Just Deserts: An Experimental Study of Distributive Justice Norms

TLDR

Distributive justice norms shape political behavior, legitimacy, and policy, prompting long‑standing questions about what is just and how societies should allocate benefits and burdens. The study highlights a disconnect between normative and empirical approaches to distributive justice, showing that while self‑interest influences behavior, normative beliefs are also crucial and that experimental research needs a normative framework to interpret justice‑related actions.

Abstract

nderstanding distributive justice norms is important for both normative and empirical research across political science and other disciplines. "What is justice?" has been a central question in political and moral theory for over two millennia. "Is it just?" is a question politicians, policy makers, and citizens face in deciding how to distribute benefi ts and burdens in society.Finally, the question "What do people believe is just?" interests researchers who study political behavior and attitudes.The legitimacy of the state and its leaders depends in large measure on their perceived justice (Weatherford 1992; Alwin, Gornev, and Khakhulina 1995), and legislation and public policy are judged in terms of their procedural and distributive justice (Rasinski 1987;Tyler et al. 1997 1997).Despite the importance of understanding distributive justice across all areas of social inquiry, a gap remains between normative and empirical approaches.Normative researchers tend to view empirical fi ndings as irrelevant for their work.In response, Elster (1995) suggests that philosophical theories contradicted by experimental and other evidence are open to question.For their part, empirical researchers often focus on instrumental theories and downplay normative considerations.Justice research nonetheless shows that while self-interest is undoubtedly a factor in behavior, normative beliefs also matter (Tyler et al. 1997).Miller articulates the relevance of theoretically informed experimental research into distributive justice norms: the social scientist "needs a normative theory both to enable him to distinguish beliefs and pieces of behavior that express justice from those that do not, and to explain such beliefs and behavior adequately" (1999,59).