Reputational Implications of Procedural Fairness for Personal and Relational Self-Esteem

Four studies showed that procedural fairness (fair vs. unfair treatment by an authority figure) has reputational implications for personal and relational self-esteem. Participants relied on procedural fairness to infer their reputation, especially when they were identifiable (Study 1). Furthermore, concern for reputation moderated the influence of procedural fairness on self-esteem: Variations in procedural fairness were more strongly associated with the personal self-esteem of individuals high rather than low in concern for reputation (Studies 2–3). Finally, violations in procedural fairness (i.e., unfair treatment) led to a more substantial reduction in the relational self-esteem of positive-reputation than negative-reputation participants: The former felt more relationally devalued than the latter, when they were denied voice (Study 4).     

Fairness Evaluations of Encounters With Police Officers and Correctional Officers1

The fairness of treatment can be inferred from 2 aspects of the relationship between authority and other party: the person-related aspect and the role-related aspect. One hundred seventy-five American detainees were interviewed about their encounters with police officers and correctional officers. The role-related aspect affected procedural fairness judgments most when first-time incarcerated detainees evaluated the encounter with police officers. The person-related aspect affected procedural fairness judgments most when first-time detainees and repeatedly incarcerated detainees evaluated encounters with correctional officers. Consequences for the group value model of procedural fairness as well as for the legal practice are discussed.     

自尊对基于面孔吸引力人格特质推断的影响

自尊影响面孔吸引力刻板印象,然而由于能动性特质自我评价能够预测自尊,高自尊的个体拥有更高的能动性自我评价,因此自尊对面孔吸引力刻板印象的影响是否只体现在能动性特质维度上还未可知。60名女被试分别评价高、低吸引力女性目标在能动性和社群性人格特质维度上的符合程度。结果发现：能动性维度上,高自尊被试对高吸引力目标在积极特质形容词的符合程度评价显著高于低自尊被试,低自尊被试对低吸引力目标在积极特质形容词的符合程度评价显著高于高自尊被试;社群性维度上,高、低自尊被试均认为高吸引力目标与积极特质形容词更符合。研究结果表明,自尊对面孔吸引力刻板印象的影响主要体现在能动性评价上;在社群性评价上,高、低自尊被试都表现出面孔吸引力刻板印象。     

To whom does voice in groups matter? Effects of voice on affect and procedural fairness judgments as a function of social dominance orientation

The authors investigated the effects of voice--the opportunity to provide input in decision-making processes--on perceptions of procedural fairness. In particular, the authors studied the moderating role of social dominance orientation (SDO) in shaping this relation. SDO is an important individual differences variable that causes people to favor unequal relationships within and between social groups. Results revealed that voice was more strongly related to fairness judgments when participants had a high rather than low SDO. Moreover, positive affect mediated this moderation effect. The authors interpreted these results to indicate that high-SDO participants were especially sensitive to voice manipulations because such manipulations enhance perceptions of control over group resources and outcomes. The authors conclude by discussing alternative explanations based on other fairness theories.     

Low self-esteem and the neural basis of attentional bias for social rejection cues: Evidence from the N2pc ERP component

Previous studies have indicated that individuals with low self-esteem show an attentional bias toward information concerning social rejection. The present study used event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate whether task-irrelevant rejection cues could capture the visuo-spatial attention of low self-esteem individuals during a demanding visual detection task. The N2pc ERP component was measured as an index of the allocation of spatial attention. Results revealed that rejection cues induced greater N2pc component responses among individuals with low levels of self-esteem than for those with high levels of self-esteem. These results suggest that task-irrelevant rejection cues are likely to capture the attention of individuals with low self-esteem but not those with high self-esteem. These findings provide direct electrophysiological support for the idea that individuals with low levels of self-esteem show an attentional bias for cues related to social rejection.     

Self-esteem modulates attentional responses to rejection: Evidence from event-related brain potentials

Individuals with low self-esteem have been shown to exhibit an attentional bias for social rejection cues. The present study investigated whether individuals with low self-esteem would demonstrate greater reactivity to rejection-related stimuli during an attention shifting task than was exhibited by those with high self-esteem. Individuals with low self-esteem showed higher amplitude event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to rejection cues than was observed for those with high self-esteem. These results suggest that individuals with low self-esteem allocate more attentional resources to rejection cues than those with high self-esteem. Discussion will focus on the implications of these findings for understanding the connection between low self-esteem and social rejection.     

