Effect of Time on Tendency to Compensate a Victim

Abstract

Previous research has shown that individuals may reduce the distress they feel on harming another by making reparation to their victim, by justifying their harm-doing or by seeking punishment for the act. Prediction of which distress-reduction technique or which combination will be used has been facilitated by extending theoretical equity formulations to the harm-doing situation. The present experiment, a quasi-replication of Berscheid and Walster (1967), tested and supported the hypothesis that prediction of harm-doer response based on harm-doer motivation to restore equity to his relationship with the victim will be successful primarily when there is a time interval between commitment of the harmful act and a decision to perform a distress-reduction act. When such time is not available to the harm-doer, saliency of distress-reduction opportunity may be a better predictor.