Scaling‐Up Youth‐Led Social Justice Efforts through an Online School‐Based Social Network

The exploration of social networking sites (SNS) in promoting social change efforts offers great potential within the field of community psychology. Online communities on SNS provide opportunities for bridging across groups, thus fostering the exchange of novel ideas and practices. Currently, there have only been limited efforts to examine SNS within the context of youth‐led efforts. To explore the potential of SNS to facilitate the diffusion of social justice efforts between distinct youth groups, we linked three school‐based youth‐led participatory action research projects involving 54 high school students through a SNS. This study offers an innovative methodological approach and framework, utilizing social network analysis and strategic sampling of key student informants to investigate what individual behaviors and online network features predict student adoption of social change efforts. Findings highlight prospective facilitators and barriers to diffusion processes within a youth‐led online network, as well as key constructs that may inform future research. We conclude by providing suggestions for scholars and practitioners interested in examining how SNS can be used to enhance the diffusion of social justice strategies, youth‐led engagement efforts, and large‐scale civic organizing.     

Support for Race‐Based Affirmative Action: Self‐interest and Procedural Justice1

The current study examines attitudes toward affirmative action. Hypotheses related to self‐interest concerning perceptions of the benefits of affirmative action and hypotheses derived from procedural justice research regarding the structure of policy statements both received support. A survey completed by 387 undergraduate and graduate student participants found greater perception of benefits resulting from affirmative action policies, defined in terms of increased opportunity (concrete benefit) and increased satisfaction (abstract benefit), related to greater support for affirmative action. Policies presented with justification received more support than did policies presented without justification. Ethnicity did not directly affect support for affirmative action; however, ethnicity did affect perceptions of the benefits of affirmative action. Perceptions of the benefits of affirmative action mediated ethnicity effects. Suggestions for increasing support for affirmative action are provided.     

Prospects for an Inclusive Theory of Justice: The Case of Non‐Human Animals

In this article, I argue that there are three widely accepted views within contemporary theorising about justice that present barriers to accepting that non‐human animals possess direct entitlements of justice. These views are (1) that the basis of entitlements of justice is either contribution to a cooperative scheme for mutual advantage or the capacity to so contribute; (2) political liberalism, that is, the view that requirements for coercive state action can be justified only by appeal to the ideal of citizens as free and equal and the principles of justice that are entailed by that ideal; and (3) that the principles of justice apply directly to the institutions of what John Rawls calls the ‘basic structure of society’, and not to the conduct of individuals. I then consider several attempts to ground direct entitlements of justice for animals via modest revisions to one or more of these widely accepted views, and argue that they fail, and that, more generally, any such attempt must fail. I claim that any theory that can include direct entitlements for animals must reject (1) and at least one of (2) and (3), and that there are reasons to think that those who are inclined to endorse direct entitlements for animals are unlikely to be satisfied with any view that does not reject all three of the widely accepted views. I conclude by briefly noting some of the important implications of rejecting all of these views.     

Self‐Esteem and Justice Orientation as Moderators for the Effects of Individual‐Targeted and Group‐Targeted Justice

Drawing on the self‐interest and moral virtues perspectives of justice, we examine how self‐esteem and justice orientation as individual difference factors moderate the effects of individual‐targeted and group‐targeted justice on helping behaviors and intention to leave. A scenario‐based study was conducted using a total sample of 624 Japanese undergraduate students. The results highlighted the difference between the moderating roles of self‐esteem and justice orientation. Self‐esteem moderated the effect of individual‐targeted procedural justice on intention to leave such that the effect was stronger when self‐esteem was high. In contrast, justice orientation mainly moderated the effects of group‐targeted procedural and distributive justice on helping behaviors such that the effects were weaker when justice orientation was high. Implications of our findings and future research directions are discussed.     

A Reason‐Based Theory of Rational Choice *

There is a surprising disconnect between formal rational choice theory and philosophical work on reasons. The one is silent on the role of reasons in rational choices, the other rarely engages with the formal models of decision problems used by social scientists. To bridge this gap, we propose a new, reason‐based theory of rational choice. At its core is an account of preference formation, according to which an agent’s preferences are determined by his or her motivating reasons, together with a ‘weighing relation’ between different combinations of reasons. By explaining how someone’s preferences may vary with changes in his or her motivating reasons, our theory illuminates the relationship between deliberation about reasons and rational choices. Although primarily positive, the theory can also help us think about how those preferences and choices ought to respond to normative reasons.     

An Emergent Theory of Altruism and Self‐Interest

Beliefs about altruism and self‐interest of 25 participants were examined through a grounded theory methodology. Altruism was defined as the promotion of needs of others and self‐interest as the promotion of needs of self. Data sources included interviews, focus group, journal analysis, artifacts, and a measure of altruism. The relationship between altruism and self‐interest emerged and was composed of 12 themes. Themes described a dynamic theory that was systemic, values oriented, and interactional.     

