables and references