The current dissertation examined role differences in the perception of injustice;
specifically, differences in how victims and offenders respond to a situation that they
both agree is unfair. Past research has demonstrated that role affects reactions to
transgressions and injustice, including recall of transgressions, and attributions of blame
and responsibility (e.g., Baumeister, Stillwell, & Wotman, 1990; Mikula, Athenstaedt,
Heschgl, & Heimgartner, 1998). However, to date, little work has examined role
differences in perceptions of why an event is perceived as unfair (i.e., how an injustice is
framed) or how justice should be restored. These were the perceptions I focused on in the
present thesis. I also examined potential concerns that may motivate victims' and
offenders' justice reactions, as well as the potential interaction between role and
relationship quality in predicting justice reactions. In Studies 1 and 2, several of the
predicted role differences in concerns were found; however, these did not lead to the
expected differences in framing and restoration. In Study 1, using a vignette
methodology, I found differences primarily in how victims and offenders believed justice
should be restored. Overall, the significant role effects showed an accommodating
response pattern (e.g., offenders proposed punishment more than did victims and neutral
observers, whereas victims recommended minimal compensation more than did offenders
and neutral observers), inconsistent with previous research and my hypotheses. Study 2,
which employed a sample of romantic couples, substantiated the accommodating pattern
found in Study 1. Study 3, which sampled a broader range of relationships, also showed
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examples of accommodating reactions. In addition, Study 3 provided some support for
the hypothesized interaction between role and relationship quality, such that responses were more accommodating as relationship quality increased. For example, offenders
more strongly endorsed methods of restoration such as offender apology and recognition
of the relationship with increasing relationship quality. Overall, the results from this
dissertation support the general notion that victims and offenders respond to injustice
differently, and, in-line with previous research on other justice-related responses (e.g.,
Mikula et at, 1998), suggest that victims and offenders show an other-serving,
accommodating tendency in justice reactions when relationship quality is high