The Just World Theory

[raccoon]

By Claire Andre and Manuel Velasquez

<snip>

The need to see victims as the recipients of their just deserts can be explained by what psychologists call the Just World Hypothesis. According to the hypothesis, people have a strong desire or need to believe that the world is an orderly, predictable, and just place, where people get what they deserve. Such a belief plays an important function in our lives since in order to plan our lives or achieve our goals we need to assume that our actions will have predictable consequences. Moreover, when we encounter evidence suggesting that the world is not just, we quickly act to restore justice by helping the victim or we persuade ourselves that no injustice has occurred. We either lend assistance or we decide that the rape victim must have asked for it, the homeless person is simply lazy, the fallen star must be an adulterer...

If the belief in a just world simply resulted in humans feeling more comfortable with the universe and its capriciousness, it would not be a matter of great concern for ethicists or social scientists. But Lerner's Just World Hypothesis, if correct, has significant social implications. The belief in a just world may undermine a commitment to justice.

Zick Rubin of Harvard University and Letitia Anne Peplau of UCLA have conducted surveys to examine the characteristics of people with strong beliefs in a just world. They found that people who have a strong tendency to believe in a just world also tend to be more religious, more authoritarian, more conservative, more likely to admire political leaders and existing social institutions, and more likely to have negative attitudes toward underprivileged groups. To a lesser but still significant degree, the believers in a just world tend to "feel less of a need to engage in activities to change society or to alleviate plight of social victims."

http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v3n2/justworld.html


Republicanism, Conservativism and belief in a “Just World.”

There is a positive correlation there--a STRONG one.

[SteppingRazor]

1. The correlation seems obvious...

If you believe that everyone gets what they deserve, then by definition, those living in poverty must be awful human beings. Kinda common sense, isn't it?

[bryant69]

2. Yes and no

I read that article and thought it made a lot of good points, but more for the casual Republican than the ideologically biased on. In other words a republican who assumes things are going to work out because America is basically good and God loves us.

But I don't see a large difference between that sort of person and the sort of pseudo-marxist who believes that the general trend of history is on his side and conservativism will eventually die of it's own accord (although there tend to be a lot more of the first kind as opposed to the second kind).

On the other hand the True Believers, the Idealists, don't fit into this pattern as well - because they believe America is fucked up. IF you read the idealogues on both the left and the right theres a strong sense that things aren't just bad; they're terrible. Of course things will be terrible, because America is just not going to live up perfectly to anybody's ideals, and the more important your ideals are to you, the more dissapointed you will be in America.

Anyway that's my take on it - interesting article anyway.

Bryant
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