On the justification of intergroup violence: The roles of procedural justice, police legitimacy, and group identity in attitudes toward violence among indigenous people.

Abstract

Objective Why do people justify intergroup violence? In this paper we examine attitudes towards violence perpetrated by indigenous activists to claim for rights and violence by police officers against indigenous people. We assess the role that perceived police legitimacy, procedurally just policing towards the indigenous minority group and group identity play in the justification of intergroup violence. Method We present findings from two surveys (Study 1, n=1493, Study 2, n=198) and an experiment (Study 3, n=76) conducted among indigenous people in Chile. Studies 1 and 2 measure perceptions of police procedural justice towards indigenous people. Study 3 manipulates the fairness with which police officers treat indigenous people. Effects of procedural justice on police legitimacy (Studies 2 and 3) and attitudes towards violence for social change and social control (Studies 1-3) are analyzed. Result Higher perceptions of procedurally just policing towards indigenous people predict more support for police violence and less support for violence perpetrated by indigenous activists. These effects are mediated by perceived police legitimacy and moderated by identification with the minority group. Among people who identify strongly with their indigenous group, perceiving high procedural justice predicts greater police legitimacy, greater support for police violence, and lesser support for violence perpetrated by indigenous activists.