Title
The Importance Of Contextual Variables When Judging Fairness: An Examination Of Counterfactual Thoughts And Fairness Theory
Keywords
Counterfactual thinking; Fairness perceptions; Organizational justice
Abstract
This research empirically examines the underlying mechanisms of fairness theory (Folger & Cropanzano, 1998, 2001), namely counterfactual thought processes. Study 1 used a policy-capturing design to examine the relative importance of contextual variables in predicting counterfactual thoughts and fairness perceptions. Study 2 utilized a between-subjects design and asked participants to generate their own counterfactuals in response to an unfortunate event. Results of both studies showed that fairness perceptions are influenced by contextual variables (i.e., outcome severity, target knowledge and expertise, sin of commission vs. omission) and counterfactual thinking. Counterfactual thoughts partially mediated the effects of contextual variables and fairness perceptions in Study 1. Exploratory analyses from Study 3 revealed that the measurement of counterfactual thoughts (frequency vs. strength) may capture different underlying constructs. Implications are discussed. © 2010 Elsevier Inc.
Publication Date
3-1-2011
Publication Title
Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
Volume
114
Issue
2
Number of Pages
127-141
Document Type
Article
Personal Identifier
scopus
DOI Link
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2010.10.007
Copyright Status
Unknown
Socpus ID
78651501214 (Scopus)
Source API URL
https://api.elsevier.com/content/abstract/scopus_id/78651501214
STARS Citation
Nicklin, Jessica M.; Greenbaum, Rebecca; McNall, Laurel A.; Folger, Robert; and Williams, Kevin J., "The Importance Of Contextual Variables When Judging Fairness: An Examination Of Counterfactual Thoughts And Fairness Theory" (2011). Scopus Export 2010-2014. 3351.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/scopus2010/3351