World Beliefs Research Articles

Are epistemic beliefs and motivation associated with belief revision among postsecondary service-learning participants?

The purpose of this study was to explore the association between epistemic beliefs, epistemic motivation, and belief revision among undergraduate students enrolled in a service-learning course. We assessed students' belief in simple/certain knowledge, belief in omniscient authority as a source of knowledge, and need for closure at the start of the semester. We measured their beliefs about inequality at the start and end of the semester. Students with stronger beliefs in simple/certain knowledge demonstrated greater just world beliefs at the end of the semester, controlling for baseline beliefs in a just world. Need for closure, however, was associated with more adaptive forms of belief revision.

Relationship between just world belief and depression of college students: the multiple mediators of hope and forgiveness

Objective To explore the mechanism of the influence of just world belief on depression in college students, and to explore the multiple mediating effects of hope and forgiveness. Methods Totally 290 college students were assessed by belief in a just world scale(BJWS), adult dispositional hope scale(ADHS), Hearland forgiveness scale(HFS) and self-rating depression scale(SDS). Results The scores of the belief in a just world, hope, forgiveness and depression were 53.90±7.83, 33.67±3.87, 109.75±12.52 and 16.84±8.41, respectively.The belief in a just world was positively correlated with hope(r=0.41, P<0.01) and forgiveness(r=0.40, P<0.01), and negatively correlated with depression(r=-0.38, P<0.01). Hope was positively correlated with forgiveness(r=0.43, P<0.01), and negatively correlated with depression(r=-0.53, P<0.01). Forgiveness had a significantly negative correlation with depression(r=-0.57, P<0.01). Structural equation model showed that the direct effect of the belief in a just world on depression was not statistically significant.The belief in a just world can influence depression by multiple mediators of hope(the effective amount=0.26), hope→forgiveness(the effective amount=0.20), and the model fitted well(χ2/df=1.63, RMSEA=0.04, GFI=0.96, NFI=0.98, CFI=0.99). Conclusion The belief in a just world can influence depression by multiple mediators role of hope, hope→forgiveness. Key words: Just world belief; Hope; Forgiveness; Depression; Multiple mediation

Healthy in a crummy world: Implications of primal world beliefs for health psychology

Aaron Beck’s insight—that beliefs about one’s self, future, and environment shape behavior—had major implications for health psychology research and practice. Yet, beliefs about one’s environment have remained relatively understudied. A recent comprehensive empirically-driven effort has led to the identification of 26 primal world beliefs, or primals, (e.g., the world is: harmless vs. threatening, stable vs. fragile, just vs. unjust, meaningful vs. meaningless, improvable vs. too hard to improve, beautiful vs. ugly). Primals have been theorized to influence many outcomes of interest to different psychological subdisciplines, and a psychometrically rigorous effort has developed a Primals Inventory to measure them. In this brief report, we aim to introduce primals’ potential implications for health psychology research and practice. After summarizing primals’ theorized general function, we illustrate their connection to health processes and outcomes via five illustrative hypotheses. These hypotheses concern how primals might influence (a) the cardiotoxic stress axis; (b) conserved transcriptional response to adversity gene expression patterns; (c) health behaviors; (d) treatment effectiveness; and (e) risk of developing chronic diseases. Further research on primals in relation to health processes and outcomes might lead to new avenues of scientific inquiry and innovative methods of improving the trajectory of our society’s health and well-being.

The Influence of Social Anxiety on Mobile Phone Addiction: The Buff-er Effect of Belief in a Fair World

&lt;p&gt;Using the Mobile Phone Addiction Scale, Social Anxiety Scale and Justice World Belief Scale, this paper investigated 647 college students in a university in Hubei Province, and investigated the influence of social anxiety of college students on mobile phone addiction and the moderating effect of justice world belief in it. The results show that: (1) there is a significant positive correlation between social anxiety and cell phone addiction among college students; (2) just world belief plays a regulating role in the relationship between social anxiety and cell phone addiction. with the improvement of just world belief, the relationship between social anxiety and cell phone addiction gradually weakens and eventually disappears.&lt;/p&gt;

The predictive value of school climate and teacher techniques on students’ just world beliefs: a comprehensive Brazilian sample

