THE IMPACT OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE ON OPINIONS OF PUBLIC-POLICY - SOLID-WASTE MANAGEMENT AS AN EXAMPLE

This study assessed the applicability of Tyler and Lind's (1992) relat ional model of authority to the context of local government policies o n solid waste management. Tests of the hypothesized relations proposed by Tyler and Lind, accomplished through structural equation modeling, revealed that our data supported the relations between the various co nstructs of the model. Perceptions of both process control and relatio nal process were found to be positively related to procedural fairness judgments, while procedural fairness judgments were weakly related to evaluations of government entities. Contrary to our expectations, a s imilar structural equation model test of an extension of the Tyler and Lind model showed that the model constructs were unrelated to respond ents' opinions of public policies. The results also indicated that res pondents living in communities with different infrastructures and poli tical climates differed slightly in their perceptions of procedural ju stice and related constructs, but did not differ in their endorsement of the various solid waste management policies.