Stability of parental nurturance as a salient predictor of self-esteem.

The relationship of parental nurturance to self-esteem for seven distinct adolescent and early-adulthood age groups (N = 784) was investigated. Analysis showed that even though mothers' and fathers' nurturance together were more strongly related to self-esteem during the junior high school years (R2 values greater than 50% were obtained in each of the junior high samples) than during the high school and college years (R2 values less than 40% were obtained in each of these samples), parental nurturance still remained a robust predictor of self-esteem during these latter years. These results were discussed within the context of (a) the stability at different ages of the bases upon which one's judgments of self-esteem are made, and (b) parental nurturance as a stabilizing influence during the transitional years of adolescence and early adulthood.     

High procedural fairness heightens the effect of outcome favorability on self-evaluations: An attributional analysis

Previous research has shown that outcome favorability and procedural fairness often interact to influence employees’ work attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, the form of the interaction effect depends upon the dependent variable. Relative to when procedural fairness is low, high procedural fairness: (a) reduces the effect of outcome favorability on employees’ appraisals of the system (e.g., organizational commitment), and (b) heightens the effect of outcome favorability on employees’ evaluations of themselves (e.g., self-esteem). The present research provided external validity to the latter form of the interaction effect (Studies 1 and 4). We also found that the latter form of the interaction effect was based on people’s use of procedural fairness information to make self-attributions for their outcomes (Studies 2 and 3). Moreover, both forms of the interaction effect were obtained in Study 4, suggesting that they are not mutually exclusive. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

不确定性、情绪对公正判断的影响

本研究以不确定管理模型为理论来源,采用实验法探讨了公正判断中的情绪效应。实验1采用2（两种情绪状态：愉快/愤怒）×4（四种结果：比自己多/一样多/比自己少/不知道）被试间设计。实验2采用2（两种情绪状态：愉快/愤怒）×3（三种程序：有发言权/外显无发言权/无发言权信息）被试间设计。分别考察了分配公正与程序公正判断中的情绪影响。结果发现：不确定性调节了情绪与公平判断之间的关系。当用于公平判断的外部信息不明确时,情绪充当了公平判断的线索。     

Coping with Job Loss and Reemployment: A Two-Wave Study

Using a national sample, this study investigated the effects of unemployed workers’ coping resources and coping strategy use on reemployment after a three-month period. Based on previous research, it was expected that (1) three types of coping resources (self-esteem, social support, and financial resources) would be positively related to problem-focused coping with job loss, (2) coping resources would be negatively related to emotion-focused coping with job loss, (3) problem-focused coping would be positively related to reemployment, (4) problem-focused coping would be more strongly related to reemployment than emotion-focused coping, and (5) coping strategies would mediate the relationship between the availability of coping resources and obtaining reemployment. Results provided support for the direct effects of coping resources (self-esteem, social support, and, to some extent, financial resources) on coping strategies, and a direct effect of problem-focused coping on reemployment 3 months later. Self-esteem and social support were each indirectly related to subsequent employment status, mediated by problem-focused coping. In other words, individuals with higher levels of self-esteem and social support were not only more likely to engage in problem-focused coping, but having a higher level of self-esteem and social support was also associated with a higher likelihood of being reemployed three months later. Findings are pertinent for the design of more effective interventions that mitigate adverse effects of unemployment and facilitate a successful return to the workforce.     

The Effects of Social Identity on the Self-Set Goals and Task Performance of High and Low Self-Esteem Individuals

Social identification with co-workers was examined as a moderator of the frequently inscrutable link between worker self-esteem and goal setting. Weak or strong social identity was created in groups comprised of either high or low self-esteem persons. As expected, strengthening social identity increased perceived similarity to ingroup members regardless of self-esteem. Furthermore, only high self-esteem individuals with a strong social identity set higher goals for themselves, and achieved better performance, compared to high esteem/weak identity individuals or low self-esteem persons in either social identity condition. Increments in the goals and performance of high self-esteem individuals were associated with perceived similarity to ingroup members, and performance was attributed to personal ability. In contrast, the goals and performance of low self-esteem individuals were associated with certainty of goal achievement, and performance was attributed to perceptions of task difficulty. Asymmetrical effects of social identification are discussed in relation to group member personalities.     

