Struggles for Equal Rights and Social Justice as Unrepresented and Represented in Psychological Research

Issues of equality and social justice remain important concerns for contemporary societies. Struggles for equal rights and fair treatment continue in both organized movements and in acts of everyday life. We first consider trends in psychological research that fail to address such struggles and may even impede theoretical understanding of the complex processes of thought and action involved when individuals confront situations of welfare, justice, and rights. Then, we consider research, which attempts to address these issues. We review studies on the development of moral judgments and on understandings of equality and distributive justice. We also discuss research that accounts for the varying social contexts of individual lives and conceives of human behavior as engaged in moral judgments, which often produce resistance and opposition to injustice. In conclusion, we call for more attention in psychological research to issues of equity and social justice.