The Power of Fair Procedures: The Effect of Procedural Justice on Perceptions of Power and Hierarchy

The influence of power on a host of psychological and social factors has been extensively documented in social sciences, with power typically assessed as either a structural potential (a capacity to control valuable outcomes) or a psychological state (an individual subjective perception of power). By using these two expressions of power interchangeably existing research has overlooked the question of how power realities are translated into subjective perceptions and experiences of power. This dissertation explores this question by linking the level of procedural fairness enacted by high power authorities to the ways power is attributed to and experienced by subordinates. Building upon its status validating and control boosting properties I argue that procedural fairness will affect perception of power in two important ways: a) procedural justice will empower subordinates causing them to be seen as more powerful when they are treated fairly (compared with unfairly) by relevant authorities; b) procedural justice will equalize power relations causing hierarchical relations to be seen as more equal when they are marked with procedural fairness (compared with unfairness). The dissertation falls into three sections. In the first section I examine the proposed effects of procedural justice on power perception; I find support for both the empowering and the equalizing capacity of procedural justice. When treated fairly, subordinates are perceived by others and experience themselves as more powerful. Likewise, power relations marked by procedural fairness are perceived (by others) and experienced (by subordinates) as more equal. In the second section I examine the mechanisms underlying this effect. Contrary to my predictions, only increased sense of control, and not both increased control and status, mediates the effect of procedural fairness on power perception. Finally, in the third section I look at whether the effect of procedural justice on perceptions of power accounts for subsequent downstream consequences previously linked to power; I show that procedural justice causes subordinates to process information in a more superficial manner and increases their tendency to think abstractly. I end with the social and psychological implications of this research.