View source for Just-world fallacy

{{Short description|Hypothesis that a person's actions will have morally fair and fitting consequences}}
The '''just-world fallacy''', or '''just-world hypothesis''', is the [[cognitive bias]] that assumes that "people get what they deserve" – that actions will necessarily have [[morality|morally]] fair and fitting consequences for the actor. For example, the assumptions that noble actions will eventually be rewarded and evil actions will eventually be punished fall under this fallacy. In other words, the just-world fallacy is the tendency to attribute consequences to—or expect consequences as the result of— either a universal force that restores moral balance or a universal connection between the nature of actions and their results. This belief generally implies the existence of cosmic [[justice]], [[destiny]], [[divine providence]], [[desert (philosophy)|desert]], [[Balance (metaphysics)|stability]], [[cosmos|order]], or the anglophone colloquial use of "[[karma]]". It is often associated with a variety of fundamental [[informal fallacy|fallacies]], especially in regard to [[Rationalization (making excuses)|rationalizing]] suffering on the grounds that the sufferers "deserve" it. This is called [[victim blaming]].
This fallacy popularly appears in the [[English language]] in various [[figures of speech]] that imply guaranteed punishment for wrongdoing, such as: "[[wikt:get what's coming to one|you got what was coming to you]]", "[[wikt:what goes around comes around|what goes around comes around]]", "[[wikt:chickens come home to roost|chickens come home to roost]]", "[[wikt:everything happens for a reason|everything happens for a reason]]", and "[[wikt:reap what one sows|you reap what you sow]]". This hypothesis has been widely studied by [[social psychology|social psychologists]] since [[Melvin J. Lerner]] conducted seminal work on the belief in a just world in the early 1960s.<ref name="An Overview">{{Cite book | doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-6418-5_1 | chapter=An Overview: Advances in Belief in a Just World Theory and Methods| title=Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World| pages=1–7| series=Critical Issues in Social Justice| year=1998| last1=Lerner| first1=Melvin J.| last2=Montada| first2=Leo| isbn=978-1-4419-3306-5|editor-last1= Montada|editor-first1=L.|editor-last2= Lerner |editor-first2=M. J.|location=New York|publisher=Plenum}}</ref> Research has continued since then, examining the predictive capacity of the fallacy in various situations and across cultures, and clarifying and expanding the theoretical understandings of just-world beliefs.<ref name="Furnham2003Decade">{{cite journal|title=Belief in a just world: research progress over the past decade|journal=Personality and Individual Differences|volume=34|issue=5|pages=795–817|doi=10.1016/S0191-8869(02)00072-7|year=2003|last1=Furnham|first1=Adrian}}</ref>
==Emergence==
Many philosophers and social theorists have observed and considered the phenomenon of belief in a just world, going back to at least as early as the [[Pyrrhonism|Pyrrhonist]] philosopher [[Sextus Empiricus]], writing ''circa'' 180 CE, who argued against this belief.<ref>Sextus Empiricus, "Outlines of Pyrrhonism", Book 1, Chapter 13, Section 32</ref> Lerner's work made the just-world hypothesis a focus of research in the field of social psychology.  [[Aristotelian ethics]] views "justice" as the chief of the virtues, moral sense being deeply rooted in the nature of humans as social and rational animals.<ref>[[Nicomachean Ethics]] Book V</ref>
===Melvin Lerner===
[[Melvin Lerner|Lerner]] was prompted to study [[justice]] beliefs and the just-world fallacy in the context of social psychological inquiry into negative social and societal interactions.<ref name="MontadaLernerPreface">{{cite book |chapter=Preface|pages= vii–viii|last1=Montada |first1=Leo |last2=Lerner |first2=Melvin J. |year=1998 |title=Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World |series=Critical Issues in Social Justice |isbn=978-1-4419-3306-5 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-6418-5|editor-last1= Montada|editor-first1=L.|editor-last2= Lerner |editor-first2=M. J.|location=New York|publisher=Plenum|url= http://digitale-objekte.hbz-nrw.de/storage/2011/03/07/file_3/4094300.pdf|chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/bfm%3A978-1-4757-6418-5%2F1.pdf}}</ref> Lerner saw his work as extending [[Stanley Milgram]]'s [[Milgram experiments|work on obedience]]. He sought to answer the questions of how regimes that cause cruelty and suffering maintain popular support, and how people come to accept [[social norm]]s and laws that produce misery and suffering.<ref name="LernerSimmonsObserver">{{cite journal |last1=Lerner |first1=M. |last2=Simmons |first2=C. H. |year=1966 |title=Observer's Reaction to the 'Innocent Victim': Compassion or Rejection? |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=203–210 |doi=10.1037/h0023562 |pmid=5969146 |url=http://web.mit.edu/curhan/www/docs/Articles/biases/4_J_Personality_Social_Psychology_203_(Lerner).pdf}}</ref>
Lerner's inquiry was influenced by repeatedly witnessing the tendency of observers to [[victim blaming|blame victims]] for their suffering. During his clinical training as a psychologist, he observed treatment of mentally ill persons by the health care practitioners with whom he worked. Although Lerner knew them to be kindhearted, educated people, they often blamed patients for the patients' own suffering.<ref name="LernerFundamental">{{cite book |last=Lerner |first=Melvin J. |year=1980 |title=The Belief in a Just World: A Fundamental Delusion |series=Perspectives in Social Psychology |location=New York |publisher=Plenum Press |isbn=978-0-306-40495-5 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-0448-5}}</ref> Lerner also describes his surprise at hearing his students [[wikt:derogate|derogate]] (disparage, belittle) the poor, seemingly oblivious to the [[structural violence|structural forces]] that contribute to poverty.<ref name="MontadaLernerPreface" /> The desire to understand the processes that caused these phenomena led Lerner to conduct his first experiments on what is now called the just-world fallacy.
