PROCEDURAL AND DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICE - WHAT IS FAIR DEPENDS MORE ON WHAT COMES FIRST THAN ON WHAT COMES NEXT

In this article, 2 experiments are presented. In both experiments, the independent variables were whether the procedure was accurate or inac curate, whether the outcome was favorable or unfavorable, and whether participants were informed about the procedure before or after they we re informed about the outcome. The independent variables were manipula ted by means of scenarios in Experiment 1 and by means of the R. Vermu nt, A. P. Wit, K. van den Bos, and E. A. Lind (1996) paradigm in Exper iment 2. As predicted on the basis of the authors' analysis of fairnes s heuristic theory, the findings revealed that what people judge to be fair is more strongly affected by information that is received first than by subsequently received information. The findings are discussed in terms of recent developments toward an integration of the procedura l and distributive justice domains.