We argue that people's self-esteem is affected by the fairness of proc
edures to which they are subjected; unfair treatment will lower self-e
steem. Moreover, since this influence on self-esteem is presumably due
to the implicit evaluation expressed by the choice of procedure and h
ence by the evaluation expressed by the person implementing the proced
ure, people's concern with the fairness of treatment will be focused o
n the interactional aspects of the procedure. In two experiments desig
ned to test these hypotheses subjects received either a high or a low
grade on an ability test on the basis of either fair or unfair grading
procedures. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that subjects' self
-esteem was lower after unfair treatment, and this influence was only
apparent when subjects received high test feedback. Additionally, rati
ngs of the fairness of the interaction were lower following unfair gra
ding procedures. Experiment 2 also manipulated level of involvement wi
th the test. Self-esteem was affected by procedural fairness and proce
dural fairness influenced perceived fairness of the interaction only i
n the high involvement condition.