NDLI: Keeping Up with the Joneses Affects Perceptions of Distributive Justice

Content Provider	Springer Nature Link
Author	Burleigh, Tyler J. Meegan, Daniel V.
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	An experimental field study investigated why people of higher social standing might jump to the conclusion that an injustice has occurred when an authority implements a program that benefits some constituents but not others. High-status individuals are uniquely vulnerable to downward mobility, especially in the event that a situation does not benefit them, but does benefit their high-status peers. In our study, students in a university course were asked to judge a bonus program by which the grades for some would increase and the grades for others would remain the same. Two framing conditions were used, each providing an example in which only one of two students would benefit from the program. In the peer-gets-ahead condition, the two students were of equal status before the program acted to differentiate them, and in the inferior-catches-up condition, the two students differed in status before the program acted to equate them. A majority of students responded favorably to the program, although this number was affected strongly by framing, with almost unanimous approval in the inferior-catches-up condition and comparatively modest approval in the peer-gets-ahead condition. Objections in the latter condition were most frequent among high-status students, who were implicitly uncomfortable with the possibility that their status could decrease relative to some of their high-status peers. Explicitly, their objections used the language of social injustice, especially claims of distributive unfairness. We argue that these perceptions of injustice are a cognitive manifestation of an aversion to any situation that could result in downward mobility.
Starting Page	120
Ending Page	131
Page Count	12
File Format	PDF
ISSN	08857466
Journal	Social Justice Research
Volume Number	26
Issue Number	2
e-ISSN	15736725
Language	English
Publisher	Springer US
Publisher Date	2013-04-04
Publisher Place	Boston
Access Restriction	One Nation One Subscription (ONOS)
Subject Keyword	Social status Inequality Uncertainty Heuristics Procedural justice Distributive justice Personality and Social Psychology Sociology Political Science Anthropology Philosophy Social Policy
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Sociology and Political Science Law Anthropology

Sl.	Authority	Responsibilities	Communication Details
1	Ministry of Education (GoI), Department of Higher Education	Sanctioning Authority	https://www.education.gov.in/ict-initiatives
2	Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	Host Institute of the Project: The host institute of the project is responsible for providing infrastructure support and hosting the project	https://www.iitkgp.ac.in
3	National Digital Library of India Office, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur	The administrative and infrastructural headquarters of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in
4	Project PI / Joint PI	Principal Investigator and Joint Principal Investigators of the project	Dr. B. Sutradhar bsutra@ndl.gov.in Prof. Saswat Chakrabarti will be added soon
5	Website/Portal (Helpdesk)	Queries regarding NDLI and its services	support@ndl.gov.in
6	Contents and Copyright Issues	Queries related to content curation and copyright issues	content@ndl.gov.in
7	National Digital Library of India Club (NDLI Club)	Queries related to NDLI Club formation, support, user awareness program, seminar/symposium, collaboration, social media, promotion, and outreach	clubsupport@ndl.gov.in
8	Digital Preservation Centre (DPC)	Assistance with digitizing and archiving copyright-free printed books	dpc@ndl.gov.in
9	IDR Setup or Support	Queries related to establishment and support of Institutional Digital Repository (IDR) and IDR workshops	idr@ndl.gov.in

Perceptions of global inequality: a call for research

Understanding gender differences in distributive and procedural justice

Justice and Effective Cooperation

The Impact of Distributive and Procedural Justice on Social Service Workers

Towards an Integration of Distributive Justice, Procedural Justice, and Social Resource Theories

Justice and Emotions

Unfolding Justice Research in the Realm of Education

“Why There?” Islamophobia, Environmental Conflict, and Justice at Ground Zero

Organizational Justice and Job Satisfaction: A Test of Three Competing Models

Keeping Up with the Joneses Affects Perceptions of Distributive Justice

Similar Documents

Perceptions of global inequality: a call for research

Understanding gender differences in distributive and procedural justice

Justice and Effective Cooperation

The Impact of Distributive and Procedural Justice on Social Service Workers

Towards an Integration of Distributive Justice, Procedural Justice, and Social Resource Theories

Justice and Emotions

Unfolding Justice Research in the Realm of Education

“Why There?” Islamophobia, Environmental Conflict, and Justice at Ground Zero

Organizational Justice and Job Satisfaction: A Test of Three Competing Models

Keeping Up with the Joneses Affects Perceptions of Distributive Justice