Belief in a Just World

Abstract

Belief in a just world hypothesis is defined as the belief that the world is a just place where people generally get what they deserve. It states that individuals have a need to believe that they live in a just world; they believe in a world where people get what they deserve and where people deserve what they get. Individuals believe that who work hard or who perform good acts obtain rewards for their actions, while the sinners and the laggards receive punishments instead. Similarly, individuals want to believe that positive outcomes, whether money, success, or happiness, are obtained only by good people and, conversely, that negative outcomes only happen to bad persons. Justice beliefs have been hypothesized as adaptive for dealing with day-to-day stres. Just world beliefs protect individuals from the daily negative psychological consequences of living in what is realistically an unjust world. In addition, just world beliefs are thought to enhance feelings of security to the extent that if the individual satisfies the conditions for being good he or she is protected from injustice. The belief in a just world, like other positive illusions, should contribute to the maintenance of one's mental health. Belief in a just world's is discussed in two ways: personal belief in a just world's answers the question "how much justly is the world to me?", whereas the belief in a just world's in general answers the question "how much justly is the world?"

Keywords

• just world belief, justice, mental health

Adil Dünya İnancı

Öz

Adil dünya inancı dünyanın adil bir yer olduğu ve insanların neyi hak ederlerse onu buldukları hipotezi üzerine kurulmuştur. İnsanlar iyilerin ödüllendirildiği, kötülerin cezalandırıldığı ve nihayetinde herkesin hak ettiğini aldığı adil bir dünyada yaşıyor olduklarına inanmaya güdülenmişlerdir. İnsanlar, çok çalışan veya iyi davranışlar içinde olanların davranışları sonucunda ödüllendirildiğini, tembel ve günahkarların ise aksine cezalandırılacağına inanma eğilimindedirler. Benzer bir şekilde para, başarı ve mutluluk gibi olumlu sonuçların ancak iyi insanlar tarafından elde edildiğini, olumsuz sonuçların ise kötü kişilerin başına geldiğine inanırlar. Adil dünya inancı insanları geleceğin belirsizliğinden koruyan, ön görülemeyen olayların kurbanı olmayacaklarını düşündüren önemli bir adaptasyon işlevi görmektedir. Adil dünya inancı da diğer pozitif yanılsamalar gibi kişinin ruh sağlığının korunmasında olumlu işlevler görür. Adil dünya inancı literatürde iki yönlü olarak ele alınmıştır. Bireysel adil dünya inancı, "dünya bana ne kadar adil?" sorusunun cevabını verirken; genel adil dünya inancı: "dünya ne kadar adil?" sorusunun cevabını vermektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• adil dünya inancı, adalet, ruh sağlığı

Kaynakça

1. O’Connor BP. How a relationship between thinking and feeling may give rise to a variety of human behaviors. Genet Soc Gen Psychol Monogr 1991; 117:29-48.
2. Freedman JL, Sears DO, Carlsmith JM (Çev. A. Dönmez). Sosyal Psikoloji, 2. Baskı. Ankara, İmge Kitabevi, 1993.
3. Higgins ET. Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychol Rev 1987; 94:319-340.
4. Gençöz F. Uyum psikolojisi. Kriz Dergisi 1998; 6:1-8.
5. Ayhan İ, Yarar F. Batıl inançların psikolojisi. Pivolka 2005; 4(17):15-19.
6. Köklü N. Tutumların ölçülmesi ve likert tipi ölçeklerde kullanılan seçenekler. Ankara Üniversitesi Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi 1995; 2:81-93.
7. Kağıtçıbaşı Ç. Yeni İnsan Ve İnsanlar. İstanbul, Evrim Yayınları, 2005.
8. Lerner MJ, Miller DT. Just world research and the attribution process looking back and ahead. Psychol Bull 1978; 5:1030-1051.

9. Lerner MJ, Simmons CH. Observer’s reaction to the “innocent victim”: compenssion or rejection? J Pers Soc Psychol 1966; 4:203-210.
10. Epstein S. Cognitive- experiental self theory. In Handbook of Personality Theory and Research (Ed LA Pervin):165-192. New York, Guilford Press, 1990.
11. Bulman RJ, Wortman CB. Attributions of blame and coping in the “real world”: Severe accident victims react to their lot. J Pers Soc Psychol 1977; 35: 351 – 363.
12. Witte TH, Schroeder DA, Lohr JM. Blame for intimade partner violence: An attributional analysis. J Soc Clin Psychol 2006; 25:647-667.
13. Brewer WF. The nature of narrative suspense and the problem of rereading. In Suspense: Conceptualizations, theoretical analyses, and empirical explorations (Eds P Vorderer, HJ Wulff, MFriedrichsen):107-127. Mahwah, NJ, Lawrence Erlbaum, 1996.
14. Hafer CL, Bégue L. Experimantal research on just world theory: problems, devolopments and future challenges. Psychol Bull 2005; 131:128-167.
15. Lerner MJ. The justice motive: Some hypotheses as to its origins and forms. J Pers 1977; 45:1–52.
16. Lerner MJ. The Belief in a Just World: A Fundamental Delusion. New York, Plenum Pres, 1980.
17. Jose PE, Brewer WF. Early grade school children’s liking of script and suspense story structures. J Read Behav 1990; 22:355-372.
18. Fein D. Just world responding in 6 and 9 year old children. Dev Psychol 1976; 1:79- 80.
19. Lerner MJ. Evaluation of performance as a function of performer's reward and attractiveness. J Pers Soc Psychol 1965; 95:355-360.
20. Long G, Lerner MJ. Deserving the “personal contract” and altruistic behavior by children. J Pers Soc Psychol 1974; 29:551-556.
21. Dalbert DE, Stober J. The belief in a just world and domain-spesific beliefs about justice at school and in the family: A longitudinal study with adolescents. Int J Behav Dev 2006; 30:200-207.
22. Maes J. Immanent justice and ultimate justice: two ways of believing in justice. In Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World (Eds L Montada, MJ Lerner):9-40. New York, Plenium, 1998.
23. Goffman ES. Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall, 1963.
24. Kleinke CL, Meyer C. Evaluation of rape victim by men and woman with high and low belief in a just world. Psychol Women Q 1990;14:343-350.
25. Apsler R. Effects of embarrassment on behavior toward others. J Pers Soc Psychol 1975; 41:1129-1140.
26. Rosenblatt A, Greenberg J. Examining the world of the depressed: Do depressed people prefer others who are depressed? J Pers Soc Psychol 1991; 4:620-629.
27. Furnham A. Belief in a just world: Research progress over the past decade. Pers Individ Diff 2003; 34:795-817.
28. Dalbert C. The Justice Motive as a Person Resource: Dealing with Challenges and Critical Life Events. New York, Springer, 2001.
29. Cantor N. From thought to behovior. Am Psychol 1990; 45:735-750.
30. Taylor SE, Brown G. Illusion and well – being: A social psychological perspective on mental health. Psychol Bull 1998; 103:193-210.
31. Dalbert C. Coping with an unjust fate: The case of structural unemployment. Soc Justice Res1997; 10:175-189.
32. Tomako J, Blascovich J. Effects of justice belifes on cognitive appraisals of and subjective, physiological, and behavioral response to potential stress. J Pers Soc Psychol 1994; 67:732-740.
33. Zuckerman M. Belief in a just world and Alturistic behavior. J Pers Soc Psychol 1975; 31:972-976.
34. Montada L. Justice: Just a rational choice? Soc Justice Res 1998; 11:81-101.
35. Conners J, Heaven PCL. Authorianism and just world beliefs. J Soc Psychol 1987; 127:345-346.
36. Reichle B, Schneider A, Montada L. How do observers of victimization preserve their belief in a just world cognitively or actionally? In Responses to Victimizations and Belief in a Just World (Eds L Montada, MJ Lerner):55-86. New York, Plenium, 1998.
37. Dalbert C, Siegler I. The belief in a just world and perceptions of discrimination. J Psychol 1993; 127:465-474.
38. Jost JT. Negative illusions: Conceptual clarification and psychological evidence concerning false consciousness. Polit Psychol 1995; 16:397-424.
39. Furnham A, Gunter B. Just world beliefs and attitudes towards the poor. Br J Soc Psychol 1984; 23:265-269.
40. Dalbert C. The world is more just for me than generally: about the personal belief in a just world scale validity. Soc Justice Res 1999; 12:79-98.
41. Diener E, Emmons RA, Larsen RA, Griffin S. The satisfaction with life scale. J Pers Assess 1985; 49:71-75.
42. Hunt MO. Status religion and the belief in a just world: Comparing African Americans, Latinos, and Whites. Soc Sci Q 2000; 81:325-343.
43. Be`gue L, Bastounis M. Two spheres of belief in justice: extensive support for the bidimensional model of belief in a just world. J Pers 2003; 71:435-463.