TY - JOUR
T1 - Judgments of deservingness
T2 - Studies in the psychology of justice and achievement
AU - Feather, N. T.
PY - 1999/5
Y1 - 1999/5
N2 - This article presents a review and conceptual analysis of the concept ofdeservingness that incorporates the effects of personal values, perceived responsibility, ingroup-outgroup relations, and like-dislike relations. Selected studies show that reactions to another's success or failure and to the rise or fall of "tall poppies" or high achievers depends on the degree to which the positive or negative outcome is seen to be deserved; that individual differences in personal values and in value syndromes may be assumed to affect deservingness via the subjective values assigned to actions and outcomes; that group membership, status, interpersonal liking-disliking, and perceived moral character also affect judgments of deservingness; and that deservingness is a key variable that mediates how observers react to penalties imposed on the perpetrators of different kinds of offense. It is argued that the inclusion of deservingness goes beyond approaches in which perceived responsibility is accorded central status by adding a further link in the causal chain, thus enabling a more complete consideration of the effects of justice and value variables on how people react to positive and negative outcomes for both self and other.
AB - This article presents a review and conceptual analysis of the concept ofdeservingness that incorporates the effects of personal values, perceived responsibility, ingroup-outgroup relations, and like-dislike relations. Selected studies show that reactions to another's success or failure and to the rise or fall of "tall poppies" or high achievers depends on the degree to which the positive or negative outcome is seen to be deserved; that individual differences in personal values and in value syndromes may be assumed to affect deservingness via the subjective values assigned to actions and outcomes; that group membership, status, interpersonal liking-disliking, and perceived moral character also affect judgments of deservingness; and that deservingness is a key variable that mediates how observers react to penalties imposed on the perpetrators of different kinds of offense. It is argued that the inclusion of deservingness goes beyond approaches in which perceived responsibility is accorded central status by adding a further link in the causal chain, thus enabling a more complete consideration of the effects of justice and value variables on how people react to positive and negative outcomes for both self and other.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033419882&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1207/s15327957pspr0302_1
DO - 10.1207/s15327957pspr0302_1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0033419882
VL - 3
SP - 86
EP - 107
JO - PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW
JF - PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW
SN - 1088-8683
IS - 2
ER -