Values, achievement, and justice : studies in the psychology of deservingness

When we say that a person deserves a positive or negative outcome, we are making a judgment that is influenced by a number ofvariables. We would certainly take into account whether the person was resp- siblefortheoutcomeorwhethertheoutcomecouldbeattributedtoother sources. We would also consider whether the actions that led to the positive or negative outcome were actions that we would value or - tionsthatwouldmeetwithourdisapproval.Wemightalsobeinfluenced by the person's own positive or negative characteristics, by ourkno- edgeofwhatkinds ofgroups orsocialcategoriesthepersonbelongedto, and by whether we like or dislike the person. Information about these differentvariableshastobe consideredandintegratedin someway, and our judgment of deservingness follows that psychological process, a process that involves the cognitive-affective system. Values, Achievements, and Justice is about deservingness and about the variables that affect the judgments we make. I use the term "dese- ingness" although I could equally have referred to "deservedness" or "desert." The terms are all virtually equivalent in meaning, although dictionaries may separate them by using fine distinctions. I assume that the sorts of variables I have just described will affect ourjudgments of deservingness, and I further assume that a judgment of deservingness is most likely to occur when these variables fit together in a consistent, harmonious, and balanced way.

1. Introduction and Overview. Judgments and Deservingness. Positively and Negatively Valued Actions and Outcomes. Causal Attributions and Perceived Responsibility. Other Variables Affecting Deservingness. Relation to Other Approaches. Fairness, Entitlement, and Deservingness. Summary and Overview of Chapters. 2. Perceived Responsibility. Heider's Levels of Responsibility. Common Sense and Legal Aspects of Responsibility. The Triangle Model of Responsibility. Judgments of Responsibility. Responsibility and Blame. Conclusing Comments. 3. Values and Valences. The Concept of Value. Values and Valences. Values, Valences, and Associative Networks. Research Studies. The Engagement of Values. Concluding Comments. 4. The Deservingness Model. Social Identity and Interpersonal Relations. Perceived Moral Character. Balance Theory. Graph Theory. The Structural Model of Deservingness. Modes of Resolution. Some Possible Extensions. Concluding Comments. 5. Achievement and Deservingness.Tall Poppy Research. Two Early Studies. Responsibility and Deservingness in Success and Failure Situations. Studies of Public Figures. Deservingness, Affect, Employment, and Unemployment. Concluding Comments. 6. A Social-Cognitive Process Model of Retributive Justice. Modeling Reactions to Penalties for Offenses. Research Studies. Concluding Comments. 7. Social Identity, Moral Character, and Retributive Justice. Ingroup/Outgroup Effects on Reactions to Offenses. Moral Character and Reactions to Offenses. Concluding Comments. 8. Final Reflections. Further Extensions. Concluding Comments. References. Name Index. Subject Index.