==Early evidence==
In 1966, Lerner and his colleagues began a series of experiments that used shock paradigms to investigate observer responses to [[victimization]]. In the first of these experiments conducted at the [[University of Kansas]], 72 female participants watched what appeared to be a confederate receiving electrical shocks for her errors during a learning task (learning pairs of nonsense syllables). Initially, these observing participants were upset by the victim's apparent suffering. But as the suffering continued and observers remained unable to intervene, the observers began to reject and devalue the victim. Rejection and devaluation of the victim was greater when the observed suffering was greater. But when participants were told the victim would receive compensation for her suffering, the participants did not derogate the victim.<ref name="LernerSimmonsObserver" /> Lerner and colleagues replicated these findings in subsequent studies, as did other researchers.<ref name="LernerMillerLooking">{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/0033-2909.85.5.1030 | title=Just world research and the attribution process: Looking back and ahead| journal=Psychological Bulletin| volume=85| issue=5| pages=1030–1051| year=1978| last1=Lerner| first1=Melvin J.| last2=Miller| first2=Dale T.}}</ref>
==Theory==
To explain these studies' findings, it was theorized that there was a prevalent belief in a just world. A just world is one in which actions and conditions have predictable, appropriate consequences. These actions and conditions are typically individuals' behaviors or attributes. The specific conditions that correspond to certain consequences are socially determined by a society's norms and ideologies. Lerner presents the belief in a just world as functional: it maintains the idea that one can influence the world in a predictable way. Belief in a just world functions as a sort of "contract" with the world regarding the consequences of behavior. This allows people to plan for the future and engage in effective, goal-driven behavior. Lerner summarized his findings and his theoretical work in his 1980 monograph ''The Belief in a Just World: A Fundamental Delusion''.<ref name="LernerFundamental" />
Lerner hypothesized that the belief in a just world is crucially important for people to maintain for their own well-being. But people are confronted daily with evidence that the world is not just: people suffer without apparent cause. Lerner explained that people use strategies to eliminate threats to their belief in a just world. These strategies can be [[Rationality|rational]] or irrational. Rational strategies include accepting the reality of injustice, trying to prevent injustice or provide restitution, and accepting one's own limitations. Non-rational strategies include [[denial]], [[Social withdrawal|withdrawal]], and [[Rationalization (making excuses)|reinterpretation]] of the event.<ref>{{Cite book |doi = 10.1017/CBO9780511499975.008|chapter = Helping and Rationalization as Alternative Strategies for Restoring the Belief in a Just World: Evidence from Longitudinal Change Analyses|title = The Justice Motive in Everyday Life|url = https://archive.org/details/justicemotiveeve00ross|url-access = limited|pages = [https://archive.org/details/justicemotiveeve00ross/page/n139 127]–148|year = 2002|last1 = Reichle|first1 = Barbara|last2 = Schmitt|first2 = Manfred|isbn = 9780511499975|editor-last=Ross |editor-first=Michael |editor-last2=Miller |editor-first2=Dale T. |publisher=Cambridge University Press}}</ref>
There are a few modes of reinterpretation that could make an event fit the belief in a just world. One can reinterpret the outcome, the cause, and/or the character of the victim.  In the case of observing the injustice of the suffering of innocent people, one major way to rearrange the cognition of an event is to interpret the victim of suffering as deserving.<ref name="An Overview" /> Specifically, observers can blame victims for their suffering on the basis of their behaviors and/or their characteristics.<ref name="LernerMillerLooking" /> Much psychological research on the belief in a just world has focused on these negative social phenomena of [[victim blaming]] and victim derogation in [[#Additional evidence|different contexts]].<ref name="Furnham2003Decade" />
An additional effect of this thinking is that individuals experience less personal [[vulnerability]] because they do not believe they have done anything to deserve or cause negative outcomes.<ref name="Furnham2003Decade" /> This is related to the [[self-serving bias]] observed by social psychologists.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FCdQlTzL-aUC |title = Embitterment: Societal, psychological, and clinical perspectives|isbn = 9783211997413|last1 = Linden|first1 = Michael|last2 = Maercker|first2 = Andreas|date = 2011|location=Wien|publisher=Springer}}</ref>
Many researchers have interpreted just-world beliefs as an example of [[causal attribution]]. In victim blaming, the causes of victimization are attributed to an individual rather than to a situation. Thus, the consequences of belief in a just world may be related to or explained in terms of particular patterns of causal attribution.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/0022-3514.47.3.494 |title = Societal influences on attribution: Blaming some victims more than others|journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume = 47|issue = 3|pages = 494–505|year = 1984|last1 = Howard|first1 = Judith A.}}</ref>
==Alternatives==
===Veridical judgment===
{{See also|Veridicality}}
Others have suggested alternative explanations for the derogation of victims. One suggestion is that derogation effects are based on accurate judgments of a victim's character. In particular, in relation to Lerner's first studies, some have hypothesized that it would be logical for observers to derogate an individual who would allow himself to be shocked without reason.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/h0076786 |title = Devaluation of innocent victims: An attribution analysis within the just world paradigm|journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume = 31|issue = 5|pages = 944–951|year = 1975|last1 = Godfrey|first1 = Bruce W.|last2 = Lowe|first2 = Charles A.}}</ref> A subsequent study by Lerner challenged this alternative hypothesis by showing that individuals are only derogated when they actually suffer; individuals who agreed to undergo suffering but did not were viewed positively.<ref>Lerner, M.J. (1970). The desire for justice and reactions to victims. In J. Macaulay & L. Berkowitz (Eds.), ''Altruism and helping behavior'' (pp. 205–229). New York: Academic Press.</ref>
