The decision to participate in mediation and individual factors: the role of moral foundations and their relation to restorative and retributive orientations

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe present study explores people’s willingness to participate in victim–offender mediation and the role played by moral foundations and the retributive and restorative justice orientations in this decision. Participants were exposed to a burglary victimisation hypothetical scenario in order to capture the decision to participate in victim–offender mediation. Based upon our interpretation of the positive association found between the retributive and restorative orientations, our analysis revealed two clear patterns of association between, on the one hand, the fairness/reciprocity moral foundation and the restorative orientation and, on the other hand, the authority/respect moral foundation and the retributive orientation. The ingroup/loyalty moral foundation directly and negatively predicted the decision to participate in mediation, while the fairness/reciprocity moral foundation had an indirect effect on the decision, through the restorative orientation.