Just World Research Articles

Live by the sword, die by the sword: Measuring belief in a just world with popular sayings

Popular sayings express some cultural truth and indicate how individuals are integrated with their social environment. We have proposed that some popular sayings express belief in a just world (BJW) and so they can be a good measure of this belief. We conducted five studies in which we developed a new scale based on the idea that endorsing such popular sayings can measure individual differences in expressing BJW. In studies 1 and 2, we developed a scale of the BJW based on popular sayings (BJWPS). We analyzed its factorial validity by showing that these sayings share the same basic idea: the expression of belief in a just world. Study 3a addressed the convergent validity of the BJWPS, since it correlated positively with other BJW scales and went further by showing their incremental validity by predicting secondary victimization. In addition, Study 3b examined the discriminant validity between the BJWPS and individuals' attitudes regarding an unvictimized target. In Study 4, we experimentally addressed the predictive validity of the BJWPS in the context of victimization. In summary, the results we presented in the studies provide evidence of validity and reliability in using the popular sayings proposed to measure BJW.

The Relationship Between Ego Depletion and Prosocial Behavior of College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of Social Self-Efficacy and Personal Belief in a Just World.

In the context of the COVID-19, we examined the relationship between college students’ ego depletion and their prosocial behavior. We explored the mediating role of social self-efficacy between ego depletion and prosocial behavior, we also examined the moderating role of personal belief in a just world in this relationship. 1,122 college students completed the ego depletion questionnaire, prosocial behavior questionnaire, social self-efficacy questionnaire, and personal belief in a just world questionnaire. The current findings suggested that: (1) Social self-efficacy mediated the relationship between college students’ ego depletion and their prosocial behaviors. The ego depletion of college students could be used to predict their prosocial behavior through social self-efficacy. (2) Personal belief in a just world moderated the relationship between social self-efficacy and prosocial behavior.

Schadenfreude for undeserved misfortunes: The unexpected consequences of endorsing a strong belief in a just world

When witnessing misfortunes, people sometimes react with schadenfreude—malicious pleasure at another's suffering. Previous research suggests that schadenfreude is elicited for competitors and envied targets, or when misfortunes seem deserved. Six experiments (five pre-registered, Ntotal = 3324) support a novel hypothesis that perceivers feel greater schadenfreude for social targets who endorse a strong general belief in a just world (BJW), even when misfortunes occur outside of the typical conditions that elicit schadenfreude. Experiments 1–2 show that people feel schadenfreude at the accidental misfortune of a person who expresses strong BJW, based in part on their misfortune seeming more deserved. Experiment 3 demonstrates the same effect for a wealthy, strong-BJW target who suffers a life-changing misfortune. In Experiment 4, we demonstrate that perceivers infer stronger BJW from a wealthy (vs. poor) person and that these inferences lead to increased perceptions that the misfortune was deserved, resulting in greater schadenfreude. Finally, Experiments 5–6 show that the effect of target BJW on schadenfreude via perceived deservingness is moderated by a target's financial status, such that endorsing strong BJW is particularly consequential for wealthy and middle-income targets. We conclude that even when people are not responsible for their predicaments, perceivers believe the misfortunes of people with strong just-world beliefs are more fitting and therefore derive more pleasure at their expense. The current research builds on and extends both schadenfreude and just-world belief literatures by documenting a unique antecedent of schadenfreude based on perceivers' inferences or knowledge regarding how someone generally views their world.

How belief in a just world leads to prosocial behaviours: The role of communal orientation

Belief in a just world (BJW) is widely held by people who tend to believe that the world is fair and that individuals get what they deserve and deserve what they get. This study investigated the mediating role of communal orientation in the relationship between prosocial behaviour and personal BJW (PBJW) as well as general BJW (GBJW). In Study 1, an online questionnaire was used to measure participants' explicit BJW, prosocial behaviour and communal orientation. The results showed a mediating effect of communal orientation on the relationship between explicit BJW and prosocial behaviour. Considering that BJW is often conceptualised as an implicit construct, in Study 2, the Implicit Association Test (IAT) was used to measure implicit PBJW and GBJW to examine their relationship with actual donation behaviour. The results showed that implicit PBJW and GBJW are indirectly but positively related to prosocial behaviour via communal orientation; thus, to some extent, PBJW and GBJW should have positive social significance.

Why do fraud victims get blamed? Lerner’s Belief in a Just World and its application to victims of online fraud

PurposeVictims of online fraud face a high level of blame from their families, friends, professionals, the broader community and often from themselves. Victims are commonly perceived as stupid, gullible and undeserving of justice. The reasons for this are under-researched, and there are currently no satisfactory explanations of why victim-blaming occurs so frequently in cases of online fraud. This paper aims to propose a potential theoretical explanation for the high level of blame experienced by online fraud victims.Design/methodology/approachLerner’s Belief in a Just World (BJW) theory is posited as a helpful theoretical explanation for the high level of blame directed towards victims of online fraud.FindingsThis paper argues that Lerner’s BJW theory is a helpful framework for understanding the blame faced by victims of online fraud because it posits that behavioural responsibility (a trait commonly ascribed to online fraud victims) is central to perceived blameworthiness; and that compensation for a crime determines the level of blame directed towards victims. As victims of online fraud are exceptionally unlikely to receive any type of compensation (whether monetary or otherwise), BJW may help explain the blame directed towards victims.Originality/valuePrior scholarship predominantly understands the blame faced by online fraud victims through the lens of Nils Christie’s (1986) “ideal victim” thesis. This paper presents an advance over this existing understanding by illustrating how BJW provides a more detailed explanation for victim blame in online fraud.

Conceptualization, Measurement, and Validation of Effort- and Valence-Based Just World Beliefs

Abstract: In this research, we propose that belief in a just world (BJW) can be divided into two distinct beliefs: one addressing the notion that efforts are rewarded, that is, effort-based BJW, and another maintaining that the valence associated with moral character leads to particular consequences, that is, valence-based BJW (e.g., good people are rewarded and bad people are punished). We used culturally relevant proverbs to design measures in German and Chinese. Samples of college students and working adults from both countries were collected to assess the reliability, factor structure, validity, and the nomological consistency of the newly developed measures. Both measures demonstrated strong evidence of the existence of and distinction between effort- and valence-based BJW, and they displayed unique patterns in predicting different variables beyond the effect of personal BJW and BJW for others, which may elucidate the precise justice beliefs related to different phenomena.

Belief in a just world mediates the relationship between childhood abuse and self-esteem in emerging adults

Childhood abuse (CA) has been linked to low self-esteem (SE). Belief in a just world (BJW), or the idea that people get what they deserve in life, may explain the relationship between CA and SE, though no study testing this explanation of the link between CA and low SE exists. The purpose of this study was to test whether BJW explained or mediated the association between CA and low SE. Survey data from 445 undergraduate college students were collected using an on-line survey at a diverse public university. First, Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to identify measurement models for the constructs of CA, BJW and SE. Then, structural equation modeling was used to test whether BJW mediated the relationship between CA and SE. BJW was found to partially mediate the relationship between CA and SE. These findings extend prior research on social, cognitive and personality processes that explain the relationship between CA and SE and suggest targeting BJW to prevent low SE among students with a history of CA.

Employees’ Belief in a Just World and Sustainable Organizational Citizenship Behaviors: The Moderating Effect of Interpersonal Intelligence

To both survive and develop continuously, enterprises must overcome many kinds of competition and challenges. Cultivating employees’ active and sustainable organizational citizenship behavior is important for enterprises to successfully cope with turbulence and uncertain events during their development. Building on social exchange theory, this study proposes a theoretical framework. In this framework, belief in a just world has a certain predictive effect on organizational citizenship behavior, and this effect is affected by interpersonal intelligence. In this study, we investigated the development level of and factors influencing employees’ organizational citizenship behavior in current organizations. This research adopted the empirical research method of a questionnaire survey, and investigated 230 employees from 15 different enterprises by using the Belief in a Just World Scale, Organizational Citizenship Behavior Scale, and Interpersonal Intelligence Scale. After excluding the questionnaires that did not meet the requirements, a total of 193 valid questionnaires were obtained. To estimate the proposed relationships in the conceptual model, we analyzed the data through SPSS-21. The results showed that belief in a just world, interpersonal intelligence, and organizational citizenship behavior were significantly positively correlated. Interpersonal intelligence played a moderating role between belief in a just world and organizational citizenship behavior; the belief in a just world of individuals with high interpersonal intelligence had a more significant positive predictive effect on organizational citizenship behavior. This meant that under a certain level of belief in a just world, a high level of interpersonal intelligence was more conducive to promoting employees’ sustainable organizational citizenship behavior.

The Mediating Role of Chinese College Students' Control Strategies: Belief in a Just World and Life History Strategy.

