Measuring Four Perspectives of Justice Sensitivity With Two Items Each

Abstract

People differ systematically in their vulnerability to injustice. We present two-item scales for the efficient measurement of justice sensitivity from 4 perspectives (victim, observer, beneficiary, perpetrator). In Study 1 using a quota-based sample of German adults, a latent state-trait analysis revealed the factorial validity and high reliabilities of the scales. In Study 2 employing a large random sample, we tested for measurement invariance of the items within the context of our short 2-item scales compared to the original 10-item scales. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses confirmed that the validity of the indicators and the internal structure of the assessed constructs did not change across item contexts. In both studies, correlations with personality dimensions and life satisfaction provide evidence for the validity of our scales. With the presented instrument, future research can extend scientific knowledge regarding the role of individual differences in reactions to injustice for the explanation of well-being and physical health.

Injustice in School and Students’ Emotions, Well-Being, and Behavior: A Longitudinal study

“…This finding is in line with diverse studies that have reported that people high in beneficiary perspective show more prosocial behavior and civil courage in adult samples (e.g., Baumert et al, 2014;Gollwitzer et al, 2005). However, in future studies, it would be important to give students the opportunity to exhibit real attempts to restore justice (e.g., a direct opportunity to offer help or compensation to other students or to speak out against injustice).…”

“…Strictly limiting these results to a beneficiary perspective, this would imply that making injustice explicit to students and raising their awareness that injustice occurs in the school context can provide a buffer against a drop in well-being and satisfaction, can increase their desire for more justice, and can reinforce prosocial behavior. The negative emotions accompanying the experience of injustice might be regulated by exactly these mechanisms: Especially those individuals who report negative emotions when benefiting from injustice show behaviors that help to restore justice (Baumert et al, 2014). Thus, if injustice experienced from a beneficiary perspective is made explicit in school, it is important to give students the opportunity to take responsibility for compensating and restoring justice so that they will be better able to regulate their emotions.…”

“…This kind of injustice experience may then lead to antisocial behavior such as theft or absence from the workplace (Furnham & Siegel, 2012;Greenberg, 1990). Highly beneficiary-sensitive people experience negative emotions when they benefit from injustice (Baumert et al, 2014).…”

“…Justice Sensitivity (JS) JS was measured at pretest, posttest, and follow-up with the eight-item short version of the Justice Sensitivity Scale (Baumert et al, 2014) that we adapted for use with children. The adaption concerned single words (e.g., indignant) that are difficult for children to understand.…”

Precursors to morality in development as a complex interplay between neural, socioenvironmental, and behavioral facets

“…Parents were asked to fill out several questionnaires about their children and themselves to assess dispositional empathy: the ECBQ-VSF (53), the short form of the Sensitivity to Justice Scale (54), and the IRI (55). These standard scales are widely used in many studies of social behavior in young children and adults (50).…”