Perceived Policy Fairness

What it measures

A four-item semantic differential scale assessing how fair, trustworthy, honest, and legitimate a respondent perceives a particular company policy or action to be. Developed for use in a scenario where a bank unexpectedly charged a fee and justified it on policy grounds.

Response format

7-point semantic differential

Scale items

• not at all fair / very fair
• not at all trustworthy / very trustworthy
• not at all honest / very honest
• not at all legitimate / very legitimate

Full scale items shown. Always cite the original source when using this scale in research.

Usage notes & scoring

Participants rated the fairness of a bank's fee policy after reading a complaint scenario. Although developed for a fee-policy context, the items are broadly applicable to any evaluation of organisational fairness or procedural legitimacy.

Recommended companion scales

Citation

Jung, K., Garbarino, E., Briley, D.A., & Wynhausen, J. (2017). Blue and red voices: Effects of political ideology on consumers' complaining and disputing behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 44(3), 477–499.

Keywords