The trickle‐down effect of procedural fairness on perceptions of daily discrimination: How societal actors can build social trust among minority members

Abstract

The present research investigated the trickle‐down effect of procedural fairness enacted by societal institutions on minority members’ social trust. Building on the racial identity development hypothesis, we argued that procedural fairness represents a racial socialization experience, which influences how minorities perceive discrimination in daily life. Perceived group discrimination, in turn, impacts social trust. The results of five studies with African American samples corroborated the hypothesized mediation model. Study 1 showed that minority members distinctly perceive fairness enacted by institutions and discrimination by fellow citizens. Subsequent studies demonstrated that manipulating procedural fairness influenced perceived discrimination in an “attribution‐to‐discrimination” paradigm (Study 2), and that inducing discrimination lowered trust in an allocation game (Study 3). Finally, Studies 4 and 5 obtained cross‐sectional evidence for the full model. Our results thus contribute to literature by showing that perceived discrimination mediates the relationship between procedural fairness and social trust. Societally relevant practical implications are discussed.

What drives the perceived prejudice asymmetry among advantaged group members? The mediating role of social group power and moral obligations

“…Along similar lines, Dierckx et al. (2020; Experiment 1) demonstrated that priming participants with unfairness (and thus immorality) increased their attributions to discrimination when they witnessed a fellow minority group member being rejected by a White individual. Moreover, literature on selection and promotion in organisational contexts has shown that candidates are more likely to attribute a negative outcome to discrimination when it is preceded by an unfair (and thus immoral) selection procedure (Bies & Shapiro, 1988; Harris et al., 2004).…”

Social Security Satisfaction and People’s Subjective Wellbeing in China: The Serial Mediation Effect of Social Fairness and Social Trust

“…A study in Latin America suggested that distributive unfairness and income inequality are associated with lower levels of political trust ( Zmerli and Castillo, 2015 ). Because procedural fairness is of great importance to the survival of vulnerable groups ( Dierckx et al, 2021 ). Ziller (2017) also found that institutional fairness can ensure the fairness of rights and interests by narrowing the gaps between different groups, which improved social integration and tolerance as well as social trust.…”

“…Positive human behaviors are more likely to be inspired in the fair surrounding, such as trust and trustworthiness ( Lind, 2001 ; Jones and Martens, 2009 ). The result may be because the sense of fairness could lead people to lower their vigilance and treat others equally, it prevents discrimination, prejudice, and conflict in society ( Dierckx et al, 2021 ). This benefits to building a harmonious society and interpersonal trust and institutional trust.…”

“…On the one hand, social fairness perception can significantly increase confidence in government, but unequal social distribution may lead to the government losing trust in the people. The deterioration in social trust is likely to put the entire country in a vicious circle hindering social progress ( You, 2012 ; Zhao and Yu, 2017 ; Dierckx et al, 2021 ). On the other hand, social fairness also contributes to interpersonal trust.…”

How does social security affect people’s subjective wellbeing in China? A chain mediation model

“…For special groups, procedural fairness is of great significance to their survival. Social trust is able to be improved because fairness can reduce discrimination and prejudice and make them feel social tolerance (Dierckx et al, 2021). Zhang and Zhou (2018) found that social justice has a statistically positive impact on social trust, regardless of distributive or procedural justice.…”