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The just-world hypothesis or just-world fallacy is the cognitive bias that assumes that "people get what they deserve" – that actions will have morally fair and
by iosystem 4y ago
The just-world hypothesis or just-world fallacy is the cognitive bias that assumes that "people get what they deserve" – that actions will have morally fair and fitting consequences for the actor. For example, the assumptions that noble actions will eventually be rewarded and evil actions will eventually be punished fall under this hypothesis. In other words, the just-world hypothesis is the tendency to attribute consequences to—or expect consequences as the result of— either a universal force that restores moral balance or a universal connection between the nature of actions and their results. This belief generally implies the existence of cosmic justice, destiny, divine providence, desert, stability, and/or order. It is often associated with a variety of fundamental fallacies, especially in regard to rationalizing suffering on the grounds that the sufferers "deserve" it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just-world_hypothesis
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.
Why do people believe in the just-world fallacy?
The just-world theory (Lerner, 1980) assumes that people want to believe that they live in a world where good things happen to good people and bad things only to bad ones and where therefore everyone harvests what they sow (see also Furnham, 2003; Dalbert, 2009; Hafer and Sutton, 2016).Sep 25, 2017
Who believes in a just world?
Believers in a just world have been found to be more religious, more authoritarian, and more oriented toward the internal control of reinforcements than nonbelievers. They are also more likely to admire political leaders and existing social institutions, and to have negative attitudes toward underprivileged groups.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- keithalewis 4y ago
- pygy_ 4y agoYour last and penultimate paragraphs are almost identical, likely an editing error
- pygy_ 4y agoIn other words, "might makes right".
- afarrell 4y agoIt is more like "right makes might" -- The belief that people who act rightly will become stronger and therefore strength is a sign of moral rectitude.
- pygy_ 4y agoWell, it's probably both, feeding one another.
- furyg3 4y agoThis is how I read it as well. I'm doing well because I deserve it, other people are doing badly because they don't. In this sense the title can be read as "Incompassionate people behave antisocially"
- pygy_ 4y ago> I'm doing well because I deserve it ... and therefore I behave in unethical ways. It's not my fault, it's destiny.
- denton-scratch 4y ago> Why do people believe in the just-world fallacy? I'm not sure that "fallacy" is the right word, there. A fallacy is an error of reasoning; BJW is simply a belief, it's not usually derived from reasoning. In fact I suspect it's deeper than even beliefs; my guess is that people don't know they believe in a just world. So I don't think people "believe in" a just world; rather, their behaviour, including the things they say they believe, are the manifestation of their personality. I suspect people that find the world scary and dangerous are more inclined to believe in "pie in the sky when you die". Finding the world scary and dangerous is a personality type, not a belief system.
- andruby 4y agoreading that, I would imagine this also relates to people in privileged situations thinking that they have "earned" that privilege for a reason. And thus that people in underprivileged situations have earned that too. Yikes. I can see how that can lead to social issues when a large portion of the "haves" believe in this just-world hypothesis. Is there any data/research that quantifies this belief in different countries/cultures?
- netsharc 4y agoWell, the US is a fine example of your realization. People like to preach "You just need work hard and you'll be successful.". If you believe that, then on the flip side you'd have to believe, "Those poor people are poor because they're lazy.". To me that's why there's a lot of people screaming and yelling about "Handouts for the poor!". A good video about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTDGdKaMDhQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTDGdKaMDhQ , or even a longer documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1MqJPHxy6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1MqJPHxy6g