Synergistic Person × Situation Interaction in Distributive Justice Behavior
- 1 January 2003
- journal article
- clinical trial
- Published by SAGE Publications in Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Vol. 29 (1), 141-147
- https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167202238379
Abstract
A person × situation interaction is synergistic when a personality trait amplifies the effect of a situational factor. The present study tested how individuals’ justice attitudes and situational factors jointly affect the allocation of financial burdens. Six insurance cases were described to 80 participants. Economic status of client (high, low) and responsibility of client for damage of the insured (high, low) were manipulated between subjects. Participants suggested a percentage of the total costs that they considered a fair contribution by the client. In accordance with the synergistic model, justice attitude (person factor) and responsibility for damage (situation factor) interacted and explained 5% of the variance of the dependent variable. With increasing negativity of attitude toward equality, the effect of responsibility was larger. Several cognitive mechanisms, such as motivated perception, selective attention, and the availability of attitude congruent situation schemas, that may account for synergistic interactions in justice behavior and in other domains were discussed.This publication has 19 references indexed in Scilit:
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