Responses Toward Injustice Shaped by Justice Sensitivity - Evidence From Germany

Rebecca Bondü; Anna K Holl; Denny Trommler; Manfred J Schmitt

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.858291

Responses Toward Injustice Shaped by Justice Sensitivity - Evidence From Germany

Front Psychol. 2022 Aug 10:13:858291. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.858291. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Rebecca Bondü^{1

2}, Anna K Holl^{2

3}, Denny Trommler², Manfred J Schmitt⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Psychologische Hochschule Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
² Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
³ Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Koblenz and Landau, Landau, Germany.

Abstract

Anger, indignation, guilt, rumination, victim compensation, and perpetrator punishment are considered primary responses associated with justice sensitivity (JS). However, injustice and high JS may predispose to further responses. We had N = 293 adults rate their JS, 17 potential responses toward 12 unjust scenarios from the victim's, observer's, beneficiary's, and perpetrator's perspectives, and several control variables. Unjust situations generally elicited many affective, cognitive, and behavioral responses. JS generally predisposed to strong affective responses toward injustice, including sadness, pity, disappointment, and helplessness. It impaired trivialization, victim-blaming, or justification, which may otherwise help cope with injustice. It predisposed to conflict solutions and victim compensation. Particularly victim and beneficiary JS had stronger effects in unjust situations from the corresponding perspective. These findings add to a better understanding of the main and interaction effects of unjust situations from different perspectives and the JS facets, differences between the JS facets, as well as the links between JS and behavior and well-being.

Keywords: anger; helplessness; justice sensitivity; sadness; social withdrawal.