Procedural Justice as Autonomy Regulation

摘要

The present research investigated the relation between autonomy (i.e., freedom of choice) and proceduraljustice. Three studies tested the hypothesis that people would be particularly sensitive to the fairness ofdecision-making procedures when they experience deprivation of autonomy needs. Study 1 indicated thatprocedural justice judgments indeed were influenced more strongly by variations in decision-makingprocedures among participants who experienced little autonomy in their life. In Study 2, these findingswere conceptually replicated by manipulating whether participants were provided with choice on an issuethat was unrelated to the outcomes of the subsequent decision-making process. Study 3 revealed evidencefor the hypothesis in a field setting. It is concluded that procedural justice is functional to regulate basicautonomy needs.