Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2025
14:32
Using Visual and Narrative Methods to Achieve Fair Process in Clinical Care
Published on: February 16, 2011
23.8K
Detainees' Perceptions of Procedural Justice: An Examination Throughout the Criminal Justice System
Matthias van Hall1, Anja J E Dirkzwager1, Peter H van der Laan1
1Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement (NSCR), Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Summary
Perceptions of procedural justice matter for criminal justice legitimacy and compliance. Early positive treatment experiences, especially by lawyers, can influence later views of police fairness and overall system trust.
Area of Science:
- Criminology
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Procedural justice theory posits that fair treatment by authorities enhances legitimacy and compliance.
- Understanding factors influencing procedural justice perceptions is vital for criminal justice systems.
- Prior procedural justice experiences may shape subsequent judgments of fairness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate determinants of procedural justice perceptions among detainees.
- To examine how perceptions of treatment by various criminal justice actors are evaluated.
- To explore the association between early procedural justice experiences and later perceptions.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the Prison Project, surveying detainees' perceptions of treatment.
- Assessed experiences with police, judges, prison staff, probation officers, and lawyers.
- Employed correlational analysis to examine associations between perceptions.
Main Results:
- Detainees reported the highest procedural justice with lawyers and the lowest with police.
- Perceptions of police procedural justice were significantly associated with later treatment perceptions by other authorities.
- Early procedural justice experiences, particularly with police, impact subsequent evaluations.
Conclusions:
- Lawyers are perceived as the most procedurally just actors, while police are perceived as the least.
- The procedural justice experienced with police has a notable influence on detainees' subsequent perceptions of other criminal justice authorities.
- Interventions aimed at improving police procedural justice may enhance overall legitimacy and compliance within the criminal justice system.
Related Concept Videos
03:20The Stanford Prison Experiment
23.4K
The famous and controversial Stanford Prison Experiment, conducted by social psychologist Philip Zimbardo and his colleagues at Stanford University, demonstrated the power of social roles, social norms, and scripts.
23.4K
01:08Obedience
33.0K
According to obedience research, we may harm others under the forceful pressures of an authority figure (Milgram, 1974). How about if the inappropriate orders were delivered with less force? The increasing interdependence between nurses and physicians compelled Hofling and his colleagues to explore nurses’ reactions to a potentially harmful medical request made by the perceived authority figure, the doctor (Hofling, Brotzman, Dalrymple, Graves, & Pierce, 1966). In this situation,...
33.0K
02:55Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
90.7K
Humans are very diverse and although we share many similarities, we also have many differences. The social groups we belong to help form our identities (Tajfel, 1974). These differences may be difficult for some people to reconcile, which may lead to prejudice toward people who are different. Prejudice is a negative attitude and feeling toward an individual based solely on one’s membership in a particular social group (Allport, 1954; Brown, 2010). Prejudice is common against people who...
90.7K
02:16Surveys
15.0K
Often, psychologists develop surveys as a means of gathering data. Surveys are lists of questions to be answered by research participants, and can be delivered as paper-and-pencil questionnaires, administered electronically, or conducted verbally. Generally, the survey itself can be completed in a short time, and the ease of administering a survey makes it easy to collect data from a large number of people.
15.0K
01:17Healthcare Agencies II
736
There are various healthcare agencies in the United States—some of which are managed by religious institutions and others by different government branches.
Parish nursing is a growing specialty nursing profession that focuses on holistic healthcare, health promotion, and illness prevention. It blends professional nursing practice with a health ministry, focusing on health and healing within the context of a Christian community. Parish nurses serve as health educators, referral sources,...
Parish nursing is a growing specialty nursing profession that focuses on holistic healthcare, health promotion, and illness prevention. It blends professional nursing practice with a health ministry, focusing on health and healing within the context of a Christian community. Parish nurses serve as health educators, referral sources,...
736
02:20Milgram's Obedience to Authority
6.5K
Obedience to authority is classically demonstrated in a more famous series of social psychology experiments performed by Stanley Milgram. He was a social psychology professor at Yale who was influenced by the trial of Adolf Eichmann, a Nazi war criminal. Eichmann’s defense for the atrocities he committed was that he was “just following orders.”
6.5K