Gender differences in justice evaluations: Evidence from fMRI.
Justice research examining gender differences has yielded contrasting findings. This study enlists advanced techniques in cognitive neuroscience (fMRI) to examine gender differences in brain activation patterns in response to procedural and distributive justice manipulations. We integrate social role, information processing, justice, and neuroscience literature to posit and test for gender differences in 2 neural subsystems known to be involved in the appraisal of self-relevant events. Results indicate that the relationship between justice information processing and neural activity in areas representing these subsystems is significantly influenced by gender, with greater activation for females than males during consideration of both procedural and distributive justice information. In addition, we find evidence that gender and distributive injustice interact to influence bargaining behavior, with females rejecting ultimatum game offers more frequently than males. Results also demonstrate activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and ventral striatum brain regions during procedural justice evaluation is associated with offer rejection in females, but not in males. Managerial implications based on the study's support for gender differences in justice perceptions are discussed.
School of Human Resources and Labor Relations, Michigan State University.
James H
JH
Dulebohn
Area of Management, Jerry S. Rawls College of Business Administration, Texas Tech University.
Robert B
RB
Davison
Department of Communication, Northern Kentucky University.
Seungcheol Austin
SA
Lee
Department of Management, Broad College of Business, Michigan State University.
Donald E
DE
Conlon
Department of Management, Broad College of Business, Michigan State University.
Gerry
G
McNamara
Department of Radiology, Michigan State University.
Issidoros C
IC
Sarinopoulos
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009014:Morals; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012935:Social Justice; D066328:Ventral Striatum / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult