Probing the causal pathways between police procedural justice and perceptions of police legitimacy using experimental vignettes in the Netherlands

• In Event: Quantitative Methods WG Panel 2: Experimental, Quasi-experimental, and Evaluative Approaches in Criminological Research

Abstract

According to procedural justice theory, when police treat people in a fair, respectful, and neutral manner, individuals are more likely to perceive the police as legitimate and comply with directives. Despite the growth in use of experimental vignettes to test PJ theory, there has been little to no attention to assessing the underlying causal assumptions, mechanisms and possible confounding pathways between police treatment and attitudinal outcomes. This study contributes to methodological knowledge by promoting recent best-practice recommendations (e.g., placebo tests, open text responses) for evaluating causal pathways between treatment and outcome in experimental vignettes. In order to assess these causal mechanisms, this study will field a between-subjects vignette with a 3x2x2 factorial design. The content of the vignette will aim to replicate similar interactions as reported in previous research (i.e., a traffic stop by police) adapted to the Dutch context. Follow-up placebo questions will ask respondents about the likelihood of certain background attributes within the scenario. To investigate the theoretical mechanisms (e.g., respect, neutrality), respondents will also be asked to what extent they would rate the interaction in terms of PJ elements. The inclusion of open-ended questions allows participants to mention reasons that led to their selections, including those that have not been explicitly prompted in the follow-up questions. The addition of computational linguistic analysis of these responses will add to the growing body of research utilizing mixed methods to gather insight on human states, traits, and attitudes through different modalities. The results will highlight these best practices, as well as shed light on the mechanisms that are driving the relationship between PJ and perceived legitimacy.

Authors

• Amy Nivette, Utrecht University

• Isabelle van der Vegt, Utrecht University