The harshness and unpredictability of early life circumstances shape life history strategies for trade-offs between the resources devoted to somatic and reproductive efforts of individuals in the developmental process. This paper uses belief in a just world as a reflection of early environmental cues to predict an individual’s life history strategies. Research has found that belief in a just world influences life history strategies through a sense of control. However, the relationship between a sense of control and a life history strategy is flawed because influencing life history strategies should be intrinsic to control strategies rather than a sense of control. A total of 408 Chinese undergraduate students completed the Personal Belief in a Just World Scale, Mini-K Scale, and Primary and Secondary Control Scale. Structural equation modeling suggested that belief in a just world can directly or indirectly influence life history strategies through primary and secondary control strategies, respectively; there was no statistical difference in the degree of influence between the two paths. These results deepen our understanding of the underlying mechanisms in the relationship between belief in a just world and life history strategies, which can be utilized to ensure a slow life history strategy among Chinese university students in the future.

Normative misperception in third-party punishment: An explanation from the perspective of belief in a just world

<p id=C2>Punishment decisions might be guided by the norm of punishment, that is, people will implement their own punishment according to perceived prevalence of punishment in a similar social midst. However, there may be differences between an individual’s perception of norms and actual norms, which is called normative misperception. This article uses four experiments to explore the existence, the direction, and the cause of the normative misperception in third-party punishment, as well as its influence on people’s own punitive behaviors. <break/>In Experiment 1, 449 participants were randomized in a four group factorial design (punishing before estimating, estimating before punishing, punishing only, and estimating only). Experiment 1 consisted of 6 rounds of dictator game, in which participants made punishment decisions for 6 offers and/or estimated the average punishment level of other participants in each offer. Experiment 2 aimed to establish the causal relationship between the normative misperception and the punishment by directly manipulating the normative misperception. Specifically, 134 participants were randomly divided into the overestimation group and underestimation group. After receiving the feedback, participants made punishment decision for an unfair offer and estimated the level of punishment of others in this offer. The purpose of Experiment 3 was to test the model of belief in a just world (BJW)-normative misperception-punishment, as well as the moderating effect of perceived social distance (PSD), with a within-participants design involving 164 participants. The procedure was similar to that of Experiment 1, except that we measured participants’ BJW and PSD before and after the game, respectively. In Experiment 4, we manipulated participants’ BJW through reading materials to test the causal relationship between BJW and the normative misperception. <break/>The results of Experiment 1 showed that there is an underestimated normative misperception in third-party punishment, which leads to a lower level of punishment. Experiment 2 proved that there exists a causal relationship between the normative misperception and punishment by directly manipulating the independent variables. Experiment 3 demonstrated that BJW might be an underlying cause of the normative misperception, while PSD moderates the effect of BJW on the normative misperception. Finally, Experiment 4 showed the causal relationship between BJW and the normative misperception, providing additional evidence to the results of Experiment 3. <break/>To sum up, we have found evidence of normative misperception in third-party punishment through 4 experiments. This underestimated misperception might be affected by dual reference points: BJW (internal) and PSD (external). It also shows to a certain extent that third-party punishment is a norm-maintaining behavior rather than a gain-based strategic behavior.

The Role of Just World Beliefs in Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study investigated whether people’s personal belief in a just world (BJW) is linked to their willingness to physically distance themselves from others during the COVID-19 pandemic. Past research found personal BJW to be positively related to prosocial behavior, justice striving, and lower risk perceptions. If social distancing reflects a concern for others, high personal BJW should predict increased interest in social distancing. If social distancing reflects a concern for one’s personal risk, high personal BJW should predict decreased interest in social distancing. Results of a pre-registered internet-based study from Germany (N = 361) indicated that the higher people’s personal BJW, the more they generally practiced social distancing. This association still occurred when controlling for empathy, another significant predictor of social distancing. There were no mediation effects of empathy and risk perception. The findings extend knowledge on the correlates of social distancing in the COVID-19 pandemic which could be used to increase compliance among citizens.

“I must have done something good”: Justifying luxury consumption with karmic beliefs

Existing research has shown that a belief in karma may negatively affect luxury consumption because people may avoid “sinful” consumption of expensive products as a result of karmic investment. In this research, we examine the role of karmic beliefs on luxury consumption that individuals may contend is a form of justification. We show that karmic beliefs lead to higher purchase intention of luxury goods by consumers (Study 1), and this effect is mediated by belief in a just world (BJW) (Study 2). We also demonstrate an important boundary condition of promotion focus between karmic beliefs and BJW (Study 3). Our research provides an alternative perspective to investigate the impact of karmic beliefs and the justification mechanism in luxury consumption.