===Guilt reduction===
Another alternative explanation offered for the derogation of victims early in the development of the just-world fallacy was that observers derogate victims to reduce their own feelings of [[guilt (emotion)|guilt]]. Observers may feel [[Moral responsibility|responsible]], or guilty, for a victim's suffering if they themselves are involved in the situation or experiment. In order to reduce the guilt, they may devalue the victim.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/h0044214 |pmid = 13720212|title = Changes in interpersonal perception as a means of reducing cognitive dissonance|journal = The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology|volume = 61|issue = 3|pages = 402–410|year = 1960|last1 = Davis|first1 = Keith E.|last2 = Jones|first2 = Edward E.|s2cid = 16524346}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1111/j.1467-6494.1964.tb01357.x |pmid = 14238983|title = Changes in liking as a means of reducing cognitive discrepancies between self-esteem and aggression|journal = Journal of Personality|volume = 32|issue = 4|pages = 531–549|year = 1964|last1 = Glass|first1 = David C.|s2cid = 19556220}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/0022-3514.33.6.719 |title = Victim derogation in the Lerner paradigm: Just world or just justification?|journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume = 33|issue = 6|pages = 719–724|year = 1976|last1 = Cialdini|first1 = Robert B.|last2 = Kenrick|first2 = Douglas T.|last3 = Hoerig|first3 = James H.}}</ref> Lerner and colleagues claim that there has not been adequate evidence to support this interpretation. They conducted one study that found derogation of victims occurred even by observers who were not implicated in the process of the experiment and thus had no reason to feel guilty.<ref name="LernerMillerLooking" />
===Discomfort reduction===
Alternatively, victim derogation and other strategies may only be ways to alleviate discomfort after viewing suffering. This would mean that the primary motivation is not to restore a belief in a just world, but to reduce discomfort caused by [[empathy|empathizing]].  Studies have shown that victim derogation does not suppress subsequent helping activity and that empathizing with the victim plays a large role when assigning blame. According to [[Ervin Staub]],<ref>{{cite book|last1=Staub|first1=Ervin|title=Positive Social Behavior and Morality: Social and Personal Influences, Volume 1|date=1978|publisher=Academic Press Inc.|isbn=978-0-12-663101-2|pages=169–170|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GiOLBQAAQBAJ&q=reduce%20discomfort%20suffering%20erwin%20just%20world&pg=PA169}}</ref> devaluing the victim should lead to lesser compensation if restoring belief in a just world was the primary motive; instead, there is virtually no difference in compensation amounts whether the compensation precedes or follows devaluation. [[Psychopathy]] has been linked to the lack of just-world maintaining strategies, possibly due to dampened emotional reactions and lack of empathy.<ref name="Hafer2005">{{cite journal|last1=Hafer |first1=Carolyn L. |last2=Bègue |first2=Laurent |last3=Choma |first3=Becky L. |last4=Dempsey |first4=Julie L. |title=Belief in a Just World and Commitment to Long-Term Deserved Outcomes |journal=Social Justice Research |date=2005 |volume=18 |issue=4 |pages=429–444 |doi=10.1007/s11211-005-8569-3 |url=http://www.lps.univ-savoie.fr/uploads/PDF/576.pdf  |citeseerx=10.1.1.507.4227 |s2cid=38967492 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228091123/http://www.lps.univ-savoie.fr/uploads/PDF/576.pdf |archive-date=2013-12-28 }}</ref>
==Additional evidence==
After Lerner's first studies, other researchers replicated these findings in other settings in which individuals are victimized. This work, which began in the 1970s and continues today, has investigated how observers react to victims of random calamities like traffic accidents, as well as rape and [[domestic violence]], illnesses, and poverty.<ref name="An Overview" /> Generally, researchers have found that observers of the suffering of innocent victims tend to both derogate and blame victims for their suffering. Observers thus maintain their belief in a just world by changing their cognitions about the victims' character.<ref>{{Cite book | doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-6418-5_4 | chapter=How do Observers of Victimization Preserve Their Belief in a Just World Cognitively or Actionally?| title=Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World| pages=55–64| series=Critical Issues in Social Justice| year=1998| last1=Reichle| first1=Barbara| last2=Schneider| first2=Angela| last3=Montada| first3=Leo| isbn=978-1-4419-3306-5|editor-last1= Montada|editor-first1=L.|editor-last2= Lerner |editor-first2=M. J.|location=New York|publisher=Plenum}}</ref>
In the early 1970s, social psychologists [[Zick Rubin]] and Letitia Anne Peplau developed a measure of belief in a just world.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1111/j.1540-4560.1973.tb00104.x |title=Belief in a Just World and Reactions to Another's Lot: A Study of Participants in the National Draft Lottery |journal=Journal of Social Issues |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=73–93 |year=1973 |last1=Rubin |first1=Zick |last2=Peplau |first2=Anne}}</ref> This measure and its revised form published in 1975 allowed for the study of individual differences in just-world beliefs.<ref name="RubinPeplau1975">{{cite journal |last1=Rubin |first1=Z. |last2=Peplau |first2=L. A. |year=1975  |title=Who believes in a just world? |journal=Journal of Social Issues |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=65–90 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-4560.1975.tb00997.x |url=http://www.peplaulab.ucla.edu/Publications_files/Rubin%20%26%20Peplau%201975s.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720073011/http://www.peplaulab.ucla.edu/Publications_files/Rubin%20%26%20Peplau%201975s.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-20 }}</ref> Much of the subsequent research on the just-world hypothesis used these [[psychometrics|measurement scales]].
