NCJ Number
128755
Date Published
1988
Length
267 pages
Annotation
This book reviews current theory and research on procedural justice and explores its implications for legal, political, interpersonal, and work-related settings.
Abstract
The book opens with a discussion of the Thibaut and Walker research presented in "Procedural Justice: A Psychological Analysis" (1975). This work combined the study of process with an interest in the psychology of justice to initiate the study of procedural justice. This research and criticisms of its use of laboratory methods raised a number of questions about how procedural justice should be studied. An examination of these methodological issues considers the rationale for the laboratory methods used in the early studies of procedural justice. The wider variety of research methods used in more recent research on procedural justice is also discussed. A review of procedural justice research in legal forums addresses the consequences of the perception of procedural justice for such issues as satisfaction with legal experiences, evaluations of legal authorities and institutions, and compliance with laws. Also examined are the factors that affect procedural justice judgments and the policy implications of the growing knowledge of procedural justice in law. A review of more recent work that has broadened the base of procedural justice research describes cross-situational and cross-cultural studies of procedural justice and considers the work of Gerald Leventhal which has encouraged a view of procedural justice as an element of all social-allocation settings. Other chapters describe research on procedural justice concepts applied in the political arena and work organizations, research findings common across a variety of settings, and the implications of current research for theory in procedural justice. 220 references and author and subject indexes