The relation between belief in a just world and early processing of deserved and undeserved outcomes: An ERP study

ABSTRACT We used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine how quickly people in general, and certain people in particular, process deservingness-relevant information. Female university students completed individual difference measures, including individual differences in the belief in a just world (BJW), a belief that people get what they deserve. They then read stories in which an outcome was deserved, undeserved, or neither deserved nor undeserved (i.e., “neutral”) while their ERPs were recorded with scalp electrodes. We found no overall differentiation between early ERP responses (<300 ms post-stimulus onset) to deserved, undeserved, and neutral outcomes. However, BJW correlated with the difference between early ERP responses to these forms of information (rs from |.44| to |.61|; ps from .018 to < .001). The early nature of our effects (e.g., 96 ms after stimulus onset) suggests individual differences in socially-relevant information processing that begins before conscious evaluation of the stimuli. Potential underlying processes include automatic attention to schema-relevant information and to unexpected (and therefore salient) information and automatic processing of belief-consistent information. Our research underscores the importance of the concept of deservingness in human information processing as well as the utility of ERP technology and robust statistical analyses in investigations of complex social stimuli.

The Empowering Function of the Belief in a Just World for the Self: Trait-Level and Experimental Tests of Its Association With Positive and Negative Affect.

Belief in a just world for the self (BJW-self) is a resource that promotes adaptive functioning. We theorize that BJW-self has such an effect because it is empowering. This article reports on four studies (N = 967) testing whether BJW-self encourages more positive and less negative affect indirectly through empowerment. There was support for this hypothesis at a trait level across all studies, and specifically in Study 1. Experimental evidence, however, was more complex. Study 2 demonstrated the causal effect of the mediator, empowerment, on affect. Study 3 demonstrated that affirming BJW-self enhanced empowerment with an associated increase in positive affect and reduced negative affect. Study 4 showed that enhancing empowerment did not significantly influence the effect of affirmed BJW-self on affect, but blocking empowerment did, although this finding is qualified by no significant effect on empowerment. We discuss the theoretical implications of these findings, and the challenges of experimentally manipulating BJW-self.

She deserved it: Analysis of variables that influence the accountability of victims of sexual violence

This article aims to analyze the effect of the combination of the variables - victim characteristics (skin color and normativity), observer sex, Belief in a Just World, and ambivalent sexism - on sexual violence victim blaming. Three studies were conducted with university students (Study 1, N=288; Study 2, N=226; Study 3, N=307), who were asked to answer some items on victim blaming, Belief in a Just World, and Ambivalent Sexism. The ANOVA and ANCOVA analyses have shown that the combination of these variables resulted in higher black and counter-normative victim blaming. The results confirmed that victim skin color, victim normativity, and the observer sex influence victim blaming for sexual violence (study 1); that bjw predicts the attribution of the victim’s accountability for sexual violence (study 2), and that only benevolent sexism, together with bjw, was responsible for predicting victim blaming for sexual violence (study 3).

Связь веры в справедливый мир с отношением к академической нечестности у школьников с высокой и низкой лояльностью к читерству

The article examines the relationship of Belief in a Just World (BJW) with the attitude to academic dishonesty among high school students. The research was aimed at checking the general hypothesis about the difference in the structure of the connection between the belief in a just world with the attitude towards dishonesty of schoolchildren who are loyal and not loyal to dishonesty. A total of 516 subjects, of which 274 were female, took part in the study; the average age was 15.5. The study used the Scale of Belief in a just world (C. Dalbert), which includes two subscales: “Faith in a just world in general” and “Faith in justice towards the subject” and, to assess attitudes to academic impiety, the vignette method. The study showed that schoolchildren with high and low loyalty to cheating differ in the structure of the ties between the BJW and the attitude to dishonesty. Disloyal to dishonesty assess the permissibility of dishonesty as contrary to the image of a world that is fair to them personally and consider the possible punishment for cheating to be fair. The connections of the belief in a just world in general with the attitude to dishonesty are not significant. For those loyal to dishonesty, the assessment of the world as fair to them and to everyone is directly related to the prevalence of cheating, and the connections of both scales of the BJW with the assessment of the possible consequences of dishonesty and its permissibility are not significant. In schoolchildren loyal to dishonesty, both scales are directly related only to the assessment of the prevalence of cheating, the other links are not significant.