These studies on victims of [[#Violence|violence]], [[#Illness|illness]], and [[#Poverty|poverty]] and others like them have provided consistent support for the link between observers' just-world beliefs and their tendency to blame victims for their suffering.<ref name="An Overview" /> As a result, the existence of the just-world hypothesis as a psychological phenomenon has become widely accepted.
===Violence===
Researchers have looked at how observers react to victims of [[rape]] and other violence. In a formative experiment on rape and belief in a just world by Linda Carli and colleagues, researchers gave two groups of subjects a narrative about interactions between a man and a woman. The description of the interaction was the same until the end; one group received a narrative that had a neutral ending and the other group received a narrative that ended with the man raping the woman. Subjects judged the rape ending as inevitable and blamed the woman in the narrative for the rape on the basis of her behavior, but not her characteristics.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1016/0022-1031(85)90013-7 |title = Cognitive biases in blaming the victim|journal = Journal of Experimental Social Psychology|volume = 21|issue = 2|pages = 161–177|year = 1985|last1 = Janoff-Bulman|first1 = Ronnie|last2 = Timko|first2 = Christine|last3 = Carli|first3 = Linda L.|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223081344}}</ref> These findings have been replicated repeatedly, including using a rape ending and a "happy ending" (a marriage proposal).<ref name="Furnham2003Decade" /><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1177/01461672992511005 |title = Cognitive Reconstruction, Hindsight, and Reactions to Victims and Perpetrators|journal = Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin|volume = 25|issue = 8|pages = 966–979|year = 1999|last1 = Carli|first1 = Linda L.|citeseerx = 10.1.1.830.8628|s2cid = 145242166}}</ref>
Other researchers have found a similar phenomenon for judgments of [[domestic violence|battered partners]]. One study found that observers' labels of blame of female victims of relationship violence increase with the intimacy of the relationship. Observers blamed the perpetrator only in the least intimate case of violence, in which a male struck an acquaintance.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi = 10.1521/jscp.1984.2.4.339|title = Blaming the Victim Versus Blaming the Perpetrator: An Attributional Analysis of Spouse Abuse|journal = Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology|volume = 2|issue = 4|pages = 339–347|year = 1984|last1 = Summers|first1 = Gertrude|last2 = Feldman|first2 = Nina S.}}</ref>
===Bullying===
Researchers have employed the just-world fallacy to understand [[bullying]]. Given other research on beliefs in a just world, it would be expected that observers would derogate and blame bullying victims, but the opposite has been found: individuals high in just-world belief have stronger anti-bullying [[Attitude (psychology)|attitudes]].<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1348/000709909X479105 | pmid=19930790| title=The association between adolescents' beliefs in a just world and their attitudes to victims of bullying| journal=British Journal of Educational Psychology| volume=80| issue=2| pages=183–198| year=2010| last1=Fox| first1=Claire L.| last2=Elder| first2=Tracey.| last3=Gater| first3=Josephine| last4=Johnson| first4=Elizabeth| s2cid=33974893}}</ref> Other researchers have found that strong belief in a just world is associated with lower levels of bullying behavior.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1027/1016-9040.13.4.248 |title = School Bullying|journal = European Psychologist|volume = 13|issue = 4|pages = 248–254|year = 2008|last1 = Correia|first1 = Isabel|last2 = Dalbert|first2 = Claudia|s2cid = 145567888}}</ref> This finding is in keeping with Lerner's understanding of belief in a just world as functioning as a "contract" that governs behavior.<ref name="LernerFundamental" /> There is additional evidence that belief in a just world is protective of the well-being of children and adolescents in the school environment,<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/10615800902729242 |pmid = 19333798|title = Belief in a just world and well-being of bullies, victims and defenders: A study with Portuguese and Indian students|journal = Anxiety, Stress & Coping|volume = 22|issue = 5|pages = 497–508|year = 2009|last1 = Correia|first1 = Isabel|last2 = Kamble|first2 = Shanmukh V.|last3 = Dalbert|first3 = Claudia|s2cid = 205725655}}</ref> as has been shown for the [[#Positive health effects|general population]].
