The present article focuses on the distinction between descriptive
(i.e., what will happen) and prescriptive (i.e., what should happen)
beliefs in justice and shows that person valence and belief type had
an interactive effect on outcome valence. Specifically, the 2 (Chinese
and American culture) x 2 (Good and Bad person) x 2 (Will as
descriptive and Should as prescriptive belief) study revealed that
both Chinese and Americans believe that good people should receive
better outcomes than they will; but Chinese believe that bad people should receive worse outcomes than they will, whereas Americans
believe that bad people should receive better outcomes than they will. This may suggest that, in comparison with Chinese, Americans are
more tolerant of or lenient toward immoral behavior and are
prescriptively less committed to moral justice.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Azzi, A.E. (1992). Procedural justice and the allocation of power in intergroup relations: Experiments in the US and South AfricaPersonality and Social Psychology, 28, 23-42.
2.
Bond, M.H. (1996). The handbook of Chinese psychologyLondon: Oxford University Press.
3.
Bond, M.H., Leung, K., & Schwartz, S. (1992). Explaining choices in procedural and distributive justice across culturesInternational Journal of Psychology , 27,211-225.
4.
Birnbaum-More, P.H., Wong, G.Y., & Olve, N. (1995). Acquisition of managerial values in the People's Republic of China and Hong KongJournal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 26, 255-275.
5.
Brislin, R. (1986). The wording and translation of research instruments In W. Lonner & J. Berry (Eds.), Field methods in cross-cultural research (pp. 137-164). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
6.
Brislin, R. (1993). Understanding culture's influence on behaviorFort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
7.
Chen, C.C. (1995). New trends in rewards allocation preferences: A Sino-U.S. comparisonAcademy of Management Journal , 38, 408-428.
8.
Crittenden, K. (1996). Causal attribution processes among the Chinese In M. H. Bond (Ed.), The handbook of Chinese psychology (pp. 263-279). London: Oxford University Press.
9.
Feather, N.T. (1984). Masculinity, femininity, psychological androgyny, and the structure of valuesJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47 , 604-620.
10.
Feather, N.T. (1992). Values, valences, expectations, and actionsJournal of Social Issues, 48, 109-124.
11.
Feather, N.T. (1994). Human values and their relations to justiceJournal of Social Issues, 50, 129-151.
12.
Fiske, A. (1992). The four elementary forms of sociability: Framework for a united theory of social relationsPsychological Review, 99, 689-723.
13.
Gielen, U., & Markouis, D. (1994). Preference for principled moral reasoning : A developmental and cross-cultural perspective In L. L Adler and U. P Gielen (Eds.), Cross-cultural topics in psychology (pp. 73-87). Westport, CT: Praeger.
14.
Kashima, Y., Yamaguchi, S., Kim, U., Choi, S-C., Gelfand, M., & Yuki, M. (1995). Culture, gender and self: A perspective from individualism-collectivism researchJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 925-937.
15.
Kluegel, J.R., & Smith, E.R. (1986). Beliefs about inequality: American views of what is and what ought to beNew York: Aldine de Gruyter.
16.
Kohlberg, L. (1984). The psychology of moral developmentSan Francisco: Harper & Row.
17.
Lee, Y-T., (1993). Perceived homogeneity and familial loyalty between Chinese and AmericansCurrent Psychology , 12, 260-267.
18.
Lee, Y-T., & Duenas, G. (1995). Stereotype accuracy in multicultural business In Y-T. Lee, L. Jussim & C. McCauley, (Eds.), Stereotype accuracy: Toward appreciating group differences (pp. 157-186). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association .
19.
Lee, Y-T., Jussim, L., & McCauley, C. (1995). Stereotype accuracy: Toward appreciating group differencesWashington, DC: American Psychological Association.
20.
Lee, Y-T., Kleinbach, R., Hu, P.C., Peng, Z., & Chen, X. (1996). Cross-cultural research on euthanasia and abortionJournal of Social Issues, 52(2), 131-148.
21.
Lee, Y-T., & Ottati, V. (1993). Determinants of in-group and out-group perceptions of heterogeneity: An investigation of Sino-American stereotypesJournal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 24, 298-318.
22.
Lee, Y-T., & Ottati, V. (1995). Perceived in-group homogeneity as a function of group membership salience and stereotype threatPersonality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 21, 610-619.
23.
Lee, Y-T., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1997). Are Americans more optimistic than Chinese?Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 32-40.
24.
Lerner, M. (1965). Evaluation of performance as a function of performer's reward and attractivenessJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 355-360.
25.
Lerner, M. (1977). The justice motive: Some hypotheses as to its origins and formsJournal of Personality , 45, 1-52.
26.
Lerner, M. (1980). Beliefs in a just world: A fundamental delusionNew York: Plenum.
27.
Lerner, M., & Matthews, G. (1967). Reactions to suffering of others under conditions of indirect responsibilityJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 319-325.
28.
Lerner, M., & Simmons, C. (1966). Observer's reaction to the "innocent victim": Compassion or rejection?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 4, 203-210.
29.
Leung, K. (1996). Chinese beliefs in justice In M. H. Bond (Ed.), The handbook of Chinese psychology (pp. 247-262). London: Oxford University Press.
30.
Leung, K., Chiu, W.H., & Au, Y.F. (1993). Sympathy and support for industrial actions: A justice analysisJournal of Applied Psychology , 78, 781-787.
31.
Miller, J. (1984). Culture and development of everyday explanationJournal of Personality and Social Psychology , 46, 961-978.
32.
Mikula, G. (1980). Justice and human interactionNew York: Springer-Verlag.
33.
Nader, L. (1975). Forums for justice: A cross-cultural perspectiveJournal of Social Issues, 31, 151-170.
34.
Pepitone, A. (1987). Human belief systemsPaper presented at the XXI Congress of the Interamerican Society of Psychology, Havana, Cuba
35.
Pepitone, A. (1989). Toward a cultural social psychologyPsychology and Developing Societies, 1, 5-19.
36.
Pepitone, A. (1994). Beliefs and cultural social psychology In L. L Adler & U. P Gielen (Eds.), Cross-cultural topics in psychology (pp. 139-152). Westport, CT: Praeger.
37.
Pepitone, A., & L'Armand, K. (1996). The justice and injustice of life eventsEuropean Journal of Social Psychology, 26, 581-597.
38.
Pepitone, A., & L'Armand, K. (1997). Justice in cultural context: A social-psychological perspectiveCross-Cultural Research , 31(2), 81-98.
39.
Phillips, D.P., Ruth, T., & Wagner, L. (1993). Psychology and survivalLancet, 342, 1142-1145.
40.
Rest, J. (1986). Moral development: Advances in research and theoryNew York: Praeger.
41.
Rokeach, M. (1968). Beliefs, attitudes, and valuesSan Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
42.
Rosen, L. (1991). The integrity of cultures.American Behavioral Scientist, 34,594-617.
43.
Shi, J. ( 1988). Selected readings from famous Chinese philosophyBeijing, China: People's University Press.
44.
Triandis, H. (1994). Culture and social behaviorNew York: McGraw-Hill.
45.
Tabachnick, B., & Fidell, L. (1996). Using multivariate statisticsNew York: HarperCollins.
46.
Werner, O., & Campbell, D. (1970). Translating, working through interpreters, and the problem of decentering In R. Naroll & R. Cohen (Eds.), A handbook of method in cultural anthropology (pp. 398-422). New York: Natural History Press.
