This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Clayton, S. Articles by Opotow, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Clayton, S. Articles by Opotow, S. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Justice and Identity: Changing Perspectives on What Is Fair

Department of Psychology, The College of Wooster

Susan Opotow

Graduate Program in Dispute Resolution, University of Masscachusetts Boston

Most research on justice has aimed to describe abstract, depersonalized models that could apply to anyone. However, much of this research has involved identity, if only implicitly. We argue that justice needs to be contextualized to take into account the powerful effects of identity in determining when justice matters. The complexity and fluidity of identity need to be considered to understand when, why, and how strongly people care about justice, and how people choose among competing models of justice. We review existing research on distributive, procedural, and inclusionary justice and describe their connection to identity. We illustrate the intersection of justice and identity in environmental issues, a context in which these constructs have significant implications for individual, community, and planetary well-being. We conclude with 4 points to stimulate further research on the intersections of identity and justice.

References

• Azzi, A. (1992). Procedural justice and the allocation of power in intergroup relations: Studies in the United States and South Africa. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 18, 736-747.[Abstract]
• Bandura, A. (1990). Selective activation and disengagement of moral control. Journal of Social Issues, 46(1), 27-46.
• Baron, J., & Miller, J. G. (2000). Limiting the scope of moral obligations to help: A cross-cultural investigation. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 31, 703-725.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Baumeister, R. F. (1997). How the self became a problem: A psychological review of historical research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 163-176.
• Baumeister, R. F. (1998). The self. In D. Gilbert, S. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 680-740). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
• Bobocel, D. R., & Holmvall, C. (2002, June). Self-construals and the fair process effect. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Society for Justice Research, Skovde, Sweden.
• Boeckmann, R. J., & Feather, N. T. (2001, August). Values discrepancy, justice and acceptance: New views on authority legitimacy. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.
• Boeckmann, R. J., & Tyler, T. R. (1997). Commonsense justice and inclusion within the moral community: When do people receive procedural protection from others? Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, 3, 362-360.
• Branscombe, N. R., Spears, R., Ellemers, N., & Doosje, B. (2002). Intragroup and intergroup evaluation effects on group behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 744-753.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Brewer, M. B., & Brown, R. J. (1998). Intergroup relations. In D. Gilbert, S. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psvchology(4th ed., Vol. 2,pp. 554-594). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
• Brewer, M. B., & Kramer, R. M. (1986). Choice behavior in social dilemas. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 543-549.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Brickman, P., Folger, R., Goode, E., & Schul, Y. (1981). Microjustice and macrojustice. In M. J. Lerner & S. C. Lerner (Eds.). The justice motive in social behavior (pp. 173-202). New York: Plenum.
• Brockner, J. (1990). Scope of justice in the workplace: How survivors react to co-worker layoffs. Journal of Social Issues, 46(1), 95-106.
• Brockner, J., Ackerman, G., Greenberg, J., Gelfand, M. J., Francesco, A. M., Chen, Z., et al. (2001). Culture and procedural justice: The influence of power distance on reactions to voice. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 37, 300-315.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Bullard, R. D. (1994). Dumping in Dixie: Race, class, and environlmental quality (2nd ed.). Boulder, CO: Westview.
• Clark, M., & Mills, J. (1979). Interpersonal attraction in exchange and communal relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37. 12-24.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Clayton, S. (1994). Appeals to justice in the environmental debate. Journal of Social Issues, 50(3), 13-27.
• Clayton, S. (1996). What is fair in the environmental debate? In L. Montada & M. J. Lerner (Eds.), Current societal concerns about justice (195-211). New York: Plenum.
• Clayton, S. (1998). Preference for macrojustice versus microjustice in environmental decisions. Environment and Behavior, 30, 162-183.[Abstract]
• Clayton, S. (2000). Models of justice in the environmental debate. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 459-474.[CrossRef]
• Clayton, S. (2003). Environmental identity: A conceptual and an operational definition. In S. Clayton & S. Opotow (Eds.), Identity and the natural environment (pp. 45-65). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Clayton, S., & Opotow, S. (2003). Identity and the natural environment. In S. Clayton & S. Opotow (Eds.), Identity and the natural environment (pp. 1-24). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Cooley, C. H. (1902). Human nature and the social order. New York: Scribner's.