Substantial research has established the connection between students’ beliefs in a just world (BJW) and their perceptions of and behaviors in the school. While much of that research has acknowledged that the relationship between BJW and school variables must be bi-directional, little empirical evidence exists on how the school climate shapes students’ perceptions of justice. This study draws from a comprehensive sample of Brazilian students from third through twelfth grade (n = 18,514) across 122 public schools in Southern Brazil. Results reveal that school climate variables account for 12.1–19.6% of the variance of students’ BJW, with middle school being a time of strongest influence. Perceptions of rule fairness, student–student relationships, and positive and socio-emotional learning techniques were significant predictors across all grade levels. Additional analyses revealed that teachers’ positive and socio-emotional techniques can act as a moderator between school climate and students’ BJW. The results provide more tangible ways to integrate just world research into the educational context by bridging the gap between school climate research and just world theory. This study provides empirical data for the bidirectionality of BJW and school context and opens the discussion on how the school sets students’ future expectations of justice.

The Cultivation of Idealistic Moral Expectations: The Role of Television Exposure and Narrative Engageability

The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of how fictional television shapes people’s expectations about the moral workings of the real world, relying on cultivation theory and models of narrative and moral effects as theoretical frameworks. Using a cross-sectional sample of the general German adult population, this study investigated the relationship between television viewing time (overall television and three genres—crime drama, medical drama, sitcoms) and narrative engageability with three idealistic moral expectations (just world beliefs, professional altruism of doctors, tolerance of otherness). Although genre viewing was not related to idealistic moral expectations, overall television viewing and narrative engageability proved to have consistent positive relationships. Results indicate that television viewing, the audience’s eagerness to engage with narratives (narrative engageability), and moral expectations about the real world are intertwined and mutually dependent.

Adolescents' conceptions of wealth and societal fairness amid extreme inequality: An Argentine sample.

This study examined how Argentine adolescents' judgments about the fairness of their society are related to their perceptions of actual and ideal societal wealth distribution, just world beliefs, and trust in political institutions. Six hundred ninety-nine Argentine adolescents from three age groups (12-14 years, 15-16 years, and 17-18 years) in high schools from diverse SES communities were presented with five images depicting more or less egalitarian patterns of national wealth distribution. Participants chose the images that best represented actual and ideal wealth distribution in Argentina, and also rated their level of political trust, general and personal beliefs in a just world (BJW), and views regarding the fairness of Argentine society. Findings revealed that there was a significant gap between adolescents' conception of current wealth distribution and their more egalitarian choices for ideal wealth distribution. In addition, adolescents who judged that the distribution of actual economic resources was more egalitarian had more positive views of the fairness of Argentine society, as well as higher levels of political trust and BJW. Moreover, regression analyses revealed that adolescents' views of the overall fairness of society were independently predicted by both their economic judgments and their noneconomic judgments (political trust and both general and personal BJW), and these effects were not moderated by adolescents' age group or school SES. Notwithstanding the lack of moderated effects (i.e., relations among variables), older adolescents and those from higher SES schools had more negative views of overall fairness of society, the egalitarian nature of existing wealth distribution, political trust, and BJW. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

The Influence of Just World Beliefs on the Stigmatization of Combat-Related PTSD

The fear of stigmatization by nonmilitary community members has been identified as a significant barrier to care for military members seeking mental health services. Research exploring the constructs that contribute to the stigmatizing views of military-specific mental health issues is absent from current literature. This study examined the predictive value of just world beliefs on specific constructs of stigmatizing attitudes (i.e., mental health ideology, social restriction, benevolence) toward individuals with combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder. The findings provide guidance regarding the development of antistigma interventions and educational campaigns that may reduce levels of stigmatization by community members, with the long-term goal of diminishing military members' fear of community stigmatization as a barrier to seeking mental health services.

Investigation of the Relationship between Social Connectedness Level and Just World Beliefs of Prospective Teachers

This study aims to determine the relationship between social connectedness level and just world belief of prospective teachers in terms of various variables. This study adopted a correlational survey model. 318 volunteer prospective teachers from Department of Visual Arts and Music Education at Faculty of Fine Arts, and Department of Physical Education at Faculty of Education of Ankara and Gazi Universities participated in this study. The General Just World Belief Scale developed by Dalbert (1999) and adapted to Turkish by Göregenli (2003) and the Social Connectedness Scale developed by Lee and Robbins and adapted to Turkish by Duru (2007) were used as a data collection tool. As a result of the research, it was determined that the general just world beliefs of the prospective teachers were at a moderate level and their social connectedness was low. In addition, the general just world beliefs and social connectedness levels of the participants in the 1st and 2nd grades were significantly higher than those in the 3rd and 4th grades. There was no significant relationship between general just world beliefs and social connectedness levels of prospective teachers.