===Illness===
Other researchers have found that observers judge sick people as responsible for their illnesses. One experiment showed that persons suffering from a variety of illnesses were derogated on a measure of attractiveness more than healthy individuals were. In comparison to healthy people, victim derogation was found for persons presenting with indigestion, pneumonia, and stomach cancer. Moreover, derogation was found to be higher for those suffering from more severe illnesses, except for those presenting with cancer.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1207/s15324834basp0401_4 | title=Disease as Justice: Perceptions of the Victims of Physical Illness| journal=Basic and Applied Social Psychology| volume=4| pages=39–46| year=1983| last1=Gruman| first1=Jessie C.| last2=Sloan| first2=Richard P.}}</ref> Stronger belief in a just world has also been found to correlate with greater derogation of [[AIDS]] victims.<ref name="FurnhamProcterAIDS">{{Cite journal | doi=10.1177/001872679204500303 |title = Sphere-Specific Just World Beliefs and Attitudes to AIDS|journal = Human Relations|volume = 45|issue = 3|pages = 265–280|year = 1992|last1 = Furnham|first1 = Adrian|last2 = Procter|first2 = Eddie|s2cid = 145524763}}</ref>
===Poverty===
More recently, researchers have explored how people react to poverty through the lens of the just-world fallacy. Strong belief in a just world is associated with blaming the poor, with weak belief in a just world associated with identifying external causes of poverty including world economic systems, [[war]], and [[Exploitation of labour|exploitation]].<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.2224/sbp.1990.18.2.235 |title = Lay Causal Perceptions of Third World Poverty and the Just World Theory'|journal = Social Behavior and Personality|volume = 18|issue = 2|pages = 235–238|year = 1990|last1 = Harper|first1 = David J.|last2 = Wagstaff|first2 = Graham F.|last3 = Newton|first3 = J. Tim|last4 = Harrison|first4 = Kevin R.|url=http://inesad.edu.bo/developmentroast/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Harper-1990-Poverty-Explanations.pdf }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/00224545.1992.9712107 |title = The Just World and the Third World: British explanations for poverty abroad|journal = The Journal of Social Psychology|volume = 132|issue = 6|pages = 783–785|year = 1992|last1 = Harper|first1 = David J.|last2 = Manasse|first2 = Paul R.}}</ref>
===The self as victim===
{{See also|Psychological response to rape|Self blame}}
Some research on belief in a just world has examined how people react when they themselves are victimized. An early paper by Dr. Ronnie Janoff-Bulman found that rape victims often blame their own behavior, but not their own characteristics, for their [[victimization]].<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1037/0022-3514.37.10.1798 |pmid = 512837|title = Characterological versus behavioral self-blame: Inquiries into depression and rape|journal = Journal of Personality and Social Psychology|volume = 37|issue = 10|pages = 1798–1809|year = 1979|last1 = Janoff-Bulman|first1 = Ronnie|s2cid = 22347571}}</ref> It was hypothesized that this may be because blaming one's own behavior makes an event more [[locus of control|controllable]].
==Theoretical refinement==
Subsequent work on measuring belief in a just world has focused on identifying multiple dimensions of the belief. This work has resulted in the development of new measures of just-world belief and additional research.<ref name="Furnham2003Decade" /> Hypothesized dimensions of just-world beliefs include belief in an unjust world,<ref>{{cite journal|title= A just and unjust world: Structure and validity of different world beliefs|journal= Personality and Individual Differences|volume= 30|issue= 4|pages= 561–577|doi= 10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00055-6|year= 2001|last1= Dalbert|first1= C.|last2= Lipkus|first2= I.|last3= Sallay|first3= H.|last4= Goch|first4= I.}}</ref> beliefs in [[immanent]] [[justice]] and ultimate justice,<ref>{{Cite book | doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-6418-5_2 | chapter=Immanent justice and ultimate justice: two ways of believing in justice| title=Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World| pages=9–40| series=Critical Issues in Social Justice| year=1998| last1=Maes| first1=Jürgen| isbn=978-1-4419-3306-5|editor-last1= Montada|editor-first1=L.|editor-last2= Lerner |editor-first2=M. J.|location=New York|publisher=Plenum}}</ref> hope for justice, and belief in one's ability to reduce injustice.<ref>{{Cite book | doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-6418-5_3 | chapter=BJW and Self-Efficacy in Coping with Observed Victimization| title=Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World| pages=41–54| series=Critical Issues in Social Justice| year=1998| last1=Mohiyeddini| first1=Changiz| last2=Montada| first2=Leo| isbn=978-1-4419-3306-5|editor-last1= Montada|editor-first1=L.|editor-last2= Lerner |editor-first2=M. J.|location=New York|publisher=Plenum}}</ref>  Other work has focused on looking at the different domains in which the belief may function; individuals may have different just-world beliefs for the personal domain, the sociopolitical domain, the social domain, etc.<ref name="FurnhamProcterAIDS" /> An especially fruitful distinction is between the belief in a just world for the self (personal) and the belief in a just world for others (general). These distinct beliefs are differentially associated with positive mental health.<ref name="Lipkusetal" />
==Correlates==
Researchers have used measures of [[belief]] in a just world to look at correlates of high and low levels of belief in a just world.
