The Effect of Procedural Justice during Police-Citizen Encounters: A Factorial Vignette-Based Study

• In Event: Procedural Justice and Legitimacy Research

Abstract

This study tests a variety of hypotheses derived from the process-based model of regulation, most of which involve the posited outcomes of procedural justice judgements during police-citizen encounters. A factorial vignette design is used, which allowed the researchers to manipulate police process during citizen encounters via hypothetical scenarios. Experimental stimuli are used as independent variables in the regression models, the latter of which control for a variety of variables (e.g., prior perceptions of police legitimacy). The results show that procedural justice judgments directly and significantly influence outcome satisfaction, decision acceptance, and immediate compliance among participants in the study, net of a statistical controls. These effects are largely invariant across encounters involving traffic stops and noise complaints. Given the utility of vignette designs, researchers are encouraged to consider it when assessing causal questions derived from the process-based model in the future.

Authors

• Ryan Mays, Arizona State University

• Michael Reisig, Arizona State University