Primal world beliefs.

Beck's insight-that beliefs about one's self, future, and environment shape behavior-transformed depression treatment. Yet environment beliefs remain relatively understudied. We introduce a set of environment beliefs-primal world beliefs or primals-that concern the world's overall character (e.g., the world is interesting, the world is dangerous). To create a measure, we systematically identified candidate primals (e.g., analyzing tweets, historical texts, etc.); conducted exploratory factor analysis (N = 930) and two confirmatory factor analyses (N = 524; N = 529); examined sequence effects (N = 219) and concurrent validity (N = 122); and conducted test-retests over 2 weeks (n = 122), 9 months (n = 134), and 19 months (n = 398). The resulting 99-item Primals Inventory (PI-99) measures 26 primals with three overarching beliefs-Safe, Enticing, and Alive (mean α = .93)-that typically explain ∼55% of the common variance. These beliefs were normally distributed; stable (2 weeks, 9 months, and 19 month test-retest results averaged .88, .75, and .77, respectively); strongly correlated with many personality and wellbeing variables (e.g., Safe and optimism, r = .61; Enticing and depression, r = -.52; Alive and meaning, r = .54); and explained more variance in life satisfaction, transcendent experience, trust, and gratitude than the BIG 5 (3%, 3%, 6%, and 12% more variance, respectively). In sum, the PI-99 showed strong psychometric characteristics, primals plausibly shape many personality and wellbeing variables, and a broad research effort examining these relationships is warranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

Trait Perceived Injustice Is Associated With Pain Intensity and Pain Behavior in Participants Undergoing an Experimental Pain Induction Procedure

Recent research has revealed robust cross-sectional and prospective associations among perceived injustice, pain, disability, and depressive symptoms in patients with chronic pain. To date, research has proceeded from the assumption that perceived injustice arises as a consequence of debilitating injury or illness. However, it is possible that perceived injustice might have trait-like characteristics, persisting even in the absence of an injustice-related eliciting event. The aim of the present study was to develop and test a measure of trait perceived injustice (Trait Injustice Experience Questionnaire [T-IEQ]). The item content of the T-IEQ was drawn from the original IEQ and adapted for relevance to a noninjury context. A sample of 118 healthy undergraduates completed the T-IEQ, measures of just world belief, and trait forgiveness prior to participating in an experimental pain procedure. Pain intensity, pain behavior, and emotional responses were recorded during the painful induction. The T-IEQ had good internal consistency and test−retest reliability. The validity of the T-IEQ was supported by significant associations with measures of just world belief and trait forgiveness. The T-IEQ was also associated with pain intensity, pain behavior, and ratings of sadness and anger. Anger mediated the relation between the T-IEQ and pain outcomes. The results of the present study suggest that individuals vary in their trait-like propensity to experience negative life events as unjust and that trait perceived injustice contributes to adverse pain outcomes. PerspectiveThe present findings suggest that perceived injustice might reflect an enduring tendency to experience negative life events as unjust. The findings also suggest that trait perceived injustice is associated with higher ratings of pain intensity and anger and more pronounced displays of pain behavior.

Punishing Politeness: The Role of Language in Promoting Brand Trust

Morality is an abstract consideration, and language is an important regulator of abstract thought. In instances of moral ambiguity (e.g., ethically ambiguous business practices), individuals may pay particular attention to matters of interactional justice (i.e., how consumers are treated with politeness and dignity by the brand in question). Politeness in language has been linked to greater perceptions of social distance, which we contend is instrumental in regulating attitudes toward a brand. We posit that politeness in a brand’s advertising will impact consumers who are attuned to violations of interactional justice [i.e., those with low belief in a just world (BJW)]. In three studies, we demonstrate that the politeness used in advertising as well as consumers’ individual differences in BJW affect judgments and attitudes toward brands. Specifically, individuals with a low just world belief are more likely to harbor negative attitudes towards a brand with ethically ambiguous business practices if the language used in advertising is impersonal (politer) than when the language used in advertising is personal (less polite). Importantly, for individuals with a low BJW, lowered trust due to the advertisement’s language mediated the relationship between politeness and attitudes toward the brand. Theoretical and managerial implications of this research are discussed.

Psychometric Properties of the Institutional Betrayal Questionnaire, Version 2: Evidence for a Two-Factor Model.

Institutional betrayal reflects the failings of a trusted institution to prevent or respond appropriately to negative experiences. Following sexual assault, survivors who encounter institutional betrayal may experience greater distress and poorer functioning. The current study sought to assess the construct validity of the Institutional Betrayal Questionnaire, Version 2 (IBQ.2) and evaluate its factor structure. Survivors of sexual assault (N = 426) were recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk and completed various questionnaires related to mental health, disclosure and assault characteristics, world beliefs, and rape myth adherence. The IBQ.2 demonstrated convergent validity with disclosure to formal support providers, assault severity, turning against reactions, and beliefs about self-control, and evidenced discriminant validity with disclosure timing, rape myth adherence, and beliefs about randomness and controllability of outcomes. Notably, the IBQ.2 was unrelated to measures of distress, including symptoms of stress, depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder, providing mixed evidence for the IBQ.2's construct validity. Confirmatory factor analyses failed to replicate the single-factor model of institutional betrayal found in a previous study, and, instead, suggested a two-factor structure of the IBQ.2 that delineates between the promotion of and response to sexual victimization. Post hoc analyses revealed that only one of the two factors (Response to Sexual Victimization) evidenced convergent and discriminant validity largely consistent with the single-factor model. The novelty of these relationships and factor structure of the IBQ.2 found in the current study warrants replication in future research.

Anger Among Veterans Seeking Trauma-Focused Care: Main and Moderating Effects of Combat Exposure Severity and Posttraumatic Cognitions

This study examined whether specific combat experiences and trauma-related beliefs were differentially related to anger among 869 treatment-seeking veterans. Total combat and specific types of combat exposure associations with anger were moderated by negative beliefs about the world such that those in the highest combat exposure group were significantly more likely to describe chronic anger in the context of negative world beliefs. A main effect between self-blame and trait anger was also observed in some models. Results suggest that specific types of posttraumatic cognitions play a role in the relationship between combat and anger. Clinical implications are discussed.

Anger rumination and unjust world beliefs moderate the association between cyberbullying victimization and psychiatric symptoms

Several studies have found a positive relationship between cyberbullying victimization and psychiatric symptoms such as depression or anxiety. However, relatively little research has investigated factors that might moderate this association. The present study aimed to examine the moderating role of anger rumination, unjust world beliefs and perceived social support in the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and psychiatric symptoms across different victim groups. A total of 1,500 participants (57.9% male, Mage = 28.9 years, SD = 8.7) were recruited using an online questionnaire. According to the results, 29.8% of participants reported being bullied online during the past year. Results also indicated that cyberbullying victims but not bully-victims with a tendency to ruminate on past anger episodes and strong unjust world beliefs are more likely to experience psychiatric symptoms. These findings point to the differences between victims and bully-victims in the mechanisms underlying the victimization–psychiatric symptoms association, and highlight the importance of emotion regulation and just world beliefs in preserving and enhancing psychological well-being in those individuals who had been bullied online.

Political attitudes as predictors of the multiple dimensions of mental health stigma

Mental health (MH) stigma is multidimensional and remains common in the United States and throughout the world. While sociopolitical attitudes such as right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) have emerged as strong predictors of some aspects of MH stigma, no study has assessed the relationship between RWA and multidimensional components of MH stigma, or linked this relationship to a theory of stigma. The association between RWA and multiple stigma outcomes, including stereotypes, attributions/negative affect, social distance, microaggressions and help-seeking self-stigma was assessed controlling for covariates, including education, age, social desirability, race/ethnicity, gender, geographic location and prior contact with mental illness. A total of 518 US residents (from all geographic regions; convenience sample) completed an online survey. Findings indicated that RWA was significantly associated with all MH stigma dimensions analyzed, even after controlling for covariates. A hypothesized mediator for this relationship, dangerous world beliefs, was not supported as a theoretical explanation. Right-wing authoritarianism predicts various dimensions of mental health stigma, but more research is needed to determine the theoretical underpinnings. These current findings may guide research in this area and be used to target a variety of conservative audiences for stigma reduction.