A Capability Approach to Justice as a Virtue

In The Idea of Justice, Amartya Sen argues for an approach to justice that is comparative and realization-based rather than transcendental and institutional. While Sen’s arguments for such an approach may not be as convincing as he thought, there are additional arguments for it, and one is that it provides a unique and valuable platform on which an account of justice as a virtue of social and political actors (including institutions and social movements) can be built. Hence new dimensions of comparison are opened up: some actors are better disposed and more successful than others at leading social change in the direction of greater justice. The main objective of this article is to use the capability approach to construct such an account. Six dimensions of acting justly are identified: (1) reducing capability shortfalls; (2) expanding capabilities for all; (3) saving the worst-off as a first step towards their full participation in economy and society, (4) which is also to be promoted by a system of entitlements protecting all from social exclusion; while (5) supporting the empowerment of those whose capabilities are to expand; and (6) respecting ethical values and legitimate procedures. I conclude by sketching some underlying moral psychology.     

Agency‐Communion and Interest in Prosocial Behavior: Social Motives for Assimilation and Contrast Explain Sociocultural Inconsistencies

Identifying the “prosocial personality” is a classic project in personality psychology. However, personality traits have been elusive predictors of prosocial behavior, with personality‐prosociality relations varying widely across sociocultural contexts. We propose the social motives perspective to account for such sociocultural inconsistencies. According to this perspective, a focal quality of agency (e.g., competence, independence, openness) is the motive to swim against the social tide—agentic social contrast. Conversely, a focal quality of communion (e.g., warmth, interdependence, agreeableness) is the motive to swim with the social tide—communal social assimilation. We report two cross‐sectional studies. Study 1 (N = 131,562) defined social context at the country level (11 European countries), whereas Study 2 (N = 56,395) defined it at the country level (11 European countries) and the city level (296 cities within these countries). Communion predicted interest in prosocial behavior comparatively strongly in sociocultural contexts where such interest was common and comparatively weakly where such interest was uncommon. Agency predicted interest in prosocial behavior comparatively strongly in sociocultural contexts where such interest was uncommon and comparatively weakly where such interest was common. The results supported the social motives perspective. Also, the findings help to reestablish the importance of personality for understanding prosociality.     

罗尔斯代际正义理论与其一般正义论的矛盾与冲突

罗尔斯自己说过,“将正义延伸到包括我们对未来各代人的义务(包括正义储存的问题)”,是他的正义理论所遇到的四个难题之一。正义的储存原则是代际正义的主要内容,但是,“至少在目前我们不可能对应当有多高的储存率制定出精确的标准。资金积累和提高文明、文化水准的费用如何在代际之间被分担的问题看来不容有明确的回答”。所以,代际正义问题“使伦理学理论受到了即使不是不可忍受也是极严重的考验”[1]。通过对罗尔斯的代际正义理论与其一般正义论的对比分析,我们将会发现,罗尔斯的这一意味深长、耐人寻味的表白或许主要源于这样一个事实,…     

布坎南经济正义论

布坎南经济正义理论主要包括四个方面的内容即,契约式双赢是经济正义的宗旨、程序上起点平等为分配正义的核心理念、宪政是经济正义的维护并在此基础上对经济正义进行了推扩。     

Replacing the Moral Foundations: An Evolutionary‐Coalitional Theory of Liberal‐Conservative Differences

Moral Foundations Theory (MFT) explains liberal‐conservative differences as arising from different moral intuitions, with liberals endorsing “individualizing” foundations (Harm and Fairness) and conservatives also endorsing “binding” foundations (Authority, Respect, and Purity). We argue these labels misconstrue ideological differences and propose Evolutionary‐Coalitional Theory (ECT) as an alternative, explaining how competitive dynamics in the ancestral social environment could produce the observed ideological differences. We test ECT against MFT across three studies. Study 1 shows the so‐called “binding” orientation entails the threat‐sensitivity and outgroup antagonism predicted by ECT; that is, an authoritarian motive. Similarly, Study 2 shows the so‐called “individualizing” orientation is better described as a universalizing motive, one reflecting a broader set of moral commitments (e.g., to nature) and a broader sociality than the egocentrism implied by MFT. Study 3 provides a factor analysis reducing “binding” to authoritarianism and “individualizing” to universalism, with the latter loading against social dominance orientation (SDO). A hierarchical regression then provides additional evidence for ECT, showing this dominating motive (SDO) accounts for variance in conservatism that MFT leaves unexplained. Collectively, these three studies suggest that ECT offers a more accurate and precise explanation of the key psychological differences between liberals and conservatives.     

An Examination of Burnout Among School Counselors Guided by Stress‐Strain‐Coping Theory

The Maslach Burnout Inventory‐Educators Survey (MBI‐ES; C. Maslach, S. E. Jackson, & M. P. Leiter, 1996) was used to examine burnout among professional school counselors (N = 198). Guided by stress‐srain‐coping theory, final hierarchical regression models accounted for 49% of the variation on the Emotional Exhaustion scale, 27% on the Depersonalization scale, and 36% on the Personal Accomplishment scale. Numerous individual stress and coping variables significantly predicted burnout among school counselors in the multivariate context.