Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Efforts aimed at increasing civic-minded dialogue among the public must equally consider what encourages or discourages political engagement. One promising line of research originating outside of communication examines the role of procedural justice. Procedural justice essentially argues that individuals care about the fairness of decision-making or deliberative procedures. In turn, perceptions of fairness influence a host of outcome variables, including satisfaction with the process, commitment to the organization, and willingness to take voluntary behaviors on the organization’s behalf. We believe that the concept of procedural justice holds significant promise for addressing questions in political communication research, particularly those related to public deliberation. In turn, we offer a synthesis of procedural justice research before proposing a framework for linking procedural justice to framing research. While providing much needed attention to a concept largely overlooked in communication, we endeavor to make more explicit the previously implicit communicative aspects of procedural justice.