Positing a framework for cultivating spirituality through public university leadership development

Purpose Similar to religion, spirituality is considered a private affair along with issues of faith, hope, and love (Palmer, 1998). American public education has been reluctant to address such issues due to our cultural norm of “separation of church and state” (Love and Talbot, 2000, p. 1) yet the American Council for Education calls upon higher education to provide students ways to explore their personal values, world beliefs, and spirituality (Chickering et al., 2006; Dalton and Crosby, 2006). As such, the purpose of this paper is to explore student leaders’ perspectives on how leadership development activities influenced their sense of spirituality. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative case study design was used to explore responses from ten student leaders who completed a leadership development program in the Spring 2015 at a public four-year institution. As part of the leadership development program, students were paired a peer mentor while they completed leadership workshops, a reflection paper, self-assessment, and an ongoing community service project painting murals with individuals who have intellectual disabilities. Participants were from various majors and religious backgrounds and had completed the leadership development program two months prior to their participation in this study. Findings Findings revealed that leadership workshops, self-assessment, reflections, peer-to-peer mentorship, and an ongoing shared community service project, influenced students’ perspectives of spirituality and their leadership identity. Student leaders both did and did not differentiate the developmental process of leadership from the spiritual development process, defining both as cognitive and emotional development deeply grounded in self-awareness. Study participants shared that through self-reflection, developing their inter and intra personal skills through conducting service, shaped their understanding of their spiritual identity and developed their sense of self. Research limitations/implications Study results are not generalizable but provide insight into the experiences and perceptions of student leaders on two hard-to-define topics: spirituality and leadership. The order of the interview questions may have influenced the thought process leading up to student’s responses connecting spirituality and leadership concepts. Another limitation is that the leadership activities were designed and coordinated by the lead investigator. Hence, there may be findings that were influenced by the investigators’ personal beliefs about leadership. Study participants may have also felt more comfortable discussing their beliefs about spirituality because of their familiarity with the lead investigator. Practical implications Results support the notion that non-faith based public institutions may intentionally support the spiritual development of students through the context of leadership development program activities. Approaching spiritual and leadership development through Baxter Magolda’s (2009) theory of self-authorship allows students to experience new activities coupled with personal self-reflection, to deepen their self-understanding, compassion for others, and self-awareness. This learning is an ongoing process that expands as students engage in contemplative practices such as mindfulness training provided through leadership workshops, self-reflection, and peer-to-peer interactions and self-assessment. Social implications This case study illustrates that intentionally designed and implemented leadership development programs may cultivate both the spiritual and leadership identities and behaviors of students. Also, this study reveals that spirituality and leadership are not mutually exclusive processes because both are deeply rooted in connecting to our community, connecting to our greater purpose and our higher consciousness about who we are and how we treat others. Hence, this work may support educators develop more compassionate and empathetic students who are agents of positive social change. Originality/value This qualitative case study suggests a new framework for public institutions to support students’ leadership and spiritual development through the theoretical framework of self-authorship. As such, educators can stop being fearful about discussing religion, spirituality, and matters of the heart if they use this framework to design leadership developmental activities.

公正世界信念からみた大学生の社会観 ――峰尾菜生子『大学生における日本社会に対する社会観の特徴――自由記述に基づく社会観尺度の作成と妥当性の検討――』への意見論文――

公正世界信念からみた大学生の社会観 ――峰尾菜生子『大学生における日本社会に対する社会観の特徴――自由記述に基づく社会観尺度の作成と妥当性の検討――』への意見論文――

公正世界観尺度における3つの世界観形態と社会的判断の関連 : 多様な場面での検討結果から(法と心理学会第12回大会ワークショップ)

公正世界観尺度における3つの世界観形態と社会的判断の関連 : 多様な場面での検討結果から(法と心理学会第12回大会ワークショップ)

Righteous or self‐righteous anger? Justice sensitivity moderates defensive outrage at a third‐party harm‐doer

AbstractWhile bystanders' outrage over moral transgressions may represent a genuine desire to restore justice, such expressions can also be self‐serving—alleviating guilt and bolstering one's moral status. Four studies examined whether individual differences in observer justice sensitivity (JSO) moderate the degree to which outrage at third‐party harm‐doing reflects concerns about one's own moral identity rather than justice per se. Among participants low (vs. high) in JSO, feelings of guilt predicted greater outrage and desire to punish a corporation's sweatshop labor practices (Studies 1 &amp; 2). Furthermore, affirming one's personal moral identity reduced outrage and support for punishing a corporate harm‐doer among those low, but not high in JSO (Studies 3 &amp; 4). Similar moderation was absent for other forms of justice sensitivity and just world beliefs. Effects were not explained by negative affect, empathy, personal harm, or political orientation. Results suggest that JSO uniquely differentiates defensive and justice‐driven moral outrage (150/150).