Abstract
The current research investigated an “ironic” consequence of a perceived procedural fairness climate vis-à-vis disadvantaged groups. Specifically, we examined whether the perception that societal institutions treat one’s underprivileged group in a procedurally fair way negatively impacts upon minority group members’ support for social change. Six studies (total N = 1,076) supported our claims. In survey Study 1 (Belgian ethnic minorities), procedural fairness climate perceptions were negatively related to support for social change. Cross-sectional Studies 2 (colored South Africans) and 3 (Hispanic Americans) further showed that this relationship is mediated by beliefs in minority mobility. Finally, Studies 4–6 (Asian and African Americans) provided experimental evidence corroborating our causal mediation model. Our findings align with literature demonstrating similar “ironic” effects of procedural fairness among advantaged group members, as they illustrate that the perception of a procedural fairness climate can analogously prevent disadvantaged group members from advocating changes that could alleviate their state of deprivation.
Keywords
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