Defining Self-Worth: Trait Self-Esteem Moderates the Use of Self-Serving Trait Definitions in Social Judgment

People possess self-serving definitions of social traits and categories. When a trait is positive, people emphasize their own attributes in their definition of the trait. When the trait is negative, they de-emphasize self-attributes. Across three studies, we discovered that this tendency is moderated by dispositional self-esteem. High self-esteem individuals articulate more self-serving trait definitions than their low esteem counterparts. This was revealed in explicit reports of trait definitions, reaction times used to report trait definitions, as well as in judgments of other people. Although more muted, the trait definitions of low self-esteem participants tended to be self-serving in one study and more even-handed in two others. Implications of these findings for understanding the relation of self to social judgment are discussed.     

Vengeance is mine: Narcissism, vengeance, and the tendency to forgive

Recent theory and research have suggested that the disposition to forgive and the tendency to seek vengeance are related but distinguishable characteristics. Although highly forgiving individuals cannot be simultaneously high in vengeance, those who are low in forgiveness could be either vengeful or not. The present study tested the hypothesis that what distinguishes unforgiving people who are highly vengeful from unforgiving people who are not highly vengeful is that the latter group is lower in narcissism. Measures of dispositional forgiveness, narcissism, global self-esteem, and vengeance were administered to 248 undergraduates. As expected, people low in dispositional forgiveness were more vengeful than were people high in dispositional forgiveness, but particularly so among those high in narcissism; among those low in narcissism, forgiveness was less strongly related to vengeance. Thus, the most vengeful people were those who were both low in forgiveness and high in narcissism, independent of gender differences and healthy self-esteem.     

“How much do you like your name?” An implicit measure of global self-esteem

We introduce a single-item implicit measure of global self-esteem. The measure is based on the mere-ownership effect and asks participants to indicate how much they like their name. Six studies attested to the validity of this measure. In addition to showing high test-retest reliability (r = .85), the studies found that Name-Liking was (a) unrelated to impression management, (b) positively related to the Name-Letter-Task, the Self-Esteem IAT, explicit self-esteem measures, and self-reported subjective well-being, (c) more strongly related to explicit measures of global than domain-specific self-esteem, (d) more strongly related to self-esteem judgments made spontaneously as well as under cognitive load, and (e) predicted observer-reported anxiety during an anxiety-inducing interview whereas an explicit measure of self-esteem did not.     

Social anxiety and cognitive expectancy of aversive outcome in avoidance conditioning

Fear conditioning studies have shown that social anxiety is associated with enhanced expectancy of aversive outcome. However, the relation between cognitive expectancy and social anxiety has never been tested in avoidance conditioning paradigms. We compared 48 low (LSA) and high socially anxious individuals (HSA) on subjective expectancy of aversive outcome during an avoidance conditioning task. Displays of neutral faces were coupled with an aversive outcome (US): a shout and a shock. Participants could avoid the US by pressing a correct button from a button box. First, HSA showed higher US expectancy than LSA during the initial phase of avoidance conditioning, supporting the view that socially anxious individuals have an expectancy bias when social situations are ambiguous. Second, when the avoidance response became unavailable, LSA showed lower US expectancy than HSA, suggesting that low socially anxious individuals are prone to a positive bias when perceived threat is high. A lack of such positive bias in socially anxious individuals may lead to higher susceptibility to safety behavior interpretations. Together, these findings support the role of cognitive processes in avoidance conditioning and underscore the relevance to encounter avoidance learning when studying social anxiety.     

