The Social Psychology of Justice Repair

Abstract

Justice scholars have elaborated a variety of social psychological mechanisms that contribute to our desire to see some action following an injustice, to see justice done. Research over the past 20 years has significantly advanced our understanding of how to repair a sense of justice by articulating the psychological needs that follow from its experience from victim, offender, and observer perspectives. In this review, we summarize key insights from this literature, including the specific needs identified as relevant to justice, the challenges that arise when seeking justice for multiple parties in a conflict, and the procedural approaches that can aid in reconciling disparate perspectives. Following this review, we challenge our own assumption that justice repair is necessary. As a departure from this deficit model, we draw inspiration from adjacent fields of study to propose “justice making” as an alternative avenue for reconciliation in situations where justice repair is unachievable.