DO PROCEDURAL FAIRNESS OF PUBLIC POLICY INCREASE TRUST IN AUTHORITY'S INTENTION?

Abstract

We conducted scenario-based experiments of NIMBY problem in which authority explained residents about the procedure to decide a landfill site from among the candidate sites in their community. We hypothesized that perceived fairness of the decision making procedure enhanced trust for authority's intention to implement the policy for residents' interest more than trust for authority's ability to do it, and that the degree of authority's discretion to choose the procedure had a moderating effect on the relationship between procedural fairness and trust for authority's intention. Findings of three experiments support our hypothesis. Participants in high procedural fair condition had more trust for authority's intention than in low fair condition. Moreover, results also showed in high discretion condition in which authority had power to choose the specific procedure, procedural fairness enhanced trust for authority's intention more that in low discretion condition.