Belief in a Just World: Blame or Help a Victim?

Some women may be more likely to view other women as having acted irresponsibly when these women are the victims of violence that is due, in part, to their being women, rather than when they are the victims of violence in general. This could bolster their personal sense of agency and help them to believe that they will be able to avoid violence themselves. In another set of experiments, less economically successful members of an ethnic in-group were blamed for being irresponsible or personally derogated as lacking the competence or social skills necessary to achieve success.

Alternatively, victim-blaming and victim-derogation may occur when an out-group member is demanding that you or your in-group take action. Out-groups used in experimental manipulations have included the third world poor, people with AIDS, the handicapped, those who have suffered from tragic accidents, rape victims, and cancer patients (Furnham, 2003).

Belief in a Just World can be associated with pro-social behaviors. Bierhoff et al. (1991) compared two matched samples of individuals who offered first aid or did not offer first aid upon witnessing an accident. An accident would emphasize random, unjustified harm and it was hypothesized that those who were higher in Belief in a Just World would offer first aid in order to restore justice. They did so, at least when they were high in an internal locus of control and emphasized social responsibility and empathy.

A personal sense of being able to create justice or mitigate injustice may bolster one’s ability to recognize and respond to injustice. However, where personal ability to effect change is demonstrably low, individuals tend to actively minimize their attributions of injustice, blaming and derogating victims. How do people who are high in personal efficacy respond to situations where they have little power to restore or create justice? Would there be an interaction effect of justice centrality? Justice centrality could increase emotional distress, leading to more forceful denial. Alternatively, seeking justice in another domain, one in which the individual feels more able to achieve justice, may alleviate distress. Choice of strategy could depend on individual experience with seeking justice. Different strategies may be employed at different times, with attitudes to a particular injustice changing upon personal reflection.

Both justice-seeking and victim blaming and derogation may be independent of belief in a just world. For example, a person can believe that the world is both just and unjust, or even believe that their own actions are just and injustice, but still seek to accomplish some good, just as a person can believe that they have little power to achieve their goal but still try. Someone who is high in justice centrality and values justice highly may seek justice more frequently and more generally if they are lower in Belief in a Just World. Victim blaming and derogation can depend on one’s need for control, prejudice, and more basic self-interest.