Dimensions of social justice: beliefs about integration in education and different types of prejudice in Argentine

Abstract

Perceptions of social justice are recognized as a key element in the formation of attitudes and behaviors towards certain social groups. The social justice dimensions (recognition, redistribution, and representation) interact differentially with demographic and psychosocial characteristics; however, few studies have delved into the differences in their association. This study had three aims: 1) to analyze the social justice dimensions according to age, gender, region, and educational level; 2) to study the correlation of social justice dimensions with beliefs about the educational inclusion of migrants, agreement with attitudes towards paying taxes and gender; and 3) to explore whether the social justice dimensions contribute to the levels of prejudice towards different social groups (people in poverty, immigrants, and homosexuals). A total of 1,810 subjects from Argentina, aged 18 to 80 years (Mage = 45.76 years; 53.7% women) participated in the study. Differences in the social justice dimensions were observed according to gender, age, and educational level, but not according to region. Social justice dimensions correlated with beliefs about educational inclusion of migrants, gender, equality in education, and attitudes toward paying taxes. Social justice dimensions contributed to higher/lower levels of prejudice toward different social groups. The scope and limits of the relationships between the three-dimensional model of social justice with demographic and psychosocial variables explored in this study are discussed.