THE INFLUENCE OF LEGITIMACY APPRAISALS ON THE DETERMINANTS OF ENTITLEMENT BELIEFS

We conducted a laboratory experiment to determine whether legitimacy a ppraisals (i.e., the extent to which an outcome distribution is though t to be fair and just) would influence the extent to which entitlement beliefs about wages were based on in-group wage comparison informatio n and perceptions of one's own performance. To manipulate legitimacy a ppraisals, participants were led to believe that the wage allocation p rocedure was unbiased, potentially biased, or biased. In addition, the y were exposed to wage comparison information, indicating that in-grou p members had earned more than out-group members in the past or vice v ersa. Results show that, when procedures were thought to be unbiased, participants' beliefs about the amounts they deserved to be paid were influenced more by in-group wage comparison information than perceptio ns of their own performance. In contrast, when participants perceived allocation procedures to be biased, entitlement beliefs were influence d more by perceptions of their own performance than by in-group wage c omparison information. These findings are presented in terms of the pa radoxical contentment often observed among members of objectively disa dvantaged groups.