Procedural justice and intragroup status: Knowing where we stand in a group enhances reactions to procedures

Abstract

The current research investigates the role of relative intragroup status as a moderator of peoples reactions to procedural justice. Based on a review of the procedural justice literature, the authors argue that information about intragroup status influences peoples reactions to variations in procedural justice. In correspondence with predictions, two experiments show that reactions of people who have been informed about their intragroup status position (either low, average, or high) are influenced more strongly by voice as opposed to no-voice procedures than people who are not informed about their intragroup status. It is concluded that knowing where we stand in a group enhances reactions to procedural justice.