The Importance of Outcome Fairness: Re-evaluating Distributive Justice

• In Event: Justice during Police Encounters

Abstract

Tyler’s (1990) theory of procedural justice and legitimacy emphasized the relatively minor position of distributive justice compared to procedural justice. This has led to researchers paying less attention to distributive justice in the development of theory, despite consistent findings that distributive justice is important to a number of key outcomes for police (Reisig et al, 2007; Tankebe, 2013; Wolfe et al, 2016). While scholars have turned to Tyler’s theory to address a lack of trust in the police, activists have also claimed that unfair outcomes across ethnic/racial groups (distributive injustice) have contributed to decreased trust in the police. Using a factorial vignette design and drawing on research into justice frameworks from the field of social psychology, this study attempts to adapt Tyler’s theory to include a more nuanced understanding of distributive justice.

Author

• Kyle McLean, University of South Carolina