Limited studies have examined ideological correlates of the belief in a just world. These studies have found sociopolitical correlates of just-world beliefs, including [[right-wing authoritarianism]] and the [[Protestant work ethic]].{{fix|text=a positive or negative correlation?}}<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1177/0146167299025006001 | title=Perceptions of Risk and the Buffering Hypothesis: The Role of Just World Beliefs and Right-Wing Authoritarianism| journal=Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin| volume=25| issue=6| pages=643–656| year=1999| last1=Lambert| first1=Alan J.| last2=Burroughs| first2=Thomas| last3=Nguyen| first3=Tina| s2cid=53576739}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1111/j.2044-8309.1989.tb00880.x |title = Belief in a just world: Review and critique of the individual difference literature|journal = British Journal of Social Psychology|volume = 28|issue = 4|pages = 365–384|year = 1989|last1 = Furnham|first1 = Adrian|last2 = Procter|first2 = Edward}}</ref> Studies have also found belief in a just world to be correlated with aspects of [[religiosity]].<ref name="Religion, Spirituality 2020">{{Cite journal|year = 2020|last1 = Schuurmans-Stekhoven|first1 = J. B.|title = Just world beliefs mediate the well-being effects of spiritual/afterlife beliefs among older Australians|journal = Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging|volume = na |issue = na |pages = 332–349|doi = 10.1080/15528030.2020.1779902|s2cid = 225692581}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Beliefs in justice and faith in people: just world, religiosity and interpersonal trust|journal=Personality and Individual Differences|volume=32|issue=3|pages=375–382|doi=10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00224-5|year=2002|last1=Bègue|first1=Laurent}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kunst |first1=J. L. |last2=Bjorck |first2=J. P. |last3=Tan |first3=S.-Y. |year=2000 |title=Causal attributions for uncontrollable negative events |url=http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2000-07654-003 |journal=Journal of Psychology and Christianity |volume=19 |issue=1 |pages=47–60}}</ref>
Studies of demographic differences, including [[gender]] and [[Race (classification of humans)|racial]] differences, have not shown systemic differences, but do suggest racial differences, with black people and African Americans having the lowest levels of belief in a just world.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/00224545.1994.9923011 |title = Differences in Assumptions about a Just World: Ethnicity and Point of View|journal = The Journal of Social Psychology|volume = 134|issue = 6|pages = 765–770|year = 1994|last1 = Calhoun|first1 = Lawrence G.|last2 = Cann|first2 = Arnie}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |jstor = 42864385|title = Status, Religion, and the "Belief in a Just World": Comparing African Americans, Latinos, and Whites|journal = Social Science Quarterly|volume = 81|issue = 1|pages = 325–343|last1 = Hunt|first1 = Matthew O.|year = 2000}}</ref>
The development of measures of just-world beliefs has also allowed researchers to assess cross-cultural differences in just-world beliefs. Much research conducted shows that beliefs in a just world are evident cross-culturally. One study tested beliefs in a just world of students in 12 countries. This study found that in countries where the majority of inhabitants are powerless, belief in a just world tends to be weaker than in other countries.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.1080/00224545.1993.9712149 |title = Just World Beliefs in Twelve Societies|journal = The Journal of Social Psychology|volume = 133|issue = 3|pages = 317–329|year = 1993|last1 = Furnham|first1 = Adrian}}</ref> This supports the theory of the just-world fallacy because the powerless have had more personal and societal experiences that provided evidence that the world is not just and predictable.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.2466/pr0.1992.71.3f.1149 | pmid=1480694| title=Relationship between Knowledge of and Attitudes towards Aids| journal=Psychological Reports| volume=71| issue=3_suppl| pages=1149–1150| year=1992| last1=Furnham| first1=Adrian| s2cid=41943578}}</ref>{{Clarify|reason=I assume you mean to say 'neither just nor predictable.'|date=February 2014}}
Belief in unjust world has been linked to increased [[self-handicapping]], criminality, defensive coping, anger and perceived future risk. It{{clarify|date=March 2019}} may also serve as ego-protective belief for certain individuals by justifying maladaptive behavior.<ref name="Furnham2003Decade" /><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lench|first1=Chang|title=Belief in an Unjust World: When Beliefs in a Just World Fail|journal=Journal of Personality Assessment|date=2007|volume=89|issue=2|pages=126–135|doi=10.1080/00223890701468477|pmid=17764390|s2cid=18511029}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dolinski|first1=Dariusz|title=The belief in an unjust world: An egotistic delusion|journal=Social Justice Research|date=1996|volume=9|issue=3|pages=213–221|doi=10.1007/BF02197248|s2cid=144694943}}</ref>
==Current research==
Although much of the initial work on belief in a just world focused on its negative social effects, other research suggests that belief in a just world is good, and even necessary, for [[mental health]].<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sbKCnhCPaSgC&pg=PR3 |title = The Justice Motive as a Personal Resource: Dealing with Challenges and Critical Life Events|isbn = 9780306465550|last1 = Dalbert|first1 = Claudia|date = 2001|location=New York |publisher=Plenum}}</ref> Belief in a just world is associated with greater [[life satisfaction]] and well-being and less depressive affect.<ref name="Lipkusetal">{{Cite journal | doi=10.1177/0146167296227002 | title=The Importance of Distinguishing the Belief in a Just World for Self Versus for Others: Implications for Psychological Well-Being| journal=Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin| volume=22| issue=7| pages=666–677| year=1996| last1=Lipkus| first1=Isaac M.| last2=Dalbert| first2=Claudia| last3=Siegler| first3=Ilene C.| s2cid=145379940}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | doi=10.2307/1389045 | jstor=1389045| title=Belief in a Just World and Depression| journal=Sociological Perspectives| volume=33| issue=2| pages=235–252| year=1990| last1=Ritter| first1=Christian| last2=Benson| first2=D. E.| last3=Synder| first3=Clint| s2cid=145553423}}</ref> Researchers are actively exploring the reasons why the belief in a just world might have this relationship to mental health; it has been suggested that such beliefs could be a personal resource or [[coping (psychology)|coping strategy]] that buffers [[Stress (psychological)|stress]] associated with daily life and with [[psychological trauma|traumatic events]].