INTRINSIC VERSUS COMMUNITY-BASED JUSTICE MODELS - WHEN DOES GROUP MEMBERSHIP MATTER

This paper examines the effects of group membership on group members' concerns about justice. Two types of effects are hypothesized to exist: inclusionary and exclusionary. Inclusionary effects involve the relationship between groups and their members. Exclusionary effects involve the relationship of groups to nonmembers. Data from a recent study of citizen reactions to encounters with legal authority suggest that inclusionary effects do occur—for example, people of differing centrality to the group differ in their justice concerns. This finding supports both social exchange and group‐value models of justice, both of which suggest that justice concerns are linked to group membership. The form of the inclusionary effects—which show that members of intermediate status care most about justice—supports the predictions of group‐value theory. A theoretical analysis of exclusionary effects suggests that such effects may be complex, being influenced by factors such as the structure and values of the group in question. 1990 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues