James E.W. Roseborough
David L. Wiesenthal


Highlights

•The influence of justice on emotion in four unjust driving scenarios was examined.
•Justice was applied poetically via a collision or legally via police enforcement.
•Applications of justice post-offence reduced reported anger and increased reported happiness.
•Justice applied by police had the greatest association with reported emotion.



Keywords
Justice; Injustice; Driving; Anger; Aggression



Abstract
The enforcement of traffic laws by police punishes law violators and reduces the likelihood that other drivers will violate laws via vicariously perceived punishment. The purpose of the current study was to determine the effect of punishment of violators on the feelings of anger and happiness in witnesses and victims. A sample of 279 individuals was exposed to four animated simulations of unjust driving behavior. Participants indicated how angry and happy the behaviors made them feel. Participants then indicated feelings of happiness and anger a second time, after being informed that the violator had been punished. While inconsistent, analyses generally indicated that perceived punishment reduced feelings of anger and increased feelings of happiness. In addition to increasing roadway safety, the current study shows the importance of active police enforcement, which could positively impact the emotional states of victims and witnesses of unjust driving behavior.



Article Outline
1. Introduction
1.1. Emotion
1.2. Justice
1.3. Injustice
1.4. Injustice and driving

2. Materials and methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Procedure
2.3. Measures and stimuli
2.3.1. Written vignettes
2.3.2. Animated video clips
2.3.3. Measures of deserved punishment, anger, and happiness


3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Limitations and future research
6. Possible applications
Appendix A. Supplementary material
References



Figures
   

Fig. 1.

Still-caption from unjust driving scenario 1 (i.e., illegal left-turn).


Fig. 2.

Mean scores of anger and happiness responses to pre- and post-justice with 95% CIs.