When we say that a person deserves a positive or negative outcome, we are making a judgment that is influenced by a number ofvariables. We would certainly take into account whether the person was resp- siblefortheoutcomeorwhethertheoutcomecouldbeattributedtoother sources. We would also consider whether the actions that led to the positive or negative outcome were actions that we would value or - tionsthatwouldmeetwithourdisapproval.Wemightalsobeinfluenced by the person's own positive or negative characteristics, by ourkno- edgeofwhatkinds ofgroups orsocialcategoriesthepersonbelongedto, and by...

This volume was conceived out of the concern with what the imminent future holds for the "have" countries ... those societies, such as the United States, which are based on complex technology and a high level of energy consumption. Even the most sanguine projection includes as base minimum relatively rapid and radical change in all aspects of the society, reflecting adaptation or reactions to demands created by poten- tial threat to the technological base, sources of energy, to the life-support system itself. Whatever the source of these threats-whether they are the result of politically...

The "belief in a just world" is an attempt to capmre in a phrase one of the ways, if not the way, that people come to terms with-make sense out of-find meaning in, their experiences. We do not believe that things just happen in our world; there is a pattern to events which conveys not only a sense of orderli- ness or predictability, but also the compelling experience of appropriateness ex- pressed in the typically implicit judgment, "Yes, that is the way it should be." There are probably many reasons why people discover or develop a view of their environment in which events occur for good,...

We dedicate this book to John Thibaut. He was mentor and personal friend to one of us, and his work had a profound intellectual influence on both of us. We were both strongly influenced by Thibaut's insightful articulation of the importance to psychology of the concept of pro- cedural justice and by his empirical work with Laurens Walker in reactions to legal institu- demonstrating the role of procedural justice tions. The great importance we accord the Thibaut and Walker work is evident throughout this volume. If anyone person can be said to have created an entire field of inquiry, John...

Justice plays an important role in our culture. The topic of justice has attracted the attention of scholars all over the world. Beginning in 1985, a continuing series of international conferences on social justice in The Netherlands at which scientists present and discuss started papers, exchange information, and choose new roads to theory build- ing. In this volume, a selection of papers, presented at the International Conference on Social Justice in Human Relations (Leiden, 1986) is published. There has been some refinement and improvement, thanks to the comments made by experts in the...

From July 16 through July 21, 1984 a group of American and West German scholars met in Marburg, West Germany to discuss their com mon work on the topic of justice in social relations. For over 30 hours they presented papers, raised questions about each other's work, and in so doing plotted a course for future research and theory building on this topic. The participants were asked to present work that represented their most recent state-of-the-science contributions in the area. The con tributions to this volume represent refined versions of those presentations-papers that have been improved by...

Empiricist philosophy of science of the kind that promised truth through method and a unification of science now lies in disarray. Arguments over the indeterminancy of theoretical language, the inadequacy of induction, the empirical incommensurability of competing theories, the possibility or im- possibility of scientific progress, and the applicability of natural science metatheory and methods to problems of human action have allIed to a loss in confidence. As it is commonly said, the philosophy of science is now in a "postempiricist" phase. It is a phase marked by heated disagreement over...

The publication of this anthology culminates what began as a Visiting Distinguished Scholars Lecture Series sponsored by the School of Jus- tice Studies. When Dr. John M. Johnson was awarded the Arizona State University Graduate College's Distinguished Research Award for 1986- 1987, the School faculty voted to use the accompanying stipend to bring several scholars to campus. Each visiting scholar was commis- sioned to present an original paper on contemporary issues in justice and to meet with graduate students and faculty during a week-long visit to campus. This collection of essays promotes...

Our lives as human beings are characterized by production and use of social resources, material (e.g., money and physical possessions) as well as immaterial (such as love, knowledge, and power). Distribution and exchange of these resources are central to individuals physical and mental health and quality of life.

Over the past four decades, Social Resource Theory (SRT) has evolved to build vital links between social psychology and public policy, providing a valuable lens for understanding and addressing social class, inequality, and injustice. The recent conceptual and theoretical...

At the age of 6, I discovered a jar of brightly colored shells under my grandmother's kitchen sink. When I inquired where they had come from, she did not answer. Instead, she told me in broken English, "Ask your mother. " My mother's response to the same question was, "Oh, I made them in camp. " "Was it fun?" I asked enthusiastically. "Not really," she replied. Her answer puzzled me. The shells were beautiful, and camp, as far as I knew, was a fun place where children roasted marshmallows and sang songs around the fire. Yet my mother's reaction did not seem happy. I was perplexed by this...