Procedural Justice, Emotions and Resistance to Authority

RULES MAKE UP a part of any civilised society. When well designed, they reflect the social norms of the society in which they are developed and they are used as a way to ensure that citizens do not unfairly disadvantage others. For those who develop and police these laws, it is hoped that compliance can be elicited voluntarily. If not, then there are most often procedures that can be used to coerce people back into compliance. Compliance research has shown, however, that harsh sanctions and punishments, and the way in which they can sometimes be administered, can sometimes lead to overt opposition or defiance to laws in the future; a situation that can be extremely costly to a regulator (see Murphy 2004). Research into procedural justice has shown that if authorities treat people with trust, fairness, respect and neutrality during an enforcement encounter, people will not only be more willing to cooperate with authorities, but they will also be more likely to comply with authority decisions and directives in the future (Tyler 1990).