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Reactions to a Postal Rate Increase: Justification or Inequity Distress? 1
Author(s) -
Greenberg Jerald
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1980.tb00702.x
Subject(s) - feeling , distress , psychology , social psychology , postal service , service (business) , consumer satisfaction , demographic economics , clinical psychology , advertising , marketing , business , economics , political science , public administration
Three hundred and thirty‐four adults were surveyed regarding their satisfaction with the postal service either 2 weeks before a 2c increase in first‐class postage, 2 days after, or 4 weeks after. Two days after the increase, relatively low users reported more dissatisfaction, while high use customers reported increased satisfaction. The personal cost associated with inequitable conditions (higher price for same services) appears to moderate the use of justificatory responses. Four weeks after the increase, satisfaction returned to pre‐increase levels, suggesting that feelings of inequity created by the price increase were temporary.