• Crosby, F. J. (1982). Relative deprivation and working women. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Crosby, F. J. (1984). The denial of personal discrimination. American Behavioral Scientist, 27(3), 371-386.[Abstract]
• DeCremer, D., & Van Vugt, M. (1999). Social identification effects in social dilemmas: A transformation of motives. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 871-893.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Desmarais, S., & Lerner, M. J. (1994). Entitlements in close relationships: A justice motive analysis. In M. J. Lerner & G. Mikula (Eds.), Entitlement and the affectional bond: Justice in close relationships (43-63). New York: Plenum.
• Deutsch, M. (1975). Equity, equality, and need: What determines which value will be used as the basis of distributive justice?Journal of Social Issues, 31(3), 137-149.
• Deutsch, M. (1985). Distributive justice: A social psychological perspective. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
• Deutsch, M. (1990). Psychological roots of moral exclusion. Journal of Social Issues, 46(1), 21-26.
• Erikson, E. E. (1986). In D. L. Sills (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social sciences (Vols. 7-8, pp. 61-65). New York: Macmillan.
• Foa, U. G., & Foa, E. B. (1974). Societal structures of the mind. Springfield, IL: Thomas.
• Folger, R. (1986). Rethinking equity theory: A referent cognitions model. In H. W. Bierhooff, R. L. Cohen, & J. Greenberg (Eds.), Justice in social relations (pp. 145-162). New York: Plenum.
• Greenberg, J. (1983). Equity and equality as clues to the relationship between exchange participants. European Journal of Social Psychology, 13, 195-196.[Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Hafer, C. L. (2000). Do innocent victims threaten the belief in a just world? Evidence from a modified Stroop task. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 165-173.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. Science, 162, 1243-1248.[ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Hegtvedt, K., & Johnson, C. (2000). Justice beyond the individual: A future with legitimation. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63, 298-311.[CrossRef]
• Hogg, M. A., & Abrams. D. (1988). Social identifications: A social psychology of intergroup relationls and group processes. Florence, KY: Taylor & Francis.
• Holbrook, R. L., Jr., & Kulik, C. T. (2001). Customer perceptions of justice in service transactions: The effects of strong and weak ties. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22, 743-757.[CrossRef]
• Huo, Y. J., & Sawahata, R. (2001, August). The effect of multiple identities and justice concerns on social conflicts. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.
• Huo, Y. J., Smith, H. J., Tyler, T. R., & Lind, E. A. (1996). Superordinate identification, subgroup identification, and justice concerns: Is separatism the problem, is assimilation the answer? Psychological Science, 7, 40-45.[CrossRef][ISI]
• James, W. (1984). Psychology. Cleveland, OH: World. (Original work published 1892)
• Kahn, P. H., Jr. (1999). The human relationship with nature: Development and culture. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Kahn, P. H., Jr. (2003). The development of environmental moral identity. In S. Clayton & S. Opotow (Eds.), Identity and the natural environment (pp. 113-134). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Kals, E. (1996). Are proenvironmental commitments motivated by health concerns or by perceived justice? In L. Montada & M. Lerner (Eds.), Current societal concerns about justice (pp. 231-258). New York: Plenum.
• Kals, E., & Russell, Y. (2001). Individual conceptions of justice and their potential for explaining proenvironmental decision making. Social Justice Research, 14, 367-403.[CrossRef]
• Kitayama, S., & Markus, H. R. (1995). Culture and self: Implications for internationalizing psychology. In N. R. Goldberger & J. B. Veroff (Eds.), The culture and psychology reader (pp. 366-383). New York: NYU Press.
• Klein, O., & Azzi, A. (2001). Procedural justice in majority-minority relations: Studies involving Belgian linguistic groups. Social Justice Research, 14, 25-44.
• Kramer, R. M., & Brewer, M. B. (1984). Effects of group identity on resource use in a simulated commons dilemma. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 1044-1057.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Lamertz, K. (2002). The social construction of fairness: Social influence and sense making in organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 23, 19-37.[CrossRef]
• Leopold, A. (1949). A Sand County almanac. New York: Oxford University Press.
• Lerner, M. J. (1974). The justice motive: "Equity" and "parity" among children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 29, 539-550.[CrossRef]
• Lerner, M. J. (1980). The belief in a just world. New York: Plenum.
• Lerner, M. J. (1981). The justice motive in human relations: Some thoughts on what we know and need to know about justice. In M. J. Lerner & S. C. Lerner (Eds.), The justice motive in social behavior (pp. 11-35). New York: Plenum.
