16. Just World Hypothesis
What Is the Just World Hypothesis?
People perceive social situations and make attributions based on the notion that everyone gets what they deserve:
- “Good” thoughts and behaviour lead to positive outcomes or rewards.
- “Bad” thoughts and behaviour lead to negative outcomes or punishment.
This bias stems from an assumption of a fair or just world (first documented by Lerner & Simmons, 1966). Of course, there are individual differences in the degree to which people succumb to this bias (Rubin & Peplau, 1975).
Example: Social media
Think of social media posts where people share something good that happened to them, like a promotion at work. Many congratulatory comments follow, many stating things like, “You totally deserve it!” and “Your hard work paid off.”
On the other hand, people share something bad that happened to them, like their car got stolen, and people comment things like, “That’s what you get for parking in that area of town.” or “You never lock it, so, of course, this happened!”
Look through your own social media feeds and see if you can spot just-world biases.
Cognitively, as with confirmation bias, the just-world bias may again be explained by our need for consistency and the motivation to avoid cognitive dissonance.
