Legal Structures and Restoring Equity¹

Psychological research suggests that harmdoers typically respond in one of two ways after injuring another: (a) sometimes harmdoers make voluntary reparation to the victim, or acquiesce when forced to make reparation; (b) sometimes harmdoers engage in defensive behavior. Instead of acknowledging responsibility for the victim's predicament, they try to justify their harmdoing. They may insist that the victim deserves to suffer or may deny that he was really injured by their actions. This article examines the factors that tend to encourage or prevent individuals from voluntarily reestablishing equitable relationships, and considers the extent to which current legal practices encourage or discourage the equitable resolution of legal disputes.