The Justice motive in social behavior : adapting to times of scarcity and change

This volume was conceived out of the concern with what the imminent future holds for the "have" countries ... those societies, such as the United States, which are based on complex technology and a high level of energy consumption. Even the most sanguine projection includes as base minimum relatively rapid and radical change in all aspects of the society, reflecting adaptation or reactions to demands created by poten tial threat to the technological base, sources of energy, to the life-support system itself. Whatever the source of these threats-whether they are the result of politically endogeneous or exogeneous forces-they will elicit changes in our social institutions; changes resulting not only from attempts to adapt but also from unintended consequences of failures to adapt. One reasonable assumption is that whatever the future holds for us, we would prefer to live in a world of minimal suffering with the greatest opportunity for fulfilling the human potential. The question then becomes one of how we can provide for these goals in that scenario for the imminent future ... a world of threat, change, need to adapt, diminishing access to that which has been familiar, comfortable, needed.

1 * Adapting to Scarcity and Change (I): Stating the Problem.- 2 * The Justice Motive in Human Relations: Some Thoughts on What We Know and Need to Know about Justice.- Basic Processes.- 3 * Theoretical Issues in the Development of Social Justice.- 4 * The Development of Justice and Self-Interest during Childhood.- 5 * Morality and the Development of Conceptions of Justice.- 6 * Social Change and the Contexts of Justice Motivation.- 7 * Retributive Justice.- 8 * The Social Psychology of Punishment Reactions.- 9 * Microjustice and Macrojustice.- Institutional Settings.- 10 * The Changing Longevity of Heterosexual Close Relationships: A Commentary and Forecast.- 11 * Giving and Receiving: Social Justice in Close Relationships.- 12 * The Exchange Process in Close Relationships: Microbehavior and Macromotives.- 13 * The Justice of Distributing Scarce and Abundant Resources.- 14 * The Allocation and Acquisition of Resources in Times of Scarcity.- 15 * Justice in "The Crunch".- 16 * The Relationship of Economic Growth to Inequality in the Distribution of Income.- 17 * Justice Motives and Other Psychological Factors in the Development and Resolution of Disputes.- 18 * Down-to-Earth Justice: Pitfalls on the Road to Legal Decentralization.- 19 * Law as a Social Trap: Problems and Possibilities for the Future.- Endnote.- 20 * Adapting to Scarcity and Change (II): Constructive Alternatives.- Author Index.