Sensitivity to Injustice of Politicians and Voters

Abstract. This explorative study compares the sensitivity to injustice of 116 Members of the German National Parliament and 998 German citizens eligible to vote, from the perspective of a victim, an observer, a beneficiary, and a perpetrator. Politicians were found to have a significantly higher observer, beneficiary, and perpetrator sensitivity and a significantly lower victim sensitivity than voters. These results fit with the findings that observer and perpetrator sensitivity usually correlates positively with political engagement and beneficiary sensitivity, whereas victim sensitivity correlates negatively with political commitment.