The effect of constant outcome value on judgments and decision making given linguistic probabilities

Two experiments were performed to determine whether judgments of the relative chances of two independent events occurring are biased by constant outcome values contingent on the events when the uncertainties are specified by linguistic expressions (e.g. doubtful). In Experiment 1, subjects directly judged the relative chances of the two events, of which one was represented by a spinner and the other by a linguistic probability expression. In Experiment 2, only linguistic probability expressions were used to describe the two events and a betting procedure was used. A bias was evident in both studies, such that the relative judgments tended to favour the event with the positive rather than the negative contingent outcome. The bias was smaller for the low- than for the high-probability phrases. Individual differences were great, with the bias appearing strongly in only about one-third of the population. Theoretical implications of the present and related results are discussed.     

Social anxiety and receptivity to interpersonal evaluation

Reactions to interpersonal evaluation were investigated among subjects chronically low and high in social anxiety, or shyness. Both groups of subjects expressed more positive affect after receiving favorable than after receiving unfavorable evaluations, supporting a “self-esteem” prediction. However, support for a “self-consistency” viewpoint was also found. In particular, low social anxiety individuals expressed more negative affect (anger) following negative than following positive feedback, while high social anxiety individuals expressed more unpleasant affect (distress) following positive than following negative interpersonal feedback. Additionally, low social anxiety subjects were alone in derogating the accuracy of negative feedback; high social anxiety individuals were indiscriminate in rating the two types of feedback as equally accurate. The role of interpersonal evaluation in the maintenance of social anxiety was discussed briefly.     

Foreseeability and self-interest as moral judgment factors with normal and acting-out adolescent boys

Thirty-two male adolescents participated in a study of moral judgment and its relationship to social functioning. Half of the subjects were selected for frequent acting-out, aggressive behavior, and half were selected from regular eighth-grade classes and matched for intelligence. The moral stories featured good intentions with bad outcomes and varied as to whether or not the outcome was foreseeable and in the actor's self-interest. Subjects judged the actor, attributed judgments to adults, and casually explained the outcome. The difference in judgments between foreseeable and nonforeseeable actions was greater for “normal” subjects. Furthermore, although normal subjects judged foreseeable actions more harshly than acting-out subjects, the reverse was true for nonforeseeable actions. Judgments attributed to adults were harsher than subjects' own judgments, and this difference was greater for acting-out subjects. Causal attributions (personal vs. situational) and other reasoning related strongly to the foreseeability and self-interest factors but not to subject group.     

Autonomous vs. comparative status: Must we be better than others to feel good about ourselves?

Previous research has shown that people's self-esteem and their group-oriented behavior are influenced by their judgments about the status of the groups to which they belong (pride) and assessments of their status within those groups (respect). These findings are important to justice researchers because the key antecedent of such status judgments is typically found to be the assessment of the fairness of group procedures (i.e., procedural justice). Research suggests that (1) procedural justice shapes status and that (2) status shapes self-esteem and group-oriented behavior. The paper reports the results of three studies comparing two different forms of these status judgments. The first form are autonomous judgments of pride and respect that are linked to the characteristics associated with membership in different groups. People link such judgments to inclusion or membership in the group. The second are comparative judgments of pride and respect that are linked to comparisons of one's status to the status of other people or groups. The results indicate that, within groups, people are influenced primarily by autonomous assessments of status based on their internal standards, which develop from the status associated with prototypical characteristics linked to inclusion in a group. People are less strongly influenced by comparisons of their status to the status of external comparison standards. Further, justice-based status inferences are shown to be primarily autonomous, and not comparative, in nature.     

Self-uncertainty and responsiveness to procedural justice

We propose that self-uncertainty moderates responsiveness to perceived variations (e.g., breaches or provisions) in procedural justice. Specifically, we tested the hypothesis that high (compared to low) self-uncertainty individuals are more responsive to variations in procedural justice, because they use procedural information to infer their organizational acceptance, respect, or social standing. In six experiments, high (compared to low) self-uncertainty individuals responded with affective, cognitive, and behavioral intensity to perceived variations in procedural justice. In particular, they felt worse, judged the procedure as unfair, and were unwilling to cooperate when they were deprived (as opposed to granted) voice. However, this pattern was cancelled out when these individuals engaged in a self-affirming activity. The findings establish the self in general, and self-uncertainty in particular, as a crucial moderator of responses to procedural information.