People accept decisions and comply with authority more readily when they judge the process fair, largely independently of whether the outcome favoured them.
Tyler's 1990 study found that perceived fairness of treatment predicted willingness to obey the law better than perceived favourability of outcomes did. The components that mattered were voice, neutrality, respect and trustworthy motives. It implies that legitimacy is earned in the conduct of the encounter rather than in its result.
In practice
- A rejected applicant who was heard and told why speaks better of the employer than a successful one who was processed.
- A tenant who loses a dispute after a fair hearing pays the arrears; one who loses without one appeals.