EJSP2003 Dave
De Cremer (2003) examines whether leaders' inconsistent use of procedures (the consistency rule) is perceived as procedurally unfair and whether this influences people’s self-related reactions, especially for individuals low in state social self-esteem (SSE). Across three experiments with student participants, inconsistent leaders were rated less procedurally fair, elicited greater self-uncertainty and willingness to replace the leader (Study 1: N=40), and consistency effects on fairness judgments and replacement intentions emerged primarily for participants low in SSE (Study 2: N=73). Study 3 (N=51) replicated the effect using an alternative consistency manipulation and showed that inconsistency increased negative self-evaluations among low-SSE participants even when controlling for general self-uncertainty. Findings are interpreted with relational models of justice and sociometer theory.
Questions this document answers
10.1002/ejsp.162
European Journal of Social Psychology, 2003
Study 1: N=40; Study 2: N=73; Study 3: N=51 (5 excluded)
The 7-item social self-esteem subscale of Heatherton & Polivy's State Self-Esteem Scale (SSES, 1991)
Consistency check means: Consistent M=6.50, Inconsistent M=1.85 (7-point scale); F(1,38)=321.58, p<.001