Biased Justice Perception

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the effect of the supervisor's special treatment for others on the justice perceptions of an employee. simultaneously, we examine how the supervisor's special treatment for others interacts with the special treatment that employees themselves receive to affect the justice perceptions of employees. We conducted hierarchical multiple regression analysis using data from 300 Japanese employees. The results suggest that the supervisor's special treatment for others has a negative influence on the justice perceptions of employees. However, the relationship is not moderated by the special treatment that employees themselves receive. We think this unexpected result is because that employees’ justice perceptions are biased by their self-interests. Finally, the theoretical implications of our findings are discussed.