<ref name = "HaferinMontadaLerner">{{Cite book | doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-6418-5_5 | chapter=Individual Differences in the Belief in a Just World and Responses to Personal Misfortune| title=Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World| pages=65–86| series=Critical Issues in Social Justice| year=1998| last1=Hafer| first1=Carolyn L.| last2=Olson| first2=James M.| isbn=978-1-4419-3306-5|editor-last1= Montada|editor-first1=L.|editor-last2= Lerner |editor-first2=M. J.|location=New York|publisher=Plenum}}</ref> This hypothesis suggests that belief in a just world can be understood as a [[positive illusion]].<ref>{{Cite journal |pmid = 3283814|year = 1988|last1 = Taylor|first1 = S. E.|title = Illusion and well-being: A social psychological perspective on mental health|journal = Psychological Bulletin|volume = 103|issue = 2|pages = 193–210|last2 = Brown|first2 = J. D.|doi = 10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.193|s2cid = 762759}}</ref> In line with this perspective, recent research also suggests that belief in a just world may explain the known statistical association between religiosity/spirituality and psychological well-being.<ref name="Religion, Spirituality 2020"/> Some belief in a just world research has been conducted within the framework of [[primal world beliefs]], and has found strong correlations between just world belief and beliefs that the world is safe, abundant and cooperative (among other qualities).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Clifton |first1=Jeremy D. W. |last2=Baker |first2=Joshua D. |last3=Park |first3=Crystal L. |last4=Yaden |first4=David B. |last5=Clifton |first5=Alicia B. W. |last6=Terni |first6=Paolo |last7=Miller |first7=Jessica L. |last8=Zeng |first8=Guang |last9=Giorgi |first9=Salvatore |last10=Schwartz |first10=H. Andrew |last11=Seligman |first11=Martin E. P. |title=Primal world beliefs. |journal=[[Psychological Assessment (journal)|Psychological Assessment]] |date=January 2019 |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=82–99 |doi=10.1037/pas0000639 |pmid=30299119 |s2cid=52942928 |language=en |issn=1939-134X |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328180484}}</ref>
Some studies also show that beliefs in a just world are correlated with internal [[locus of control]].<ref name="RubinPeplau1975" /> Strong belief in a just world is associated with greater acceptance of and less dissatisfaction with negative events in one's life.<ref name = "HaferinMontadaLerner" /> This may be one way in which belief in a just world affects mental health. Others have suggested that this relationship holds only for beliefs in a just world for oneself. Beliefs in a just world for others are related instead to the negative social phenomena of victim blaming and victim derogation observed in other studies.<ref>{{cite journal|title= Justice for all, or just for me? More evidence of the importance of the [[self-other distinction]] in just-world beliefs|journal= Personality and Individual Differences|volume= 39|issue= 3|pages= 637–645|doi= 10.1016/j.paid.2005.02.010|year= 2005|last1= Sutton|first1= Robbie M.|last2= Douglas|first2= Karen M.}}</ref>
Belief in a just world has also been found to negatively predict the perceived likelihood of kin favoritism.<ref name="Mikani Rafiee">{{cite journal |last1=Mikani |first1=Mehdi |last2=Rafiee |first2=Parisa |last3=Donat |first3=Matthias |title=Validation of the general and personal belief in a just world scales in Iran and their relations to perceived likelihood of kin favoritism |journal=Current Psychology |date=16 September 2022 |volume=42 |issue=30 |pages=26286–26299 |doi=10.1007/s12144-022-03736-1|s2cid=252347690 }}</ref> The perspective of the individual plays an important role in this relationship, such that when people imagine themselves as mere observers of injustice, general belief in a just world will be the stronger predictor, and when they imagine themselves as victims of injustice, personal belief in a just world will be the stronger predictor. This further supports the distinction between general and personal belief in a just world.
===International research===
More than 40 years after Lerner's seminal work on belief in a just world, researchers continue to study the phenomenon. Belief in a just world scales have been validated in several countries such as Iran,<ref name="Mikani Rafiee"/> Russia,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Nartova-Bochaver |first1=Sofya |last2=Donat |first2=Matthias |last3=Astanina |first3=Nadezhda |last4=Rüprich |first4=Claudia |title=Russian Adaptations of General and Personal Belief in a Just World Scales: Validation and Psychometric Properties |journal=Social Justice Research |date=1 March 2018 |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=61–84 |doi=10.1007/s11211-017-0302-5|s2cid=149358003 }}</ref> Brazil,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gouveia |first1=Valdiney Veloso |last2=Nascimento |first2=Anderson Mesquita do |last3=Gouveia |first3=Rildésia Silva Veloso |last4=Medeiros |first4=Emerson Diogenes de |last5=Fonsêca |first5=Patricia Nunes da |last6=Santos |first6=Layrtthon Carlos de Oliveira |title=Medindo crenças pessoais e gerais no mundo justo: adaptação de uma escala ao no contexto brasileiro |journal=Avances en Psicología Latinoamericana |date=2018 |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=167–181 |doi=10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/apl/a.4989|doi-access=free }}</ref> and France.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bègue |first1=Laurent |last2=Bastounis |first2=Marina |title=Two Spheres of Belief in Justice: Extensive Support for the Bidimensional Model of Belief in a Just World: Two Spheres of Belief in a Just World |journal=Journal of Personality |date=25 April 2003 |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=435–463 |doi=10.1111/1467-6494.7103007|pmid=12762422 }}</ref> Work continues primarily in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Asia.<ref name="MaesEightStages">{{Cite book |doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-6418-5_10 |chapter=Eight Stages in the Development of Research on the Construct of Belief in a Just World? |title=Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World |pages=163–185 |series=Critical Issues in Social Justice |year=1998 |last1=Maes |first1=Jürgen |isbn=978-1-4419-3306-5 |editor-last1=Montada |editor-first1=L. |editor-last2=Lerner |editor-first2=M. J. |location=New York |publisher=Plenum}}</ref> Researchers in Germany have contributed disproportionately to recent research.<ref name="MontadaLernerPreface" /> Their work resulted in a volume edited by Lerner and German researcher Leo Montada titled ''Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World''.
