Note: I’m on vacation. This post was originally published on June 12, 2018.
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In prepping for this series on social justice, I came across a great meta-analysis on the research and theory of "relative deprivation", which the authors define as "the judgment that one is worse off compared to some standard accompanied by feelings of anger and resentment" (Smith, Pettigrew et al, 2011, p 203). According to this meta-analysis, the experience of relative deprivation can be applied to the self or ingroup and requires:
Domain of comparison be important
Assumption situation will not improve without intervention
Process producing disadvantage perceived to be illegitimate
Self/ingroup is not to blame
For example, someone uninterested in higher education may not feel all that deprived compared to college graduates. Nor is it likely that a college undergrad would feel anger and resentment towards all those graduate students at her school if she considers the system for getting into graduate school to be fair and reasonable, expects to be a graduate student herself one day, and believes people who don't get accepted into graduate school have only themselves to blame.
Per previous posts in this series, perceptions of social justice and injustice are mediated and moderated by all sorts of considerations, such perceived control over personal circumstances, hope, optimism, deservingness, basic entitlements, and legitimacy of the system. These same considerations apply to relative deprivation. Social justice and relative deprivation are thus partly overlapping concepts, tapping into similar emotions, desires, and assumptions.
Reference:
Smith, H. J., T. F. Pettigrew, et al. (2011). "Relative Deprivation: A Theoretical and Meta-Analytic Review." Personality and Social Psychology Review 16(3): 203-232.