Abstract
The goal of this chapter is to review historical and contemporary ways that scholars have thought about the psychology of justice and morality. We review theory and research on moral development, the social psychology of justice, and the recent growth of cognitive and social psychological interest in adult morality. Some scholars treat morality and justice as the same essential construct, others view morality as one of several ways people think about justice, and yet others argue that justice is simply one of many components that define morality. Our critical review concludes that although these constructs are related, there are important distinctions between people’s conceptions of justice and morality, including the degree to which these beliefs are malleable or open to influence.
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Notes
- 1.
Some scholars consider interpersonal treatment a dimension of procedural justice (e.g., Blader & Tyler, 2003), others argue that interpersonal treatment from those who implement procedures is a separate construct termed interactional justice (Bies, 2005; Bies & Moag, 1986). Meta-analyses indicate that interactional justice and procedural justice are highly overlapping but nonetheless distinguishable constructs (Cohen-Charash & Spector, 2001; Colquitt, Conlon, Wesson, Porter, & Ng, 2001). For example, people tend to experience higher levels of interactional justice when decision makers provide justifications and explanations for outcomes compared to when they do not, irrespective of the decision-making procedures used to generate the outcomes. Although theorists suggested from the outset that poor treatment can prompt moral outrage (Bies, 1987), the potentially unique link between moral motivation and interactional justice has only recently begun to be emphasized and articulated in detail (e.g., Spencer & Rupp, 2009).
- 2.
Other mindsets or perspectives that can influence perceptions of fairness are the intuitive scientist and prosecutor (see Skitka & Wisneski, 2012 for a review).
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Skitka, L.J., Bauman, C.W., Mullen, E. (2016). Morality and Justice. In: Sabbagh, C., Schmitt, M. (eds) Handbook of Social Justice Theory and Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-3216-0_22
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