Legal Authority in a Diverse Society: The Psychology of Cross-Ethnic Authority

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9511719 Tyler Recent events as well as the long-standing problems of relations between legal authorities and disadvantaged groups illustrate the special problems that arise when authority structures extend across the boundaries of social diversity. This research begins from a central, important question: how are legitimacy and acceptance of authority achieved in ethnically-diverse societies, especially in that of the United States? Previous research has shown that use of fair procedures is one of the most effective ways for authorities to assure that they are viewed as legitimate. But it has not dealt effectively with how social diversity affects judgments of fairness of treatment and acceptance of legal authorities. This project will begin to remedy this by comparing how people react to authorities similar to or different from them along salient social dimensions. Findings from focus groups will be integrated with existing theory on the psychology of authority to develop interview questions. Interviews will then be conducted with 1,000 California residents drawn from four different ethnic groups to investigate recent encounters with authorities of the same or different ethnicity as the respondent, as well as numerous other matters. A laboratory experiment will be conducted to test the causal relations suggested by the survey. The project has the potential to guide the development of policy governing the behavior of authorities that will enhance the prospects that their decisions will gain acceptance or legitimacy. %%%% This research begins from a central, important question: how are legitimacy and acceptance of authority achieved in ethnically-diverse societies, especially in that of the United States? Previous research has shown that use of fair procedures is one of the most effective ways for authorities to assure that they are viewed as legitimate. But it has not dealt effectively with how social diversity affects judgments of fairness of treatment and acceptance of legal a uthorities. This project will begin to remedy this by comparing how people react to authorities similar to or different from them along salient social dimensions. Findings from focus groups will be integrated with existing theory on the psychology of authority to develop interview questions. Interviews will then be conducted with 1,000 California residents drawn from four different ethnic groups to investigate recent encounters with authorities of the same or different ethnicity as the respondent, as well as numerous other matters. A laboratory experiment will be conducted to test the causal relations suggested by the survey. The project has the potential to guide the development of policy governing the behavior of authorities that will enhance the prospects that their decisions will gain acceptance or legitimacy. ****