• Lerner, M. J. (2001, June). "Normative" and "intuitive" senses of justice. Newsletter of the International Society for Justice Research. Retrived May 3,2003 from http://isjr.org/Newsletter-issuesl-01.htal
• Lerner, M. J., & Simmons, C. H. (1966). Observers' reactions to the "innocent victim": Compassion or rejection? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 203-210.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Leventhal, G. S. (1980). What should be done with equity theory? New approaches to the study of fairness in social relationships. In K. J. Gergen, M. S. Greenburg, & R. H. Willis (Eds.), Social exchange: Advances in theory and research (pp. 27-55). New York: Plenum.
• Lind, E. A., & Tyler, T. (1988). The social psychology of procedural justice. New York: Plenum.
• Lofstedt, R. E. (1996). Fairness across borders. Risk: Health, Safety, and Environmental, 7, 135-144.
• Mackie, D. M., & Smith, E. R. (1998). Intergroup relations: Insights from a theoretically integrative approach. Psychological Review, 104, 499-529.
• McPherson Frantz, C., & Janoff-Bulman, R. (2000). Considering both sides: The limits of perspective taking. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 22, 31-42.
• Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, self; and society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Mikula, G., Athenstaedt, U., Heschgl, S., & Heimgartner, A. (1998). Does it only depend on the point of view? Perspective-related differences in justice evaluations of negative incidents in personal relationships. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28, 931-962.[CrossRef]
• Miller. D. T. (2001). Disrespect and the experience of injustice. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 527-553.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Miller, D. T., & Ratner, R. K. (1996). The power of the myth of self-interest. In L. Montada & M. Lerner (Eds.), Current societal concerns about justice (pp. 25-48). New York: Plenum.
• Miller, J. G. (1997). Culture and the self: Uncovering the cultural grounding of psychological theory. In J. G. Snodgrass & R. L. Thompson (Eds.), The self across psvchology (pp. 217-231). New York: New York Academy of Sciences.
• Mills, J., & Clark, M. S. (1982). Communal and exchange relationships. In L. Wheeler (Ed.), Review of personality and social psychology. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
• Minow, M. (1997). Not only for myself. Identity politics, and the law. New York: The New Press.
• Morris, M. W., & Leung, K. (2000). Justice for all? Progress in research on cultural variation in the psychology of distributive and procedural justice. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49, 100-132.[CrossRef]
• Murphy-Berman, V., & Berman, J. J. (2002). Cross-cultural differences in perceptions of distributive justice: A comparison of Hong Kong and Indonesia. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 33, 157-170.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Nagel, J. (1994). Constructing identity: Creating and recreating ethic identity and culture. Social Problems, 41(1), 152-176.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Northrup, T. A. (1989). The dynamic of identity in personal and social conflict. In L. Kreisberg, T. A. Northrup, & S. J. Thorson (Eds.), Intractable conflicts and their transformation (pp. 55-82). Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.
• Opotow, S. (Ed.). (1990). Moral exclusion and injustice [Special issue]. Journal of Social Issues, 46(1).
• Opotow, S. (1993). Animals and the scope of justice. Journal of Social Issues, 49(1), 71-85.
• Opotow, S. (1995). Drawing the line: Social categorization, moral exclusion, and the scope of justice. In B. B. Bunker & J. Z. Rubin (Eds.), Conflict, cooperation, and justice (pp. 347-369). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
• Opotow, S. (1996). Is justice finite? The case of environmental inclusion. In L. Montada & M. Lerner (Eds.), Social justice in human relations: Current societal concerns about justice, Vol. 3 (pp. 213-230). New York: Plenum.
• Opotow, S. (2001). Social injustice. In D. J. Christie, R. V. Wagner, & D. D. Winter (Eds.), Peace, conflict and violence: Peace psychology for the 21st century (pp. 102-109). New York: Prentice Hall.
• Opotow, S., & Brook, A. (2003). Identity and exclusion in rangeland conflict. In S. Clayton & S. Opotow (Eds.), Identity and the natural environment. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Opotow, S., & Clayton, S. (1994). Green justice: Conceptions of fairness and the natural world. Journal of Social Issues, 50(2), 1-11.
• Opotow, S., & Clayton, S. (1998, August). What is justice for citizens' environmental groups? Poster presented at the meeting of the International Association for Applied Psychology, San Francisco.
• Opotow, S., & Weiss, L. (2000). Denial and exclusion in environmental conflict. Journal of Social Issues, 56(3), 475-490.[CrossRef]
• Rawls, J. (1971). A theory of justice. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Roccas, S., & Brewer, M. B. (2002). Social identity complexity. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6, 88-106.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Singelis, T. M. (1994). The measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 20, 580-591.[Abstract]
