The Influence of Accuracy as a Function of Leader’s Bias: The Role of Trustworthiness in the Psychology of Procedural Justice

Abstract

The present research examined the combined effect of accuracy of procedures and leader’s bias on fairness judgments and the experience of positive emotions. The results of two studies showed that the strongest positive effects on both types of reactions were found when procedures were accurate and the leader was unbiased. In addition, accuracy of procedures only revealed an impact when the leader was perceived as unbiased rather than biased. Moreover, this interactive effect was found to be mediated, at least partly, by perceptions of trustworthiness. These findings show that more research is needed on examining different types of procedural fairness, both as single and combined predictors of people’s reactions.