Effects of Victim Innocence and BJW (Belief in a Just World) Upon Derogation of an Ingroup/Outgroup Victim

Abstract

According to the BJW (belief in a just world) theory, a person is more likely to derogate a victim when that victim threatens their BJW. An innocent victim and a victim who is more similar (an ingroup member) are more threatening to a person’s BJW than a non-innocent outgroup victim with such a threat resulting in greater victim derogation. In the present study, group membership and victim innocence were manipulated. Group membership was based on status (college students vs. non-college students). College students (n = 162) were randomly assigned to either a BJW threating or BJW confirming condition. A 2 × 2 × 2 ANOVA (analysis of variance) found an interaction between the BJW manipulation and group membership; participants whose BJW was threatened derogated the non-student (outgroup) more than the control. Contrary to expected results, the college student (ingroup) victim was not as highly derogated as the outgroup member. We suggest that more subtle social categories (not just differences associated with traditional racial or ethnic prejudice) may influence the ways individuals defend or reestablish their BJW.