==See also==
{{Portal|Philosophy|Psychology}}
<!-- Please keep entries in alphabetical order -->
{{div col|colwidth=18em}}
*"[[Best of all possible worlds]]"
**[[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz]]
**''[[Candide]]''
**[[Problem of evil]]
*[[Denial]]
*[[Divine providence]]
*[[Divine retribution]]
*[[Divine judgement]]
*[[Economic inequality]]
*[[Fundamental attribution error]]
*[[Hindsight bias]]
*[[Gender inequality]]
*[[Invisible hand]]
*{{sectionlink|Karma|Comparable concepts}}
*[[Mean world syndrome]]
*[[Moralistic fallacy]]
*[[Moral luck]]
*[[Moral panic]]
*[[Myth of meritocracy]]
*[[Natural disasters as divine retribution]]
*[[Revenge]]
*[[Shattered assumptions theory]]
*[[Social Darwinism]]
*[[Social inequality]]
*[[Survivorship bias]]
*[[System justification]]
*[[The banality of evil]]
*[[Theodicy]]
*[[Victim blaming]]
{{div col end}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |last1=Hafer |first1=C. L. |last2=Bègue |first2=L.|year=2005 |title=Experimental research on just-world theory: problems, developments, and future challenges |journal=Psychological Bulletin |volume=131 |issue=1 |pages=128–167 |doi=10.1037/0033-2909.131.1.128 |pmid=15631556 |citeseerx=10.1.1.524.1990 }}
*{{cite book|doi=10.1016/bs.aesp.2014.09.001|chapter=The Why and How of Defending Belief in a Just World|volume=51|pages=41–96|title=Advances in Experimental Social Psychology|year=2015|last1=Hafer|first1=Carolyn L.|last2=Rubel|first2=Alicia N.|isbn=9780128022740}}
*{{cite book |last=Lerner |first=Melvin J. |year=1980 |title=The Belief in a Just World: A Fundamental Delusion |series=Perspectives in Social Psychology |location=New York |publisher=Plenum Press |isbn=978-0-306-40495-5 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4899-0448-5}}
*{{cite book |editor-last1=Montada |editor-first1=Leo |editor-last2=Lerner |editor-first2=Melvin J. |year=1998 |title=Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World |series=Critical Issues in Social Justice |isbn=978-1-4419-3306-5 |doi=10.1007/978-1-4757-6418-5 |location=New York |publisher=Plenum|url=http://digitale-objekte.hbz-nrw.de/storage/2011/03/07/file_3/4094300.pdf }}
*{{cite journal|last1=Rubin |first1=Z. |last2=Peplau |first2=L. A. |year=1975  |title=Who believes in a just world? |journal=Journal of Social Issues |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=65–90 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-4560.1975.tb00997.x |url=http://www.peplaulab.ucla.edu/Publications_files/Rubin%20%26%20Peplau%201975s.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720073011/http://www.peplaulab.ucla.edu/Publications_files/Rubin%20%26%20Peplau%201975s.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-20 }} Reprinted (1977) in Reflections, XII(1), 1–26.
*{{cite journal|last1=Rubin |first1=Z. |last2=Peplau |first2=L. A. |year=1973 |title=Belief in a just world and reactions to another's lot: A study of participants in the national draft lottery |journal=Journal of Social Issues |volume=29 |issue=4 |pages=73–94 |doi=10.1111/j.1540-4560.1973.tb00104.x |url=http://www.peplaulab.ucla.edu/Publications_files/Rubin_Peplau_73.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720073030/http://www.peplaulab.ucla.edu/Publications_files/Rubin_Peplau_73.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-20 }}
==External links==
*[http://www.units.muohio.edu/psybersite/justworld/index.shtml The Just World Hypothesis]
*[https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/the-just-world-theory/ Issues in Ethics: The Just World Theory]
*[https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/nov/11/oliver-burkeman-just-world-bias This column will change your life: the just world bias]. [[Oliver Burkeman]]
*[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/oliver-burkeman-column/2015/feb/03/believing-that-life-is-fair-might-make-you-a-terrible-person Believing that life is fair might make you a terrible person]. [[Oliver Burkeman]]
{{Abuse}}
{{Biases}}
{{Bullying}}
{{Fallacies}}
[[Category:Cognitive biases]]
[[Category:Justice]]
[[Category:Injustice]]
[[Category:Conceptual models]]
[[Category:Abuse]]
[[Category:Error]]
[[Category:Ignorance]]
[[Category:Moral psychology]]
[[Category:Psychological abuse]]
[[Category:Informal fallacies]]
[[Category:Causal fallacies]]