General Belief In A Just World Research Articles

Personal and general belief in a just world as judgement norms

Research on the belief in a just world (BJW) has focused on its intra-individual functions (e.g., psychological well-being) and its inter-individual consequences (e.g., derogation of victims). Recent theorizing, however, has indicated that the BJW may also have more societal functions and consequences, serving as a legitimizing device of the status quo. The studies in the current paper focus on this latter view and are based on Alves and Correia's ( 2008 ) research which found that the expression of high personal and general belief in a just world is injunctively normative. Two experimental studies aimed at ascertaining three issues: (1) the dimension(s) of social value (social utility and/or social desirability) on which the BJW normativity anchors; (2) whether the expression of moderate BJW is also injunctively normative; and (3) whether the injunctive normativity of the BJW is related to perceptions of truth. Results indicate that moderate and high personal and general BJW are normative. Yet, whereas the normativity of personal BJW anchors both on social utility and social desirability, that of general BJW anchors only on social utility. We discuss personal and general BJW as judgement norms, whose normativity may not be personally acknowledged (in the case of general BJW) and does not necessarily derive from being perceived as true, but from the fact that such norms carry social value at least in individualistic societies.

Effects of Mobbing on Justice Beliefs and Adjustment

Abstract. Recent research on psychological consequences of negative treatment at the workplace has focused new interest on the targeted employee's just-world assumptions. In line with prior work, the present study sought evidence for the hypothesis that repeated and prolonged exposure to such treatment has adverse effects on the belief in a just world (BJW) and its function in sustaining a positive outlook and mental health. To this end, a group of 54 self-labeled victims of mobbing was compared with a matched control group on measures of their justice beliefs and dimensions of their adjustment (depression, optimism, pessimism, trust, and cynicism). The results showed that the perceived victimization by mobbing (rather than the mere frequency of exposure to negative acts at the workplace) was associated with worse adjustment and a weaker belief in the justness of the world. In particular, a personal BJW was found to be sensitive to the perceived victimization, whereas a general BJW did not differ between victims and controls. The relationships of justice beliefs to adjustment dimensions were basically unaffected by victim status. Among the dimensions of adjustment, trust proved to be most strongly associated with victimization and justice beliefs.

Posttraumatic symptoms, depression, and anxiety of flood victims: The impact of the belief in a just world

In a questionnaire study with 112 German flood victims we investigated the influence of the belief in a just world (BJW) on important dimensions of mental health and psychopathology (e.g., depression). We hypothesized that BJW is able to buffer psychopathological symptoms following a natural disaster. Regression analyses showed that personal but not general BJW was negatively associated with anxiety, depression and general psychological distress. This pattern of results persisted when controlled for age, sex, substantial stressors and losses caused by the flood. Contrary to our expectations, BJW did not reveal an association with posttraumatic symptomatology, which is interpreted by referring to recent models of cognitive processing in PTSD. Overall, our results support the assertion that BJW buffers mental health.

The Impact of Trauma on World Views

The Impact of Trauma on World ViewsVicki L. Gluhoski and Camille B. WortmanVicki L. GluhoskiSearch for more papers by this author and Camille B. Wortman1 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center2 State University of New York at Stony BrookSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:January 2011https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.1996.15.4.417PDFPDF PLUS ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack Citations About Previous article Next article FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Cited byCited by1. Resilience of primal world beliefs to the initial shock of the COVID ‐19 pandemicOnline publication date: 19 October 2022. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar2. When are assumptions shaken? A prospective, longitudinal investigation of negative life events and worldviews in a national sampleOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar3. Recovery, desistance, and the role of procedural justice in working alliances with mentally ill offenders: a critical reviewOnline publication date: 7 January 2019. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar4. Trauma inflicted by genocide: Experiences of the Rwandan Diaspora in FinlandOnline publication date: 31 May 2017. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar5. Emerging Adulthood, Evolving WorldviewsOnline publication date: 28 July 2014. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar6. Childbirth and criteria for traumatic eventsOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar7. The Role of Personal Loss in the Caregiving Experiences of Well Siblings of Adults With Serious Mental IllnessOnline publication date: 29 June 2012. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar8. General Belief in A Just World and Resilience: Evidence from A Collectivistic CultureOnline publication date: 2 December 2020. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar9. Effects of Victimization on the Belief in a Just World in Four Ex-Yugoslavian CountriesOnline publication date: 19 March 2010. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar10. Religious Worldviews and Stressful Encounters: Reciprocal Influence from a Meaning-Making PerspectiveOnline publication date: 29 October 2009. Go to citation Crossref Google ScholarCrystal L. Park11. Testing the Meaning Making Model of Coping With LossOnline publication date: 3 December 2008. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar12. World assumptions and the role of trauma in borderline personality disorderOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar13. Changes in mothers' basic beliefs following a child's bone marrow transplantation: The role of prior trauma and negative life eventsOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar14. Examining the Assumptive World Views of Parents Bereaved by Accident, Murder, and IllnessOnline publication date: 3 August 2016. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar15. The role of cognitive variables in psychological functioning after the death of a first degree relativeOnline publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar16. Factors contributing to posttraumatic growth: A proposed structural equation model.Online publication date: 1 January 2003. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar17. ATTACHMENT AND MEANING-MAKING IN PERINATAL BEREAVEMENTOnline publication date: 11 November 2010. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar18. Effects of posttraumatic stress disorder and child sexual abuse on self-efficacy development.Online publication date: 1 January 2002. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar19. The Impact of War in Bosnia and HerzegovinaOnline publication date: 2 September 2015. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar20. The effects of a career transition program on reemployment success in laid-off professionals.Online publication date: Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar21. Deriving benefits from stressful events: The role of engagement in meaningful work and hardiness.Online publication date: 1 January 2001. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar22. Surviving a Serious Traffic AccidentOnline publication date: 1 July 2016. Go to citation Crossref Google Scholar Volume 15Issue 4Dec 1996 Information© 1996 Guilford Publications Inc.PDF download