• Singer, M. S. (1996). Effects of scope of justice, informant ethnicity, and information frame on attitudes toward ethnicity-based selection. International Journal of Psychology, 31, 191-205.[CrossRef]
• Singer, M. S. (1998). The role of subjective concerns and characteristics of the moral issue in moral considerations. British Journal of Psychology, 89, 663-679.
• Skitka, L. J. (2002). Do the means always justify the ends, or do the ends sometimes justify the means? A value protection model of justice reasoning. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28, 588-597.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Skitka, L. J. (2003). Of different minds: An accessible identity model of justice reasoning. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 7, 286-297.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Smith, H. J., Tyler, T. R. & Daubenmier, J. J. (2001, August). Coop members and construction workers: When does procedural fairness shape self-evaluations? Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, San Francisco.
• Smith, H., Tyler, T., Huo, Y., Ortiz, D., & Lind, E. A. (1998). The self-relevant implications of the group-value model. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 34, 470-493.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Soifer, E. (1996). Euthanasia and persistent vegetative state individuals: The role and moral status of autonomy. Journal of Social Issues, 52(2), 31-50.[ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Stone, C. D. (1974). Should trees have standing? Toward legal rights for natural objects. Los Altos, CA: William Kaufmann.
• Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1986). The social identity theory of intergroup behavior. In S. Worchel & W. Austin (Eds.). Psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 7-24). Chicago: Nelson-Hall.
• Taylor, D. M., Wright, S. C., Moghaddam, F. M., & Lalonde, R. N. (1990). The personal/group discrimination discrepancy: Perceiving my group, but not myself, to be a target of discrimination. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 16, 254-262.[Abstract]
• Tepper, B. J., Lockhart, D., & Hoobler, J. (2001). Justice, citizenship, and role definition effects. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 789-796.[CrossRef][ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Thibaut, J., & Walker, L. (1975). Procedural justice: A psychological analysis. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Thomashow, M. (1995). Ecological identity: Becoming a reflective environmentalist. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Torres, G. (2002). Foreword. In K. M. Mutz, G. C. Bryner, & D. S. Kenney (Eds.), Justice and natural resources (pp. xxi-xxx). Washington, DC: Island Press.
• Tyler, T., & Blader, S. (2000). Cooperation in groups: Procedural justice, social identity, and behavioral engagement. Philadelphia: Psychology Press.
• Tyler, T., & Lind, E. A. (1990). Intrinsic vs. community-based justice models: When does group membership matter? Journal of Social Issues, 46(1), 83-94.
• Van Prooijen, J. W., Van den Bos, K., & Wilke, H. A. M. (2002, June). Procedural justice and status: Status salience as antecedent of the fair process effect. Paper presented at the meeting of the International Society for Justice Research, Skovde, Sweden.
• Van Vugt, M. (2001). Community identification moderating the impact of financial incentives in a natural social dilemma: Water conservation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 27, 1440-1449.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Webster's new collegiate dictionary. (1979). Springfield, MA: Merriam.
• Weigert, A. J. (1997). Self, interaction, and natural environment. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
• Wenz, P. S. (1988). Environmental justice. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.
• Wenzel, M. (2000). Justice and identity: The significance of inclusion for perceptions of entitlement and the justice motive. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 26, 157-176.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
• Wenzel, M. (2002). What is social about justice? Inclusive identity and group values as the basis of the justice motive. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 205-218.[CrossRef][ISI]
• Williams, S., Pitre, R., & Zainuba, M. (2002). Justice and organizational citizenship behavior intentions: Fair rewards versus fair treatment. Journal of Social Psychology, 142, 33-44.[ISI][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]
• Zavestoski, S. (2003). Constructing and maintaining ecological identities: The strategies of deep ecologists. In S. Clayton & S. Opotow (Eds.), Identity and the natural environment (pp. 297-315). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

CiteULike

Connotea

Del.icio.us

Digg

Reddit

Technorati

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Wells The Techno-Fix Versus The Fair Cop: Procedural (In)Justice And Automated Speed Limit Enforcement Br. J. Criminol., August 13, 2008; (2008) azn058v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This Article Abstract Free Full Text (Free PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Clayton, S. Articles by Opotow, S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Clayton, S. Articles by Opotow, S. Social Bookmarking                   What's this?