Связь веры в справедливость с типичностью комплементарных стереотипов богатых и бедных

Objective. Analysis of the contribution of complementary and non-complementary stereotypes and assessing their typicality in the level of belief in a just world (BJW) among employees of commercial and non-profit organizations.Background. Increasing economic inequality makes it relevant to study the relationship between the assessment of the world as just and the relationship to the rich and poor. According to the theory of system justification by J. Jost, people are motivated to support the status quo, including by relying on complementary stereotypes that combine desirable and undesirable qualities in one image. Research by A. Kay and J. Jost (2003) has shown that actualizing complementary stereotypes of the unhappy rich and the happy poor increases the level of the acquitting of systems. However, the nature of the impact of complementary stereotypes and non-complementary stereotypes on the belief in justice, depending on the initial just-world belief level, and the contribution of subjective assessment of the typicality of complementary stereotypes and non-complementary stereotypes to the just-world belief level remains poorly studied.Study design. A two-factor plan was used to analyze the contributions of the actualization of stereotypes and the place of work to the level of the just-world belief scales. The paper studied the dependence of the level of the just-world belief scales on the place of work of the respondents, the conditions of filling the questionnaire (after actualization of complementary stereotypes, non-complementary stereotypes, and without reading the texts), and the relative contribution to the level of the just-world belief scales of the conditions of filling the questionnaire and assessing the typicality. The method of analysis of variance was used to compare the just-world belief level in groups of employees of commercial and non-profit organizations under different filling conditions. Regression analysis was used to assess the contribution of gender, age, place of work, and the assessment of the typicality of complementary stereotypes and non-complementary stereotypes to the just-world belief level.Participants. 260 people, including 130 employees of non-profit organizations, 130 employees of commercial organizations, the average age was 36 years.Measurements. Vignettes with descriptions of complementary stereotypes and non-complementary stereotypes, the just-world belief questionnaire (S.K. Nartova-Bochaver et al., 2013).Results. For non-profit organizations employees, the level of both just-world belief scales decreases at non-complementary stereotypes actualization; for commercial organizations employees, it increases slightly at complementary stereotypes actualization in relation to the background. The level of BJW-others is determined only by the assessment of the typicality of complementary stereotypes. None of the considered predictors contributes to the BJW-self.Conclusions. The BJW-others is determined by a subjective assessment of the typicality of complementary stereotypes. The low level of BJW increases at complementary stereotypes actualization, and the high level of BJW decreases at non-complementary stereotypes actualization.

Belief in a Just World and Stigmatizing Views of Early Pregnancy Loss: A National Survey

Feeling guilt is common after early pregnancy loss (EPL). Many people attribute EPL to benign activities, such as exercise or past reproductive choices. While efforts to modify these stigmatizing beliefs have focused on correcting the public’s knowledge of EPL using scientific evidence and patient narratives, EPL stigma may be rooted in underlying Just World Beliefs (JWB). The JWB theory asserts life is inherently fair with only bad people facing negative outcomes. Previous publications identified a positive correlation between JWB and victim derogation, but no prior studies have investigated the relationship between JWB and views of EPL.

Relative deprivation and social anxiety among Chinese migrant children: Testing a moderated mediation model of perceived control and belief in a just world.

To examine the relationship between relative deprivation and social anxiety, which affects mental health, and investigate the mediating role of perceived control and the moderating role of belief in a just world (BJW) in an understudied population in Asia, we surveyed 1573 rural-to-urban migrant children (48% female; Mage = 12.3, SD = 1.7) in southeast China. Relative deprivation was positively correlated with social anxiety; perceived control partially mediated this connection. Moreover, BJW moderated the indirect effect, which was stronger for male migrant children with lower levels of BJW. The limitations and practical implications of this study are discussed.

A school rampage threatens beliefs in justice: A longitudinal study of the belief in a just world among Chinese adolescents.

The current study examined whether and how severe injustice such as a school attack threatens the belief in a just world (BJW). We collected longitudinal data on the BJW from adolescents in China who witnessed random school attacks on the news (N=227). Change analyses provided evidence that the BJW increased after witnessing severe injustice. Furthermore, we tested for moderating effects of buffer variables, such as life satisfaction and perceived social support, on change in the BJW. Findings showed that these variables buffered the threat to the BJW after observing unfairness. We discuss these results in the context of justice motive theory and suggest implications for future research and practical implications.