Abstract
Interest in the origins and development of social justice principles would appear to be an obvious starting point for the construction of theoretical perspectives on social justice. Everyday observation confirms that children in various cultures demonstrate sharing, assistance, and equity—in short, perceptions of fairness in their relationships with others. Indeed, some of the earliest psychological theories on moral judgment (Piaget, 1932/1965) as well as early research studies on the knowledge of justice norms (Hartshorne & May, 1929) were based on the behavior of children. However, this promising beginning was not followed up in any systematic way; only within the past dozen years or so has there been intensified and expanded investigation into the ways in which children judge and react to each other’s fate, develop and refine their notions of various forms of justice, and behave in ways that demonstrate a commitment to deserving in their relationships with others.
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Simmons, C.H. (1981). Theoretical Issues in the Development of Social Justice. In: Lerner, M.J., Lerner, S.C. (eds) The Justice Motive in Social Behavior. Critical Issues in Social Justice. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0429-4_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0429-4_3
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